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| A-LEAGUE |
| Adelaide United ran riot at Hindmarsh Stadium, comprehensively outplaying Wellington Phoenix 6-1. It was a Brazilian extravaganza with Cristiano and Cassio both recording doubles in a display of scintillating football. The Reds led 2-0 at the break, and although Fred scored first in the second half to cut the margin, Cassio got on the scoreboard just 2 minutes later and from there it was all one-way traffic. For Adelaide, about to fly out to Japan to play in the World Club Championship, the match was little more than a training drill. The Phoenix offered minimal resistance, while the Reds dominated all facets of the game; and were it not for some easy misses in front of goal could have easily won by an even greater margin. The result puts Adelaide to the top of the table, while for the Phoenix it was a rude awakening to end their 3-match winning streak. Adelaide United 6 (S Ognenovski 20, Cristiano 42,74, Cassio 57,69, T Dodd 90) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Fred 55). Yellow Cards : Reds - Nil. Phoenix - M Ferrante 39, J McKain 53, T Hearfield 83. Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 9,442 at Hindmarsh Stadium. Central Coast Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for the Roar, and Sergio van Dijk continued the Roar party after just 11 minutes with a long-range strike that beat Danny Vukovic's dive into the corner of the net. The Roar had the better of play in the first half, but were unable to add another. The Mariners made changes, bringing Andre Gumprecht into the action early in the second half. And the momentum of the game began to swing, as the Mariners began to create opportunities and a series of corners tested the Roar defence. But finally, with just 7 minutes to go, the Mariners broke through to level the match. A mistimed clearance found Gumprecht on the edge of the area, and his low drive rocketed into the net. The final moments of the game were frantic end-to-end stuff, as both sides looked for a winner, but in the end both sides had to be content with a draw. Central Coast Mariners 1 (A Gumprecht 83) Queensland Roar 1 (S van Dijk 11). Yellow Cards : Mariners - D D'Apuzzo, P Bojic. Roar - L DeVere 90. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 8,995 at Bluetongue Stadium. |
| ROUND 15 FIXTURES Saturday 13th December Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory (Westpac Stadium, 5:00pm) Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC (Bluetongue Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 14th December Queensland Roar v Newcastle Jets (Suncorp Stadium, 7:00pm) Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United - Postponed to 6th January ROUND 16 FIXTURES Friday 19th December Wellington Phoenix v Central Cst Mariners (Westpac Stadium, 5:30pm) Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory (Energy Australia Stadium, 8:00pm) Sunday 21st December Sydney FC v Perth Glory (Sydney Football Stadium, 5:00pm) Adelaide United v Queensland Roar - Postponed to 14th January All times shown are Sydney time |
| The unpredictable nature of the A-League again manifested itself when lowly Perth Glory upset ladder leaders Melbourne Victory 3-1 at Members Equity Stadium. It was another hot evening in Perth, as the Glory raced out of the blocks with a string of crosses and corners that had the Victory defence immediately under pressure. The Glory deserved their lead, which came on 19 minutes when a shot from Eugene Dadi hit the post but rebounded to cross the line. Just 4 minutes later, Dadi pounced on a corner from Pellegrino to double the Glory's lead. It was 2-0 at the break, but the Victory came out breathing fire in the second half, showing determination to peg back the deficit. And 10 minutes after the restart, the margin was halved when Ney Fabiano rifled a shot that went under the keeper's diving save. But the equaliser, despite several near misses, was not to come. And with 22 minutes to go, Adriano Pellegrino put the contest with a spectacular strike from the edge of the area. The result was Melbourne's second straight defeat, and has cost them top spot on the ladder; while for the Glory, their slim finals remain alive. Perth Glory 3 (E Dadi 19,23, A Pellegrino 78) Melbourne Victory 1 (N Fabiano 55). Yellow Cards : Glory - E Dadi 23. Victory - B Celeski 43, M Kemp 45, C Hernandez 90. Referee - P Green. Crowd - 6,621 at Members Equity Stadium. Newcastle had hopes of breaking their insipid recent form after 11 minutes of their clash with Sydney, when Marko Jesic beat a challenge from Robbie Middleby before setting up Jobe Wheelhouse and the Jets were first on the scoreboard. But just 4 minutes later, the match was back on even terms, after John Aloisi headed the ball to the feet of an unmarked Iain Fyfe. Sydney FC, themselves struggling for form in recent weeks, then lifted their intensity; with opportunities to Bridge, Aloisi and Corica created to maintain the pressure but the score remained at 1-1. With just 12 minutes to go, Sydney found a winner when Steve Corica, from the edge of the area, found second-gamer Brendan Gan. Gan's strike to the far corner of the net had too much power for Ante Covic to have a chance to save it. With this result, Sydney FC had worked their way back into finals calculations, but the Jets had slipped to bottom of the table. Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match. Newcastle Jets 1 (J Wheelhouse 11) Sydney FC 2 (I Fyfe 15, B Gan 78). Yellow Cards : Jets - Nil. Sydney - R Middleby 12. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 7,872 at Energy Australia Stadium. |