Weekend Wrap - Round 13
The Central Coast Mariners and Queensland Roar have moved clear of the chasing pack after narrow victories on the weekend.
Results QUEENSLAND ROAR 1 beat Melbourne Victory 0 Wellington Phoenix 1 drew Sydney FC 1 Adelaide United 1 drew Newcastle Jets 1 Perth Glory 0 lost CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 1
Game Wraps A spectacular strike from exciting young prospect Robbie Kruse handed Queensland Roar its third straight win and fifth in six games, to jump four points clear in second spot. Kruse took his goal superbly in the 10th minute and was a constant threat to the Melbourne Victory defence until his substitution with five minutes to play. Queensland had the better of the chances, although Danny Allsopp will rue several misses that could have given the Victory a share of the spoils. The night wasn-t all a bed of roses though with marquee signing Craig Moore forced off with a hamstring injury that may rule him out for several weeks.
After several weeks on the road, Wellington returned to Westpac Stadium and once again gave their fans a thriller. However, again the Phoenix fans would lament a win that got away, with Sydney FC grabbing a late injury time goal that earned them a 1-1 draw. The Phoenix, missing a host of players because of international duties, took the lead in the 28th minute, when captain Ross Aloisi slammed home after a scramble in the box. Sydney dominated after that and had a succession of chances, but Glen Moss was in inspired form, denying Sydney time and time again. The dismissal of Tony Popovic with 20 minutes to go, should have eased the pressure on Phoenix, but to Sydney-s credit they kept coming and coming and got their reward in injury time, when Michael Bridges brilliantly beat Steven Old in the box and Old pulled the Englishman back, resulting in a penalty and a red card for himself. Ufuk Talay stepped up and calmly converted the spot kick.
With both teams coming off successive losses, the last thing that Adelaide and Newcastle could afford was another loss, that could have seen slip out of the top four. Adelaide started strongly and looked the most potent going forward. Diego was close with a free kick after 2 minutes, but apart from that chances were few and far between. The second half was much different as the game opened up and Newcastle started to get more quality possession. Then with 20 minutes to play, Newcastle took the lead, when Noel Spencer played in Joel Griffiths, who timed his angled run perfectly and he slid his shot home past the advancing Eugene Galekovic. This seemed to snap Adelaide into action and within six minutes they were level again, Travis Dodd heading home Richie Alagich-s pinpoint cross. However at the end both sides had to settle for a point.
The final match of the round saw bottom-placed Perth play runaway leaders Central Coast at Members Equity. Coming off their first win of the season, Perth were hit hard by international call-ups and injury and had to revert to several former players to play a one-off game. The early signs were not good when Greg Owens scored from a sweetly struck shot from 20 metres out after just 12 minutes. However from then on, it was Perth who had the better of the opportunities, with captain Simon Colosimo at the heart of most of them. He found stand-in Mariners keeper Matthew Trott in good form, but also missed a guilt-edged chance in the second half, but sliced his shot wide. For their all their hard work and toil, Perth was unable to get the point their play deserved.
Highlights & Lowlights The continued development of young exciting talent is a joy to see, with Robbie Kruse brilliant for Queensland on Friday night.
Goals Tally: 6
Card Count: 21 yellows - 3 reds
Attendance/Average: 42,835 / 10,709
Goal of the Week Two wonderful goals to pick from this week. Greg Owens magnificently struck shot was one that any player would be proud to own, but as good as it was, Robbie Kruse effort gets it this week. Getting a pass from Matt McKay on the edge of the box, the 19-year-old cut back onto his left, which took him past the defender and then picked his spot perfectly and curled his shot past Michael Theoklitos into the top corner.
Player of the Week Robbie Kruse was a standout for Queensland, but the efforts of Glen Moss in goal for Wellington, should not go unnoticed. Under a constant threat from Sydney FC, he single-handedly kept his side on course for a famous win with a string of saves that clearly frustrated the visitors. He was only beaten, when Sydney FC were awarded a penalty in the dying minutes and there was nothing he could do to stop Ufuk Talay-s well executed spot kick.
One to Watch His clearance came through just before kick-off and he only played the final 25 minutes, but there is some excitement around Perth Glory for 23-year-old Jerry Karpeh. The Liberian born striker scored 25 goals in the recently completed WA Premier League and is said to very quick and has some silky skills. He replaces Mate Dragicevic for the remainder of the season and will no doubt be trying to earn a longer deal in the remaining few months of the season.