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| A-LEAGUE |
| The traditional New Years Eve blockbuster saw a big crowd rock up to the Central Coast, and the majority would go to their New Year parties happy after the Mariners recorded a 1-0 victory. The Mariners were made to fight for their win, with Perth defending resolutely and allowing the home side few scoring opportunities. Sasho Petrovski had a golden opportunity after 30 minutes but hit the crossbar; but for much of the game the ball was bottled up in midfield with few chances to score presenting themselves. But finally, with just 10 minutes to go, it was Perth Glory who cracked. A strike from John Hutchinson beat the diving save of Glory keeper Velapi to hit the left post before rebounding to hit the right post and then cross the line. It was a heartbreaking end to the Glory's determined resistance, but an important goal for the Mariners in maintaining their finals position. Central Coast Mariners 1 (J Hutchinson 80) Perth Glory 0. Yellow Cards : Mariners - D Heffernan 44. Glory - Nil. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 15,546 at Bluetongue Stadium. Melbourne Victory leap-frogged Queensland Roar into the top 2 when they defeated the Roar 2-1 in front of another big crowd at Telstra Dome. An even first half saw both sides creating scoring opportunities but unable to convert. It was an attacking and free-flowing game, a contrast to the dour and gritty Mariners v Glory game on Wednesday night; but both keepers were in outstanding form and both teams were unable to capitalise on the chances they created. 10 minutes after the break, the Victory were on the board when Carlos Hernandez found himself unmarked for a long run down the wing before centreing to Danny Allsopp for the simplest of tap-ins. And 12 minutes after that, Billy Celeski found an unattended Rod Vargas, with Vargas heading home the score. Although Craig Moore got one back for the Roar, it was never enough and the Victory had little trouble running out time to record the win. Melbourne Victory 2 (D Allsopp 55, R Vargas 67) Queensland Roar 1 (C Moore 74). Yellow Cards : Victory - R Vargas 18, S Ryall 62. Roar - A Packer 66. Referee - P O'Leary. Crowd - 23,447 at Telstra Dome. |
| ROUND 15 CATCH-UP FIXTURE Tuesday 6th January Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United (Telstra Dome, 7:30pm) ROUND 19 FIXTURES Friday 9th January Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets (Hindmarsh Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 10th January Central Coast Mainers v Queensland Roar (Bluetongue Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 11th January Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix (Sydney Football Stadium, 6:00pm) Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory (Members Equity Stadium, 8:00pm) ROUND 16 CATCH-UP FIXTURE Wednesday 14th January Adelaide United v Queensland Roar (Hindmarsh Stadium, 8:00pm) ROUND 20 FIXTURES Friday 16th January Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners (Telstra Dome, 8:00pm) Saturday 17th January Queensland Roar v Sydney FC (Suncorp Stadium, 8:00pm) Sunday 18th January Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United (Westpac Stadium, 3:00pm) Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory (Energy Australia Stadium, 5:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
| Adelaide Oval hosted its second A-League game, with another blockbuster crowd on hand. And unlike last season, this time it was the Reds who would take out the match when they were largely untroubled by a dis-spirited Sydney FC. The first half was evenly contested, with few chances created by either side. But with the clock in injury time, the Sydney defence appeared to have already clocked off for the break when they failed to mark the Adelaide strikers, allowing Travis Dodd a simple pass to Cassio who caught the Sydney FC defence napping by weaving his way around traffic before hitting the net. In the second half, Sydney never looked like getting back into the game, and their fate was sealed 7 minutes from time when Alemao lobbed the ball over Sydney keeper Ivan Nicevski to score. Shortly aftewards, Sydney unravelled completely when Matthew Jurman was sent off for a second booking. The result maintains Adelaide's position on top of the ladder, while Sydney's fourth straight loss sees morale at the former glamour club at an all-time low. Adelaide United 2 (Cassio 45, Alemao 83) Sydney FC 0. Yellow Cards : Reds - F Barbiero 34. Sydney - M Jurman 32,90. Red Cards : Sydney - M Jurman 90. Referee - C Beath. Crowd - 23,002 at Adelaide Oval. Wellington Phoenix kept themselves in the finals race after a 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets at Westpac Stadium. After holding out everything the Jets could throw at them in the first half, the Phoenix found their rhythm and killer instinct in the second half to ensure that the would become the first New Zealand club in the history of the A-League to avoid the wooden spoon and would retain a chance of qualifying for the finals. Newcastle dominated the first half, and had opportunities to score, the best coming in just the third minute when Jobe Wheelhouse had the keeper beaten but his shot sailed wide of the Phoenix net. Shortly after the hour, against the run of play, it was the locals who took the lead. A corner from Troy Hearfield saw the Jets' defence double-teaming Shane Smeltz to keep him out of action, but Leo Bertos was unmarked beside the far post and headed the ball home. A lob from Smeltz 5 minutes later saw the Phoenix double their lead; and a penalty in the dying minutes put the result beyond doubt. The Phoenix find themselves just a point outside the top 4, and still have a chance to snatch an unlikely finals appearance. Wellington Phoenix 3 (L Bertos 62, S Smeltz 67,86pen) Newcastle Jets 0. Yellow Cards : Phoenix - B Sigmund 53. Jets - Nil. Referee - C Zetter. Crowd - 7,520 at Westpac Stadium. |