Feast of football to end pre-season action
There’s a feast of football on this weekend, with all 10 Hyundai A-League teams in action in what is for all bar Newcastle Jets their final hit-out before the 2009/10 Season kick-off in just under two weeks time.
The highlight fixture will be down in Launceston, where the annual clash between Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United takes on the added spice of being the Grand Final rematch from last season. The match is at Aurora Stadium on Sunday and kicks off at 1pm.
Both sides have named strong squads for their final hit-out of the Pre-Season and no doubt they will both be looking to win and go in with extra confidence to their first game of the season.
“We want to go there and win, there-s no question about that,” Aurelio Vidmar said. “If we can do that great, if not we can-t be hard on ourselves, there-s a very long season we have to look forward to and I think the wheel has turned full circle,
“In the first couple of years they couldn-t beat us and certainly last year they gave us a few good lessons so you just don-t know what will happen this year.
“It will give us a fair indication of where we are and what areas we-ll need to improve in so I-m happy that we-ve actually got another solid game against A-League opposition,” he added.
Tasmania-s best footballers will also be on show, with men's (kick off 10.10am) and women's (kick off 3.15pm) representative matches between the Northern and Southern Premier Leagues to be played on either side of the friendly.
Despite defeating Adelaide in this year's Grand Final, Melbourne is yet to overcome its South Australian rival at Aurora Stadium, having recorded a draw and two losses at the venue.
Tickets for the match are available from Max Events by calling (03) 6333 0889; through www.maxevents.com.au or from Launceston City Council Customer Service Centre or Football Federation Tasmania.
Another tantalising fixture will take place up in Townsville, where North Queensland Fury take on state rivals Brisbane Roar at Tony Ireland Stadium on Sunday.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams in the pre-season, with Roar winning previous clash 4-0.
However Roar can expect a much different Fury side, who will have most of their squad on deck for the game, while Roar will be missing a host of players due to International duty and injuries.
Fury marquee signing Robbie Fowler is set to play his first game at home after two stints off the bench in their recent trip to Perth, while new signing David Williams is also set to play.
For Roar, Charlie Miller (groin) and Danny Tiatto (back and hamstring) are expected to play some part against the Fury, with Michael Zullo is hopeful of joining them despite suffering another knock to his injured shoulder this morning.
“Obviously it-s an opportunity for some to push their claims,” Roar coach Frank Farina said. “But as I said, we-ve had a few problems with niggly little injuries so hopefully we can get those players like Danny, Charlie and Michael some game time on the weekend.
“I expect they-ll be very competitive and at pretty much full strength, because it-s their last hit-out as well,” Farina added.
Over in the west, Perth Glory is taking their final pre-season match out of the city and down to Hands Oval, Bunbury, where they will play Hyundai A-League newcomers Gold Coast United. Match kicks-off at 2.00pm.
Gold Coast is near full strength for the clash with only Michael Thwaite (suspended), Tahj Minniecon (International duty) and Robson not making the trip.
Meanwhile, Central Coast Mariners head west to Apex Park in Dubbo where they will play Wellington Phoenix, who are returning from a two-match trip to China.
The Mariners only real concern was for goalkeeper Danny Vukovic who was struck down with a sinus infection, but after a couple of days rest and some antibiotics, he looks set to take his place in the starting side.
Wellington are coming off the back of two tough games in China, where they had a draw and a narrow loss.
The match kicks off at 6pm on Saturday night.
The final match sees Sydney FC play Newcastle Jets for the second time in a fortnight, with the match on Sunday to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium at 2.30pm.
Sydney will be looking to extend its unbeaten pre-season run to 12 matches, but will be minus a host of players who are away on international duty with the Qantas Young Socceroos including rising star Kofi Danning.
Newcastle-s pre-season has been limited due to their involvement in the AFC Champions League, but they are looking for a solid showing under new coach Branko Culina, who returns to his old club for the first time since his departure as head coach in 2007.