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| Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets were both desperate for a win to get off the bottom of the ladder when the two sides met at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. But both would go home disappointed after the game finished with the scored locked at 1-1. Although the rain had stopped by the time the game kicked off, the ground was still slippery; and both sides struggled to get any sort of fluent movement through the first half hour. There were few major chances for either side, the ball clogged up in the midfield and neither keeper put under any pressure. But the game sprung to life on the half hour mark, when Michael Bridges found room to move and then fired off a cross into the middle of the area; with Labinot Haliti flying high to get his head to the ball and nod it into the Brisbane net to give the Jets the first score of the game. But the Newcastle lead lasted just five minutes. A cross from Isaka Cernak had Jets’ keeper Ben Kennedy wrong-footed. Adam D’Apuzzo got a hand to the ball in his attempt to clear the ball out of danger. Referee Chris Beath ruled the handball deliberate, handing D’Apuzzo a yellow card and sending Sergio Van Dijk to the penalty spot. Van Dijk slotted home the penalty, and the match was back on level terms. The scores were locked at 1-1 at half time, and on the hour mark Van Dijk went perilously close to bringing up his double, getting the ball past the diving save of Kennedy but just missing the net. At the other end, Jin-Hyung Song made a long-range shot that bounced off the woodwork back to safety. A draw was looming after regulation time saw the scores still deadlocked. But the Jets had a chance to steal a winner during injury time, with Roar keeper Griffin McMaster fumbling a regulation save after a shot by Fabio Vignaroli; but Craig Moore booted the crumbs to safety and the chance was gone. With the draw, the Roar’s four-game losing streak comes to an end. But with both teams languishing in the lower reaches of the ladder, three points would have been valuable to either; but both got only a single point and still find themselves well behind finals pace. Brisbane Roar 1 (S Van Dijk 36pen) Newcastle Jets 1 (L Haliti 31). Roar – G McMaster, A Packer, L Devere, C Moore, S Van Dijk, M McKay, M Nichols, D Tiatto (M Karlovic 72), I Cernak, T Oar, I Franjic. Subs not used – M Acton, J McCloughan, D Dodd. Jets – B Kennedy, A Costanzo, A D’Apuzzo, N Topor-Stanley, B Kantarovski, J-H Song, M Thompson (J Wheelhouse 68), T Elrich, M Bridges (K Patafta 75), F Vignaroli, L Haliti (S Petrovski 80). Sub not used – N Young. Yellow Cards : Roar – Nil. Jets – A D’Apuzzo 35, B Kantarovski 63. Red Cards – Nil. Referee – C Beath. Crowd – 7,509 at Suncorp Stadium. |
| ROUND 13A Wednesday 4th November Wellington v Newcastle (5:30pm) ROUND 14 Friday 6th November Adelaide v Brisbane (8:00pm) Saturday 7th November Melbourne v Central Coast (7:00pm) Gold Coast v Sydney FC (9:00pm) Sunday 8th November Wellington v Perth (3:00pm) Newcastle v North Queensland (5:00pm) ROUND 15 Friday 20th November Adelaide v Gold Coast (8:00pm) Saturday 21st November Brisbane v Melbourne (7:00pm) Nth Queensland v Central Coast (9:00pm) Sunday 22nd November Newcastle v Wellington (5:00pm) Perth v Sydney (7:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time. |
Central Coast Mariners played their home game against Adelaide United in Canberra on Saturday
night; a move that wasn’t overly successful. The Mariners, having to finish the match with ten men,
were held to a scoreless draw, while only 5,437 fans braved the chilly conditions to attend the
match.
The first half was a lacklustre affair, and while both sides moved the ball from end to end, neither
was able to create many genuine scoring chances. Travis Dodd had probably the best opportunity
for the first half, his strike passing the save of Danny Vukovic but rolling agonisingly wide of the
woodwork. At the other end, on the half hour mark, Matt Simon had only the keeper to beat but
his poorly-timed kick went straight into the waiting arms of Eugene Galekovic.
The game opened up after half time, but neither side was able to find the net. Adam Kwasnik had a
golden chance for the Mariners, after a sensational cross from Simon, but fluffed his kick straight to
Galekovic who had no trouble in clearing the ball out of danger.
With seven minutes left on the clock, the Mariners were down to ten men after Matthew Crowell
was pinged for his second booking of the game. But although the Reds had the advantage of the
extra man through the remaining seven minutes, plus an agonising six minutes of injury time, the
Mariners held firm to take their share of the spoils.
It hadn’t been a game that reached any great heights, with both sides looking flat in front of a small
neutral crowd in cold weather conditions. The move of the game to Canberra may have been a
promotion of the game, but the capital city fans stayed away and the Mariners were without the
critical home ground advantage that may just have got them over the line.
Central Coast Mariners 0
Adelaide United 0
Mariners – D Vukovic, P Bojic, D Heffernan, N Boogaard, C Doig, A Wilkinson, M Crowell (sent off
83), J Hutchinson, M McGlinchey (N Travis 45), M Simon (B Porter 86), A Kwasnik (N Mrdja 88). Sub
not used – A Redmayne.
Reds – E Galekovic, R Cornthwaite, Alemao, I Fyfe, S Jamieson, M Rudan, K Sarkies, A Hughes (L
Owusu 82), T Dodd (L Pantelis 90+1), Cristiano (F Barbiero 71), M Leckie. Sub not used – M Birighitti.
Yellow Cards : Mariners – M Simon 29, A Wilkinson 53, M Crowell 78,83. Reds – S Jamieson 70.
Red Cards : Mariners – M Crowell 83.
Referee – B Williams. Crowd – 5,437 at Canberra Stadium.
Gold Coast United came into the A-League with high expectations. Owner Clive Palmer spoke of his
dream of an undefeated season as the Gold Coast locals flocked to see his team. But the reality was
vastly different.
Gold Coast had been humbled 6-0 by Wellington Phoenix at their last start. And small crowds saw
Palmer take drastic action for Saturday night’s game against the North Queensland Fury, capping the
crowd at 5,000 to avoid transport costs and only opening one grandstand. And to make matters
worse for United, they were humiliated on the field with a 2-0 defeat to fellow newcomers North
Queensland in front of just 2,616 spectators, barely half the self-imposed cap.
With most of the stands closed and a small crowd in attendance, the atmosphere was flat and
seemingly soul-less in the first half. The players, as if affected by the lack of atmospheric stimulation,
put in a lacklustre first half in which neither team scored or made any serious challenge. Neither
keeper had much work to do, with the ball bottled up in the midfield for much of the half.
Shortly after the hour mark, the Fury took the lead. David Williams ran the ball unchallenged up the
wing from the half-way line, before crossing to the edge of the area. Former Liverpool ace Robbie
Fowler was there to slam the ball into the Gold Coast net.
Gold Coast’s active supporters, The Beach, broke the security cordon and made their way to their
usual area behind the goals, waving flags and banners protesting against the crowd cap. And as they
made their way around, Steve Pantelidis was pulled up by referee Craig Zetta for a handball in the
area. The referee pointed to the spot, and Robbie Fowler drove the penalty home, completing a 2-0
win for the Fury and completing the humiliation of the once-ambitious Gold Coast side.
Gold Coast United 0
North Queensland Fury 2 (R Fowler 63, 75pen).
United – S Higgins, S Pantelidis, M Thwaite, Robson (Z Caravella 45+1), Jefferson (J Porter 46), S
Smeltz, J Culina, B Van den Brink, T Minniecon (G Mebrahtu 73), S Fitzsimmons, Anderson. Sub not
used – J Tyson.
Fury – P Henderson, C Tadrosse, J Spagnuolo (J Brockie 57), R Fowler, D Williams, C Grossman, O
Malik (D Daal 63), J Robinson, D McBreen (P Kohler 71), J Tambouras, R Griffiths. Sub not used – J
Pasfield.
Yellow Cards : United – Nil. Fury – R Griffiths 39.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – C Zetta. Crowd – 2,616 at Skilled Park.
Inspired by a first half double by Mark Bridge, Sydney FC returned to the winning list on Sunday
afternoon with a comfortable 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at the Sydney Football Stadium.
It seemed clear from the start the Phoenix would be in for a torrid afternoon. Daniel suffered a
shoulder injury in the first minute and needed two minutes on the sideline. And in the sixth minute,
keeper Mark Paston collided in friendly fire with Paul Ifill; the keeper coming off second best and
needing to be substituted.
Replacement keeper Reece Crowther was immediately placed under pressure, and in the 15th
minute the Sky Blues were on the scoreboard, a chip kick by Alex Brosque setting up Mark Bridge for
a simple tap-in.
Shortly after the half hour mark, Brosque went for a strike from the edge of the area, forcing
Crowther into an acrobatic save; and although he kept the ball out, he was unable to get control of
it, with the ball spilling to the feet of Steve Corica for a simple tap-in to double the Sydney lead. And
three minutes later, Brosque was again in the thick of the action with a perfect cross for Bridge to
bring up his second.
Sydney FC were 3-0 up at the break and victory was assured. The Sky Blues took their foot off the
gas for the second half, content to sit on their lead; and Bridge was substituted out to give John
Aloisi some game time.
On the hour, the Phoenix had a chance to get back into the contest when Paul Ifill was brought
down in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. But Daniel’s spot kick was poor, and Clint
Bolton had no problem making the save.
With nine minutes to go, Costa Barbarouses got a consolation goal for the Phoenix, striking long from
the edge of the area into the top corner of the net. But it was a rare highlight for the Phoenix, and
came too late for them to have any thoughts of salvaging the game. After a 6-0 win last week, it
was a harsh reality check for the Phoenix, who were never in the contest.
Sydney FC 3 (M Bridge 15,35, S Corica 32)
Wellington Phoenix 1 (C Barbarouses 81).
Sydney – C Bolton, S Ryall, S Colosimo, K Kisel, S Musialik, S Corica (M Jurman 88), S Cole, A Brosque,
T McFlynn (B Gan 67), M Bridge (J Aloisi 53), S-H Byun. Sub not used – I Necevski.
Phoenix – M Paston (R Crowther 7), M Muscat, T Lochhead, T Brown (T Hearfield 77), L Bertos (C
Barbarouses 63), P Ifill, C Greenacre, Daniel, V Lia, B Sigmund, A Durante. Sub not used – A Caceres.
Yellow Cards : Sydney – S Corica 30, S Ryall 60, K Kisel 71, S Musialik 90+1. Phoenix – V Lia 33.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – G Parsons. Crowd – 10,653 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Perth Glory slumped to their third loss in a row, a season that showed promise early threatening to
unravel, when they went down 2-1 at home to Melbourne Victory.
It was a disastrous opening to the game for the Glory. In the fifth minute, Carlos Hernandez curled
the ball from long range, but the ball deflected off Glory defender Chris Coyne into his own net.
But in the 19th minute, a wonder strike from outside the area by Mile Sterjovski was hit with
strength and power, too much for Victory keeper Glenn Moss to handle and the ball cannoned into
the net to level the scores.
The Glory lifted around the ground, and had a chance to take the lead when Glenn Moss fumbled a
header by Eugene Dadi, but somehow Kevin Muscat managed to drop back and clear the ball out of
danger.
The Victory emerged the stronger side after half time, with Archie Thompson in particular looking
dangerous and threatening to score the goal that would regain the lead for the Victory. Had it not
been for a series of athletic saves by Tando Velaphi, the Victory could easily have scored. And
another shot from Thompson shortly after the hour bounced off the woodwork.
But with two minutes of regulation time to go, finally the Glory defence cracked and the Victory got
the winner. It came thanks to Carlos Hernandez, pouncing on a cross and slamming it into the corner
of the Glory net. The Victory win keeps them entrenched in second place, but sees the Glory falling
down the ladder.
Perth Glory 1 (M Sterjovski 19)
Melbourne Victory 2 (C Coyne 5og, C Hernandez 88).
Glory – T Velaphi, A Todd, J Coyne (S Neville 84), N Sekulovski, C Coyne, W Srhoj, J Burns, A
Pellegrino (A Jukic 81), T Howarth, M Sterjovski, E Dadi (L Boi 73). Sub not used – A Vrteski.
Victory – G Moss, A Leijer, R Vargas, M Kemp, K Muscat, S Suksomkit, L Broxham, G Brebner, C
Hernandez (M Foschini 76), A Thompson (N Fabiano 90+1), M Dugandzic (N Elasi 64). Sub not used
– M Langerak.
Yellow Cards : Glory – J Coyne 34, A Pellegrino 75. Victory – A Leijer 37.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – S Delovski. Crowd – 10,035 at ME Bank Stadium.
night; a move that wasn’t overly successful. The Mariners, having to finish the match with ten men,
were held to a scoreless draw, while only 5,437 fans braved the chilly conditions to attend the
match.
The first half was a lacklustre affair, and while both sides moved the ball from end to end, neither
was able to create many genuine scoring chances. Travis Dodd had probably the best opportunity
for the first half, his strike passing the save of Danny Vukovic but rolling agonisingly wide of the
woodwork. At the other end, on the half hour mark, Matt Simon had only the keeper to beat but
his poorly-timed kick went straight into the waiting arms of Eugene Galekovic.
The game opened up after half time, but neither side was able to find the net. Adam Kwasnik had a
golden chance for the Mariners, after a sensational cross from Simon, but fluffed his kick straight to
Galekovic who had no trouble in clearing the ball out of danger.
With seven minutes left on the clock, the Mariners were down to ten men after Matthew Crowell
was pinged for his second booking of the game. But although the Reds had the advantage of the
extra man through the remaining seven minutes, plus an agonising six minutes of injury time, the
Mariners held firm to take their share of the spoils.
It hadn’t been a game that reached any great heights, with both sides looking flat in front of a small
neutral crowd in cold weather conditions. The move of the game to Canberra may have been a
promotion of the game, but the capital city fans stayed away and the Mariners were without the
critical home ground advantage that may just have got them over the line.
Central Coast Mariners 0
Adelaide United 0
Mariners – D Vukovic, P Bojic, D Heffernan, N Boogaard, C Doig, A Wilkinson, M Crowell (sent off
83), J Hutchinson, M McGlinchey (N Travis 45), M Simon (B Porter 86), A Kwasnik (N Mrdja 88). Sub
not used – A Redmayne.
Reds – E Galekovic, R Cornthwaite, Alemao, I Fyfe, S Jamieson, M Rudan, K Sarkies, A Hughes (L
Owusu 82), T Dodd (L Pantelis 90+1), Cristiano (F Barbiero 71), M Leckie. Sub not used – M Birighitti.
Yellow Cards : Mariners – M Simon 29, A Wilkinson 53, M Crowell 78,83. Reds – S Jamieson 70.
Red Cards : Mariners – M Crowell 83.
Referee – B Williams. Crowd – 5,437 at Canberra Stadium.
Gold Coast United came into the A-League with high expectations. Owner Clive Palmer spoke of his
dream of an undefeated season as the Gold Coast locals flocked to see his team. But the reality was
vastly different.
Gold Coast had been humbled 6-0 by Wellington Phoenix at their last start. And small crowds saw
Palmer take drastic action for Saturday night’s game against the North Queensland Fury, capping the
crowd at 5,000 to avoid transport costs and only opening one grandstand. And to make matters
worse for United, they were humiliated on the field with a 2-0 defeat to fellow newcomers North
Queensland in front of just 2,616 spectators, barely half the self-imposed cap.
With most of the stands closed and a small crowd in attendance, the atmosphere was flat and
seemingly soul-less in the first half. The players, as if affected by the lack of atmospheric stimulation,
put in a lacklustre first half in which neither team scored or made any serious challenge. Neither
keeper had much work to do, with the ball bottled up in the midfield for much of the half.
Shortly after the hour mark, the Fury took the lead. David Williams ran the ball unchallenged up the
wing from the half-way line, before crossing to the edge of the area. Former Liverpool ace Robbie
Fowler was there to slam the ball into the Gold Coast net.
Gold Coast’s active supporters, The Beach, broke the security cordon and made their way to their
usual area behind the goals, waving flags and banners protesting against the crowd cap. And as they
made their way around, Steve Pantelidis was pulled up by referee Craig Zetta for a handball in the
area. The referee pointed to the spot, and Robbie Fowler drove the penalty home, completing a 2-0
win for the Fury and completing the humiliation of the once-ambitious Gold Coast side.
Gold Coast United 0
North Queensland Fury 2 (R Fowler 63, 75pen).
United – S Higgins, S Pantelidis, M Thwaite, Robson (Z Caravella 45+1), Jefferson (J Porter 46), S
Smeltz, J Culina, B Van den Brink, T Minniecon (G Mebrahtu 73), S Fitzsimmons, Anderson. Sub not
used – J Tyson.
Fury – P Henderson, C Tadrosse, J Spagnuolo (J Brockie 57), R Fowler, D Williams, C Grossman, O
Malik (D Daal 63), J Robinson, D McBreen (P Kohler 71), J Tambouras, R Griffiths. Sub not used – J
Pasfield.
Yellow Cards : United – Nil. Fury – R Griffiths 39.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – C Zetta. Crowd – 2,616 at Skilled Park.
Inspired by a first half double by Mark Bridge, Sydney FC returned to the winning list on Sunday
afternoon with a comfortable 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at the Sydney Football Stadium.
It seemed clear from the start the Phoenix would be in for a torrid afternoon. Daniel suffered a
shoulder injury in the first minute and needed two minutes on the sideline. And in the sixth minute,
keeper Mark Paston collided in friendly fire with Paul Ifill; the keeper coming off second best and
needing to be substituted.
Replacement keeper Reece Crowther was immediately placed under pressure, and in the 15th
minute the Sky Blues were on the scoreboard, a chip kick by Alex Brosque setting up Mark Bridge for
a simple tap-in.
Shortly after the half hour mark, Brosque went for a strike from the edge of the area, forcing
Crowther into an acrobatic save; and although he kept the ball out, he was unable to get control of
it, with the ball spilling to the feet of Steve Corica for a simple tap-in to double the Sydney lead. And
three minutes later, Brosque was again in the thick of the action with a perfect cross for Bridge to
bring up his second.
Sydney FC were 3-0 up at the break and victory was assured. The Sky Blues took their foot off the
gas for the second half, content to sit on their lead; and Bridge was substituted out to give John
Aloisi some game time.
On the hour, the Phoenix had a chance to get back into the contest when Paul Ifill was brought
down in the area and the referee awarded a penalty. But Daniel’s spot kick was poor, and Clint
Bolton had no problem making the save.
With nine minutes to go, Costa Barbarouses got a consolation goal for the Phoenix, striking long from
the edge of the area into the top corner of the net. But it was a rare highlight for the Phoenix, and
came too late for them to have any thoughts of salvaging the game. After a 6-0 win last week, it
was a harsh reality check for the Phoenix, who were never in the contest.
Sydney FC 3 (M Bridge 15,35, S Corica 32)
Wellington Phoenix 1 (C Barbarouses 81).
Sydney – C Bolton, S Ryall, S Colosimo, K Kisel, S Musialik, S Corica (M Jurman 88), S Cole, A Brosque,
T McFlynn (B Gan 67), M Bridge (J Aloisi 53), S-H Byun. Sub not used – I Necevski.
Phoenix – M Paston (R Crowther 7), M Muscat, T Lochhead, T Brown (T Hearfield 77), L Bertos (C
Barbarouses 63), P Ifill, C Greenacre, Daniel, V Lia, B Sigmund, A Durante. Sub not used – A Caceres.
Yellow Cards : Sydney – S Corica 30, S Ryall 60, K Kisel 71, S Musialik 90+1. Phoenix – V Lia 33.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – G Parsons. Crowd – 10,653 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Perth Glory slumped to their third loss in a row, a season that showed promise early threatening to
unravel, when they went down 2-1 at home to Melbourne Victory.
It was a disastrous opening to the game for the Glory. In the fifth minute, Carlos Hernandez curled
the ball from long range, but the ball deflected off Glory defender Chris Coyne into his own net.
But in the 19th minute, a wonder strike from outside the area by Mile Sterjovski was hit with
strength and power, too much for Victory keeper Glenn Moss to handle and the ball cannoned into
the net to level the scores.
The Glory lifted around the ground, and had a chance to take the lead when Glenn Moss fumbled a
header by Eugene Dadi, but somehow Kevin Muscat managed to drop back and clear the ball out of
danger.
The Victory emerged the stronger side after half time, with Archie Thompson in particular looking
dangerous and threatening to score the goal that would regain the lead for the Victory. Had it not
been for a series of athletic saves by Tando Velaphi, the Victory could easily have scored. And
another shot from Thompson shortly after the hour bounced off the woodwork.
But with two minutes of regulation time to go, finally the Glory defence cracked and the Victory got
the winner. It came thanks to Carlos Hernandez, pouncing on a cross and slamming it into the corner
of the Glory net. The Victory win keeps them entrenched in second place, but sees the Glory falling
down the ladder.
Perth Glory 1 (M Sterjovski 19)
Melbourne Victory 2 (C Coyne 5og, C Hernandez 88).
Glory – T Velaphi, A Todd, J Coyne (S Neville 84), N Sekulovski, C Coyne, W Srhoj, J Burns, A
Pellegrino (A Jukic 81), T Howarth, M Sterjovski, E Dadi (L Boi 73). Sub not used – A Vrteski.
Victory – G Moss, A Leijer, R Vargas, M Kemp, K Muscat, S Suksomkit, L Broxham, G Brebner, C
Hernandez (M Foschini 76), A Thompson (N Fabiano 90+1), M Dugandzic (N Elasi 64). Sub not used
– M Langerak.
Yellow Cards : Glory – J Coyne 34, A Pellegrino 75. Victory – A Leijer 37.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – S Delovski. Crowd – 10,035 at ME Bank Stadium.
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