Hyundai A-League Weekend Wrap
A quick review of the action from Round 7 of the Hyundai A-League
Results QUEENSLAND ROAR 2 beat Wellington Phoenix 1 Sydney FC 0 lost MELBOURNE VICTORY 1 Central Coast Mariners 1 drew Newcastle Jets 1 Perth Glory 0 drew Adelaide United 0
Game Wraps ‘Finally-, the Queensland Roar faithful was heard saying from the stands. Wins at Suncorp Stadium for the Roar have proved harder to come by than they are away from home, but a pair of talented youngsters were about to set the record straight. Michael Zullo was making his starting eleven debut, while Kruse was making his Hyundai A-League debut and on his 19th birthday. It-s a night they won-t forget in a hurry. Roar-s biggest problem all season has been goals, but both showed their more experienced teammates how it-s done, with a goal each in the 2-1 win against Wellington. Zullo opened the scoring after just four minutes with a superb volley from just outside the penalty area that went in off the underside of the bar. He then set up Kruse with a perfect cross in first half injury time, which the birthday boy headed home with all the poise of a veteran finisher. Queensland continued to dominate the match in the second half, but ruined their night, by allowing Shane Smeltz to grab a late, late consolation goal for Phoenix.
Sydney-s run of two successive wins came to end with a 1-0 loss against Melbourne Victory at the Sydney Football Stadium. Danny Allsopp scored the only goal of the game in the 81st minute, but made hard work of the win, given that Sydney played with 10-men since the 25th minute after Steve Corica was red-carded for a high challenge on Steve Pantelidis. The much anticipated clash never really got going after that and it looked like Sydney would get a deserved point, with Melbourne barely managing any decent chances on goal. However the breakthrough came just after Alex Brosque almost put Sydney in front when his free kick shaved the post, the ball moving up the other end of the pitch and Adrian Caceres cross to the far post picked out Allsopp whose shot was too powerful for Clint Bolton.
For the fourth time in five matches at Bluetongue Stadium, the points were shared by Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets, in a typically hard fought and passionate local derby. As usual neither side gave an inch in the match, with both goals coming in the second half. The Mariners, sitting on top of the table, went ahead on the hour mark, when Tom Pondeljak went on a 20-metre run towards goal, before sending a beautifully curled low shot past Ante Covic. With Newcastle continually frustrated despite their industrious play, they were rewarded with a goal by Mark Bridge in the 82nd minute, when his snap shot following a corner, somehow managing to ricochet off two Mariners players before nestling in the goal.
Perth Glory put a fairly arduous week behind them, to show they are not going to be the weak link in the competition, although they went largely unrewarded in their clash with Adelaide United at Members Equity Stadium. Sitting four points behind at the bottom of the table, Perth were facing an uphill battle against the hard to beat Adelaide side, but dominated the match throughout, albeit, not on the scoreboard where it mattered most. While Perth-s general play was outstanding at times, the lack of confidence in front of goals still remains, as they missed several good chances to score. The closest they came was via Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who headed a cross against the woodwork in the second half. Adelaide, although second best for most of the match, had the best chance to win, but Nathan Burns somehow scuffed his shot with the goal at his mercy.
Highlights & Lowlights The performance of Zullo and Kruse, two very talented youngsters, on Friday night was terrific to see and they showed what the raw energy of youthful, but controlled enthusiasm, can produce on the football field.
>Weekend Goals Tally: 6
Card Count: 21 yellows - 1 red
Attendance/Average: 48,153 / 12,038
Goal of the Week Two excellent goals to choose from this week, with Michael Zullo-s strike and Tom Pondeljak-s run and shot, worth the price of admission. Zullo-s effort though gets the nod, as the way he took two paces backwards and set himself for the result was excellently done. His technique in striking the bouncing ball with terrific venom was superb and it gave the team, coaching staff and fans, in particular, welcome relief after a barren spell in front of goal.
Player of the Week It-s the Michael Zullo week. FoxSports commentator Robbie Slater said Zullo-s starting debut performance at senior level was one of the best he had seen anywhere around the world and it was terrific performance by the 18-year-old. Scored a superb goal, set up another with a wonderful cross and generally gave the Phoenix defence a tough night, with his direct and quick running down the left flank.
One to Watch Surprise, surprise, its Michael Zullo, although I am sure we will get the chance to tell you about Robbie Kruse in the not too distant future. He has looked lively since the start of the season, coming off the bench and injecting life into the Roar late in the match. This time he had the chance to do it from the start and didn-t he reward Frank Farina-s faith in him, with a sparkling performance. Let-s hope Frank keeps letting this exciting, skilful player show off his raw, youthful enthusiasm, as that is what the fans love to see.