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HARBOURSPORT |
A-LEAGUE |
Queensland Roar's indifferent home record struck again when the Roar were defeated at home 1-0 by Adelaide United. It was Robbie Cornthwaite that was the difference between the sides, set up by a penetrating header by Cristiano and in perfect position to beat the keeper and power the ball into the net. The first half saw few opportunities, but the game opened up after the break, and Adelaide's goal spurred the Roar into action looking for an equaliser. And it looked to have come when Matt McKay headed the ball home, only to be ruled offside. The Roar continued to press, but the Reds' defence held firm and the 1-0 scoreline was to be maintained all the way to the final whistle. Queensland Roar 0 Adelaide United 1 (R Cornthwaite 60) Yellow Cards : Roar - M McKay 15, C Miller 32. Reds - M Birighitti 90. Referee - M Shield. Crowd - 11,117 at Suncorp Stadium. The A-League ladder was thrown wide open when struggling Newcastle upset ladder leaders Melbourne Victory 1-0 at Energy Australia Stadium. Although the score was just a solitary goal against an opponent by then reduced to 10 men, the Jets dominated play around the ground and should have won by more. A golden opportunity was blown when the Jets were awarded a penalty on the half hour, only for Zura's spot kick to hit the crossbar. Shoretly before the hour mark, the Victory were cut to 10 men for the fourth time this season when Archie Thompson's dissent with referee Matthew Breeze saw the Victory veteran given his marching orders. Newcastle had all the play, but were unable to find any scoring to show for it. But finally with just 4 minutes to go the Victory resistance eventually cracked, with a long-range volley from Marko Jesic beating the diving Victory keeper into the top corner of the net, giving the Jets the win they so richly deserved. Newcastle Jets 1 (M Jesic 86) Melbourne Victory 0 Yellow Cards : Jets - J Hakansson 36, M Jesic 90. Victory - R Vargas 31, E Berger 79. Red Cards : Victory - A Thompson 58. Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 11,384 at Energy Australia Stadium. |
ROUND 9 FIXTURES Friday 24th October Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets (Bluetongue Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 25th October Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC (Telstra Dome, 7:00pm) Sunday 26th October Wellington Phoenix v Queensland Roar (Westpac Stadium, 3:00pm) Adelaide United v Perth Glory (Hindmarsh Stadium, 5:00pm) ROUND 10 FIXTURES Friday 31st October Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory (Hindmarsh Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 1st November Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners (Sydney Football Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 2nd November Newcastle Jets v Queensland Roar (Energy Australia Stadium, 5:00pm) Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix (Members Equity Stadium, 7:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
It was a hot day in Perth as the Glory hosted Sydney FC, and it was the locals that were running hot as they pulled off a remarkable victory. It took just 5 minutes for the Glory to get on the board, as some lazy defending by Sydney FC saw the ball spill to Nikita Rukavytsya, who out-paced Tony Popovic before giving the ball to an unmarked Jamie Harnwell. The match was back on level terms 5 minutes later when Brendan Santalab went for a run down the wing, getting around his opponent before striking the ball past the keeper's save into the base of the net. It stayed 1-1 till the break, but just 2 minutes after the restart a cross from Pellegrino was nodded home by Harnwell to restore the Glory's lead. The Glory were unable to score a third, but successfully ran down the clock to hang on for their win. But their tactics for running down the clock were controversial, with defender Adrian Trinidad in particular copping criticism for going down, stopping play until he got stretchered off, only to immediately jump off the stretcher and back onto the field. Perth Glory 2 (J Harnwell 5,47) Sydney FC 1 (B Santalab 10) Yellow Cards : Glory - J Downey 27. Sydney - J Aloisi 45, B Santalab 90. Red Cards : Sydney - I Fyfe 90. Referee - P O'Leary. Crowd - 7,759 at Members Equity Stadium. The round of upsets continued at Bluetongue Stadium when Wellington Phoenix shocked the Mariners 1-0 on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon. The Mariners welcomed keeper Danny Vukovic back from suspension; but he was unable to stop the visitors taking the lead shortly after half-time. Vukovic pulled off a great save to deny Shane Smeltz, but the corner found Karl Dodd unmarked to head home the only goal of the day. There was to be no way back for the Mariners, as the Phoenix went on to record their first win in Australia this season; while for the Mariners, a chance to challenge the ladder leaders went begging. Central Coast Mariners 0 Wellington Phoenix 1 (K Dodd 53) Yellow Cards : Mariners - M Jedinak 18, M Simon 60. Phoenix - J McKain 62, L Gao 83. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 9,011 at Bluetongue Stadium. |