A League - Week 19 Review

Two local derbies served to enliven our interest this weekend but first up we had Melbourne City taking on Adelaide United at Aami Park. The home side emerged victorious for the first time in four games with a 3-1 win.

City opened brightly with a couple of chances for Jack Clisby going begging but the visitors opened the scoring on thirty two minutes when Michael Marrone found Sergio Cirio on the edge of the City box just left of centre, he threaded a neat ball to Pablo Sanchez to slot home from six yards.

Adelaide had a purple patch on the back of the goal and Cirio would have doubled their advantage but for a smart save from Tando Velaphi. Clisby limped out of the contest at half time and the substitution of David Williams to play wide right and subsequent reshuffle across the park changed the game completely.

City got on level terms in the fifty first minute, an Aaron Mooy right sided corner was glanced on by Reds defender Tarek Elrich and fell to the unmarked Singaporean Safuwan Baharudin at the far post to slam home to the roof of the net and score the first City goal in nearly five hours of play.

Things got even better for City just four minutes later when Williams switched play to Robert Koren who had oceans of room down the left to pick out a pin point cross to Josh Kennedy eight yards out. The beanpole striker easily outjumped Elrich and powered home his header. City took complete control and chances came and went for Mooy, Kennedy and Massimo Murdocca.

Murdocca did have a hand in the eighty seventh minute third goal when he worked his way along the right side of the goalline before delivering a low ball to the far post where Iain Ramsay had the simplest of tap ins. So City take sixth place back from Brisbane while Adelaide are left to rue a missed chance to top the league and remain in third.

The F3 derby took our attention next when Newcastle Jets hosted Central Coast Mariners at Hunter Stadium in front of just eight thousand fans. The game ended 0-0 with a point not doing much for the plight of either club as they remained ninth and eighth respectively.

Chances were created by both teams and both keepers made good saves to keep clean sheets notably Liam Reddy from Serbian Enver Alivodic and Ben Kennedy from Nick Montgomery and Fabio Ferreira. The real moment of controversy happened in the thirty eighth minute when Mitch Cooper let fly from inside the D for Newcastle Jets, his effort hit the underside of the bar and bounced down on/over the line but the ref called play on.

The second derby of the day took place at Pirtek Stadium when Western Sydney Wanderers put out the welcome mat for their neighbours Sydney FC. The nearly twenty thousand fans who watched couldn’t complain about the spectacle they witnessed although the home support wouldn’t have been happy to see their favourites lose 4-3.

Sydney opened the scoring in the tenth minute Serbian midfielder Milos Dimitrijevic swung over a left sided corner to the near post, Marc Janko outjumped Nikolai Topor Stanley and headed against the cross bar, the ball rebounded onto Ante Covic’s shoulder and into the net.

Eight minutes later Janko slotted home a stabbed effort from ten yards and on twenty four minutes he added a second when he beat Brendan Hamill in the air before firing the loose ball home to the bottom left corner. Shortly afterward Chris Naumoff made a hash of a simple chance to make it 4-0 when set up by Alex Brosque.

Wanderers clawed a goal back on thirty three minutes when Japanese midfielder Yojiro Takahagi swung over a free kick from the right, Hamill nodded back across goal for Italian Iacopo La Rocca to volley home. The Wanderers sniffed a comeback and got another goal back three minutes before half time, Takahagi was instrumental again.

The Japanese international fed Nikita Rukavytsya into space in the outside left channel, his low centre to the far post was rammed home by the extensively tattooed Karem Bulut.  Amazingly Sydney got back on level terms in the fifty third minute Romeo Castelen and Mark Bridge combined to give Bulut room to shoot from the edge of the box to the bottom left corner.

Hamill was again at the centre of the action when Sydney FC scored the winner, his lack of control allowed Terry Antonis to take the ball around him on the edge of the box before shooting across Covic into the net. The game still wasn’t over, Mikael Tavares collected a second yellow in the eighty second minute to leave Sydney FC to face the remainder of the match with just ten men. Janko now sits atop the scoring charts with twelve goals, the Blues remain in fifth and Wanderers still prop up the table.

Table topping Perth Glory hosted Brisbane Roar at Nib Stadium with honours shared 2-2. Perth took the lead in the twenty sixth minute when Danny Da Silva tapped home after Chris Harold headed back a Scott Jamieson cross from the right.

We sat back and waited for the league leaders to take control but the Roar had other ideas and turned the game on its head in the second half. Jean Carlos Solarzano got the equaliser on the hour mark when he volleyed home Brandon Borrello cross home for his fifth goal in six games. A couple of minutes later Brisbane took the lead, Matt McKay raced down the left before thrashing home from the edge of the box.

Just when we thought Brisbane would claim all three points, centre half Corey Brown was shown red in the seventy sixth minute for pulling down Jamie McLaren.  Not for the first time this season Perth saw their chance to get something from the game and duly equalised in the eighty fourth minute.

Michael Theo lost the flight of a Dragan Paljic cross, the ball came back down from the bar to be volleyed home by Dino Djulbic to rescue a point for the table toppers. Meanwhile Brisbane remain in seventh and will battle it out with Melbourne City until the end of the season for the vital sixth place.

The conclusion of the weekends entertainment was provided by Melbourne Victory versus Wellington Phoenix at Aami Park in front of the weekends largest attendance of twenty two thousand. The Nix claimed the spoils with a 3-2 win and with it Victory’s chance of claiming top spot on goal difference went west.

Victory started the game in determined fashion and had chances for Besart Berisha and Kosta Barbarouses saved by Glen Moss in the Nix goal, Berisha also pulled a bicycle kick narrowly wide from twelve yards. On sixteen minutes Victory spurned a gilt edged opportunity when Ben Sigmund was adjudged to have fouled Mark Milligan, Berisha struck the post so firmly with his penalty effort the rebound cleared the box.

The hosts did open the scoring in the thirty fourth minute, left back Scott Galloway made inroads down the flank before playing the ball inside to Albanian centre forward Besart Berisha, he was unable to control but Galloway seized upon the loose ball to fire home from twelve yards.  Nix levelled matters eight minutes later through Roly Bonevacia, the Dutch midfielder curled home a right footed beauty of a free kick from thirty yards to find the top corner.

Barbarouses nudged Victory ahead again in the fifty fourth minute, Carl Valeri  played the winger through on goal and he found the corner of the net from ten yards. Shortly afterward Valeri fired narrowly wide from twenty yards to miss a chance to notch a rare goal.

On sixty eight minutes Bonevacia was again presented with a thirty yard free kick, this time he chose to cross to the far post where the unmarked Michael Boxall headed home. Nix rose in confidence and Nathan Burns swivelled on the penalty spot to fire on goal only to see Nathan Coe save his effort. He wasn’t to be denied on seventy seven minutes though when Boxall got free through the inside right channel he drew Coe before squaring to Burns to tap home the winner. So Nix stay in fourth and Victory remain second with a chance missed to claim the summit.

What have we learned?

Surely Perth will lose their grip on top spot some week as their indifferent form somehow manages to keep them ahead of the pack.

Next A League fixtures

Newcastle Jets v Sydney FC

Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United

Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory

Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne City

Brisbane Roar v Western Sydney Wanderers