| HARBOURSPORT |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
| A-LEAGUE |
| Mark Bosnich's football comeback suffered a blow when the veteran keeper tore his hamstring in the opening minutes of the Mariners' match against Perth Glory. Bosnich had to be subbed off in just the 6th minute, replaced by youth league keeper Andrew Redmayne. It was the only sour note for the Mariners in a convincing 4-1 demolition of Perth Glory. Just minutes after Bosnich exited, Sasho Petrovski restored Mariner spirits. A lob beat Glory keeper Jason Petkovic but hit the crossbar, only to rebound to Petrovski for the easiest of tap-ins. And so the Mariners were away, with 1-0 quickly becoming 3-0 by half-time. Nikita Rukavytsya got one back for Perth shortly after the hour, but any hopes of a miracle comeback were instantly snuffed out when Matt Simon netted the Mariners' fourth goal a minute later. Central Coast Mariners 4 (S Petrovski 9, M Jedinak 29, A Caceres 41, M Osman 64) Perth Glory 1 (N Rukavytsya 63). Yellow Cards : Mariners - M Simon 20, M Jedinak 39, S Petrovski 58, P Bojic 79. Glory - D Tarka 38, A Trinidad 90. Referee - M Shield. Crowd - 8,016 at Bluetongue Stadium. Newcastle coach Gary Van Egmond must have broken a mirror or had a black cat cross his path on his way to Hindmarsh Stadium, such was the Jets' shocking luck with injuries in their clash with Adelaide United. In the first half, Adam Griffiths and his brother Joel were both forced substitutions after injury. Within minutes of the restart, Jesper Hakansson stumbled off; and when he was joined in the medical rooms by Jason Hoffman, the Jets were down to 10 men. Adelaide made the most of their good fortune, with Cristiano twice getting on the board in the final 20 minutes of the game to hand the Reds a 2-0 victory; a result that gave them a handy boost to their top-2 chances while putting Newcastle in a position where they will have a fight on their hands to salvage anything out of this season. Adelaide United 2 (Cristiano 72,89). Newcastle Jets 0. Yellow Cards : Reds - R Cornthwaite 37, Cassio 90. Jets - J Griffiths 35, J Holland 82, J Wheelhouse 87. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 8,111 at Hindmarsh Stadium. |
| ROUND 7 FIXTURES Friday 3rd October Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners (Hindmarch Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 4th October Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory (Telstra Dome, 5:00pm) Sydney FC v Queensland Roar (Sydney Football Stadium, 7:00pm Monday 6th October Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix (Energy Australia Stadium, 3:00pm). ROUND 8 FIXTURES Friday 17th October Queensland Roar v Adelaide United (Suncorp Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 18th October Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory (Energy Australia Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 19th October Central Coast Mariners v Wellington P'nix (Bluetongue Stadium, 3:00pm) Perth Glory v Sydney FC (Members Equity Stadium, 5:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
| Sydney FC got off to a promising start against Wellington Phoenix, getting on the board after 20 minutes when a set play from Shannon Cole went in perfectly to allow Alex Brosque to land a simple header. But it all went pear-shaped for Sydney shortly before half-time when Shane Smeltz pounced on a cross to smash the ball into the Sydney net to level the scores at the break. And it was to get better for the Phoenix when a rebound found Tim Brown; and with Sydney keeper Clint Bolton unsighted and out of position, an open goal beckoned. It was a chance at top spot gone begging for Sydney, but an important result for the Phoenix, getting them off the bottom of the ladder. Wellington Phoenix 2 (S Smeltz 42, T Brown 76). Sydney FC 1 (A Brosque 20). Yellow Cards : Phoenix - V Coveny 48, K Dodd 53, M Muscat 68, A Kwasnik 84. Sydney - S Musialik 79. Referee - C Beath. Crowd - 6,729 at Westpac Stadium. Melbourne's run of red cards continued, with the Victory reduced to 10 men for the last half hour of their match against Queensland Roar after Costa Rican Carlos Hernandez collected a second yellow. It was the third match in succession the Victory would finish the match a man short, and the strain on their midfield was beginning to tell on tired legs. As the match went on, Queensland's numerical advantage made them look fresher, and they dominated possession for the last half hour. But the scoring was hard to come by, as the Victory defended doggedly. But finally with just 7 minutes to go, Tahj Minniecon broke through, outpacing three Victory defenders while keeping his feet to slot the ball past the keeper into the net. And in injury time, Michael Zullo scored the knockout blow, again scoring on the run. Melbourne Victory 0. Queensland Roar 2 (T Minniecon 83, M Zullo 90). Yellow Cards : Victory - C Hernandez 47,57, K Muscat 56. Roar - Reinaldo 69, D Tiatto 90. Red Cards : Victory - C Hernandez 57. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 22,266 at Telstra Dome. |