Weekend Wrap
Just one point separates the Central Coast Mariners and Queensland Roar at the top of the table, after the Roar won their clash 2-1 at Suncorp Stadium.
Results WELLINGTON PHOENIX 3 beat Perth Glory 0 SYDNEY FC 1 beat Newcastle Jets 0 Melbourne Victory 2 drew Adelaide United 0 QUEENSLAND ROAR 2 beat Central Coast Mariners 1
Game Wraps The weekend started with a clash of the competitions two cellar dwellers, a win keeping alive finals hopes and a loss eliminating them from the finals race. It proved to be a good night for the home team Wellington Phoenix, as they recorded a 3-0 win to make it a treble of wins against Perth Glory for the season. It was a bad night all round for Glory, who also had Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Jamie Harnwell sent off in the loss. Topor-Stanley-s send-off for a last man challenge on Vaughan Coveny in the penalty box, saw Phoenix take the lead through Shane Smeltz from the spot. Minutes later Felipe made it 2-0 after a quick counter-attack and it was always going to be difficult to come back from there. Smeltz made it 3-0 with 18 minutes to go, which saw him go to equal top of the goalscorers chart and two minutes later Perth-s frustrations continued with Harnwell-s dismissal minutes later.
It was the match that could decide Sydney-s finals fate, with 4th-placed Newcastle looking to put a seven-point gap between them and Sydney. A tense stalemate developed, but the send-off of Sydney-s Ruben Zadkovich for a tackle on Adam Griffiths shortly after half time, sparked the game to life. Sydney to their credit didn-t back down and somehow conjured up a late, late winner, when Terry McFlynn dinked a cross over to the middle and was met by a flying Steve Corica whose header was too good for Jets keeper Ante Covic. The gap is now just a point between the two teams, with five rounds to go.
A dramatic own goal by Adelaide United-s Richie Alagich, sealed a valuable point for Melbourne Victory after their title defence looked all but over, after going behind 2-0. A refreshed Paul Agostino netted the opening goal after 16 minutes and doubled Adelaide-s advantage shortly after half time. But a 70th minute penalty awarded after Archie Thompson was fouled by Tomislav Milardovic, was tucked away by Kevin Muscat and it was Melbourne in the final stages with Adelaide down to ten-men after using all their substitutes and Nathan Burns forced off with injury.. But they needed an unfortunate own goal by Alagich, who-s attempted clearance glanced of his head and past a bewildered Eugene Galekovic, to keep them alive in the finals hunt.
Finally match of the round, saw league leaders Central Coast travel north to take on Queensland Roar and it was the home side that fought back from a goal down to take the points in a highly entertaining game. The match got off to a frantic start, with both sides have good early chances to score. In the 13th minute, John Aloisi pounced on a good low cross from strike partner Matt Simon to make it 1-0 to the Mariners. However the lead didn-t last long, with Tony Vidmar slicing an attempted clearance into his own net in the 21st minute. Queensland, the league entertainers, then took the lead 7 minutes later when a Matt McKay shot took a slight deflection off Vidmar, the ball squeezing past Danny Vukovic and inside the near post. Both sides had chances to score in an exciting second half with Vukovic excelling with three outstanding saves in the space of 10 seconds to deny the Roar taking a bigger lead. The win lifted Roar to within a point of the Mariners and they probably need just four more points from its final five games to secure a finals berth for the first time.
Goals Tally: 11 Card Count: 19 yellows - 3 reds Attendance/Average: 57,659 / 14,415
Goal of the Week This week-s goal of the week is more about its impact rather than being spectacular. Steve Corica-s last minute winner for Sydney FC, was not only a dramatic end to the match, but basically kept their season alive. Playing with only 10-men, Sydney launched one last assault on the Newcastle and with a cross not cleared, Terry McFlynn turned and dinked a cross into the middle. Corica showed the desperation that makes him so valuable to this side launching himself at the ball and heading past Ante Covic.
Player of the Week There is a lot of pressure on national team players returning to Australia to continue their careers and probably none more so than on Craig Moore at Queensland Roar. And in the big game, he came to the fore, with an outstanding performance on his good mate John Aloisi. An earlier turnover saw Aloisi give the Mariners the lead, but when Queensland fought back and took the lead, it was going to be a strong defence that would be needed to hold out the Mariners and Moore led from the front. Come finals time, if, as is likely Queensland make it, expect more of the same from the tough defender.
One to Watch They may have been on the end of a 3-0 hiding, but Perth Glory did have some good news on Friday night with the return from injury of defender Hayden Foxe. It might not have been the return he was hoping for, but Foxe would have been pleased to get 90 minutes under his belt. For Glory, the last five weeks will be about building for next season and Foxe-s return is timely, as he looks to get himself ready for a better crack at his return to Australia after many years overseas.