Hyundai A-League Round 10 Weekend Wrap
What a round of football; goals, crowds, exciting matches, nail-biting finishes and at the end of it three teams sitting at the top of the table.
Results Melbourne Victory 0 lost NEWCASTLE JETS 2 Queensland Roar 3 drew Perth Glory 3 SYDNEY FC 3 beat Central Coast Mariners 2 ADELAIDE UNITED 4 beat Wellington Phoenix 1
Game Wraps The Griffiths brothers provided the foundation for the Newcastle Jets upset 2-0 win over Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome. The Jets started well and took an 8th minute lead from Adam Griffiths, who returned after a two-week absence from injury. The Jets continued to dominate the first half, but were unable to add to the scoreboard. Melbourne came out for the second half in a better frame of mind and had Newcastle under pressure, but the turning point came in the 66th minute, when Steve Pantelidis lashed out at Joel Griffiths and was sent off. Although Melbourne continued to press, it was Joel that had the final say in the game, when he pounced on a stray pass from Rod Vargas and he beat Michael Theoklitos from the edge of the area.
It rained goals at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night in what will go down as one of the most exciting clashes of the season. Both Queensland and Perth will look at this game as two points lost, but in the end a point each was probably what each deserved. Perth came out firing in the first half, completely dominating and went ahead after 18 minutes after Craig Moore turned in a cross by Billy Celeski. They made it 2-0 just before the break when Jamie Harnwell headed home a great cross by Nikolai Topor-Stanley. However Roar hit back in first half injury time when Marcinho was given too much space on the edge of the box and he lashed home his shot to give the home side hope. The game was then all tied up in the 69th minute, when Simon Lynch scored from the penalty spot after Josh McCloughan was brought down in the penalty box and then with four minutes to go he added a second goal to send Roar fans into delirium. However having let a two-goal lead slip, Perth was not about to give up easily and they got their reward when Jamie Coyne scored from the edge of the penalty area, three minutes into injury time and give Perth its 6th draw of the season.
This had all the makings of a classic local derby and it lived up to it. There were debuts for John Kosmina and Michael Bridges (Sydney FC) and John Aloisi (Central Coast) and a lot riding on the result. Sydney, with Kosmina sitting in the stands serving a ban incurred with Adelaide United, started strongly for their new coach and Bridges was looking good up next to Alex Brosque. In the 16th minute, Sydney went ahead when a Steve Corica shot hit the post and Brosque was on hand to tap home the rebound. It was 2-0 in the 25th minute, when a great diagonal run was spotted by Tony Popovic and Brosque made no mistake with his shot. However it was 2-1 a minute later when John Hutchinson lashed home a 20 yard shot. Sydney though were confident and were again two goals ahead in the 31 minute, when Popovic headed home a Juninho corner. The second half shaped as a classic and when Bridges was fouled by Dean Heffernan in the box, Brosque stepped up to complete his hat-trick, but watched as his shot hit the post and was cleared away. A minute later it was 3-2 when Hutchinson, in an almost replica of his first goal, smashed home his second goal and set up a tense finale. Sydney held out, much to the relief of all its supporters.
The final match of the season saw Adelaide again press its claims as the most entertaining team in the competition and one of the favourites for the Championship, with an emphatic 4-1 win over Wellington Phoenix. It didn-t start out that way though, with Shane Smeltz scoring after just three minutes. However the led didn-t last long, as Dez Giraldi scored his first goal for the club, heading home a free kick at the far post. The major turning point came deep into first half injury time, when a Cassio thunderbolt was only parried by Mark Paston and Nathan Burns was on hand to knock home the rebound. Adelaide then asserted their authority when Lucas Pantelis made it three goals in three games with a good finish from the edge of the area and then Jason Spagnuolo also scored his maiden goal in the Hyundai A-League with a neat goal with 15 minutes remaining.
Highlights & Lowlights So many highlights; 18 goals, great crowds, exciting football, what more can football fans want.
Goals Tally: 18
Card Count: 20 yellows - 1 red
Attendance/Average: 73,230 / 18,308* *2nd highest round aggregate in Hyundai A-League history
Goal of the Week Many great goals this week, but hard to go past someone who scores two in almost identical fashion. John Hutchinson may have been on a losing side, but his two goals will be looked back on with fond memories. Both times he was teed up just outside the edge of the area, but from different angles. The first time he hit a thunderbolt with his right foot that hit the underside of the bar and in, while the second time he hit it with his preferred left foot, the ball curling away from Clint Bolton and into the near post top corner. Two great strikes that will no doubt be mentioned when it comes to the goals of the season.
Player of the Week Alex Brosque has battled all season as virtually a lone striker and performed admirably and scored four goals. The arrival however of Michael Bridges certainly took a lot of emphasis off Brosque on the weekend and the former Queensland Roar marksmen relished that little bit of extra space to make his dangerous runs. While his first goal was a poachers effort, his second goal was courtesy of a terrific run that caught the Mariners defence napping and after a perfect pass from Tony Popovic made no mistake with his shot. Blighted his performance by missing the penalty kick that would have given him a hat-trick, but overall a very good performance.
One to Watch While he is not exactly a rookie, Michael Bridges certainly looks the goods for Sydney FC. In his first start since arriving on loan from English Championship side Hull City, Bridges showed glimpses of the huge potential he possessed many years ago when with Leeds United and Sunderland, before injury curtailed his career. His darting runs, touch on the ball and ability to find his own players with first time passes was welcomed by Sydney fans and no doubt the likes of Alex Brosque, Juninho and Steve Corica, who finally don-t have all the focus on them for a change.