A League - Week 21 Review

The weekend’s entertainment started early for us when Western Sydney Wanderers played host to Melbourne City at Pirtek Stadium on Wednesday evening, the game was held over from earlier in the season when Wanderers were performing heroics in the Asian Champions League.

The home team must have been delighted to crowbar this fixture in when they ran out 3-2 winners to claim their first home league win of the season. City took the lead in the twenty eighth minute when Safuwan Baharudin headed home after Yojiro Takahagi cleared a Paddy Kisnorbo header from the line. Wanderers drew level ten minutes later when a goal bound effort from Tomi Juric was cleared by Connor Chapman but only as far as Mateo Poljak who hammered in. Aaron Mooy put the visitors ahead again in the seventy first minute when he curled a long range free kick into the danger area that evaded everyone to nestle in the far corner.

Eight minutes later Chapman clumsily tangled with Juric to give Wanderers a penalty that the striker slotted to level matters again. The red mist obviously descended on Chapman as he inexplicably laid hands on the ref after having been awarded a free kick to get the first use of the bath. The extra man paid dividends for the home team in the ninety first minute when Nikita Rukavysya volleyed home from ten yards to seal the game.

The following evening Adelaide United defeated Central Coast Mariners 2-1 at Coopers Stadium. The visitors took the lead through Anthony Caceres, he robbed possession from Dylan McGowan before advancing on goal and blasting home from twenty yards. Just ninety seconds or so later Marcelo Carrusca showed great control and balance to weave his way into the a shooting opportunity before firing home from the edge of the box.

Adelaide scored the winner in the sixty seventh minute through Craig Goodwin with a massive slice of luck, his effort from the edge of the box was partially blocked but the ball deflected high into the air, looped over Liam Reddy and dropped perfectly to find the net. When the dust settled on the weekend the Reds were in fifth place in the league but just one win away from top spot, while the Mariners hold eighth and look unlikely to get finals football this season.

Western Sydney were back in action on Friday evening when they entertained Melbourne Victory, as much as the home team must have been delighted to win the ACL the fixture congestion that it has brought to them has brought nothing but heartache and must lie at the root of their problems this season. The visitors were never really troubled and ran out 3-0 winners to sit in third place while Wanderers share bottom spot with Newcastle Jets.

Fahid Ben Khalfallah had an absolute field day setting up all three goals and basically looking as if he’d been beamed in from another planet for the duration of the game. The Tunisian international put a low cross in to Besart Berisha in the thirteenth minute which saw the goalbound effort deflected just wide off of Archie Thompson.

Thirteen minutes later he set up the opener when he made Sam Gallaway look pretty silly while working room for a far post cross for a simple header for the Albanian striker Berisha. Wanderers came within a whisker of equalising just two minutes later, Nathan Coe produced a brilliant double save from Yianni Perkatis and Kerem Bulut to keep Victory ahead.

Nick Kalmar called Coe back into action with a free kick six minutes before half time as the keeper tipped over to send the teams in at 0-1 at half time. Ben Khalfallah tore away down the left flank in the sixty second minute before playing an inch perfect ball to Archie Thompson who finished from the edge of the box. Seventeen minutes later a lovely move between Gui Finkler and Thompson saw Finkler go through one on one with Ante Covic who did just enough to block the effort and clear.

The third goal duly arrived three minutes after that miss, a first time pass from Ben Khalfallah set Berisha free behind the Wanderers backline, Covic came haring out but Berisha got to the ball first and expertly sent the ball wide of the keeper to roll the ball home to the empty net. Ben Khalfallah still had time to create a chance for Leigh Broxham in the ninety third minute but Broxham blasted over.

Melbourne City came back into action on Saturday when they played host to struggling Newcastle Jets, predictably the home team ran out 4-0 winners to claim sixth spot on the ladder from Brisbane Roar. Aaron Mooy has been central to most of Citys good work this season and so it proved again, his eighteenth minute corner found ex Jet Kew Jaliens to volley home from eight yards.

In the forty second minute debutant Frenchman Harry Novillo scored the second City goal when he capitalised on good groundwork by Robert Koren.  Koren played a well weighted through ball to David Williams in the sixty third minute to leave the striker the easy task of making it three.

Three minutes from the end Iain Ramsay struck home the fourth goal after yet more prompting from Mooy. Newcastle look like a shambles and the end of the season can’t come quick enough for them. Meanwhile City are locked in a winner takes all battle for sixth spot with Brisbane Roar which will go down to the wire.

History was made on Saturday evening when Wellington Phoenix travelled all the way across to Western Australia to take on Perth Glory, the visitors claimed the points with a 2-1 victory and with it climbed to the A league summit for the first time in their history.

Glory have held top spot for the last sixteen weeks but their stuttering form has finally caught up with them as the chasing pack overhauled them to leave them in fourth place after the weekend. Dependent upon your allegiance you would probably say that the Nix opener in the twenty third minute was either a brilliant piece of anticipation or a fluke. 

Louis Fenton put a low cross into the Glory box from the right, fullback Josh Risdon controlled the ball before turning on to his right to clear to touch, unfortunately for him Roy Krishna had read the script and the clearance ricocheted off of him and into the net.

Six minutes later Glory levelled with an absolute rocket from Ruben Zadkovic, Dragan Paljic played a ball inside from the left to Zadkovic who let the ball come across his body before blasting home right footed off of the inside of the post from around thirty yards.

We have become accustomed to seeing Glory snatch points without playing great football and we sat back expecting more of the same but the fragility that undermined Nix in previous seasons is a distant memory this season and so it proved when they claimed a seventy eighth minute winner. Glen Moss in the Nix goal denied Andy Keogh with a fine save before the ball was cleared up field to find Krishna on the right side of the Glory box, he turned Scott Jamieson inside out before slotting past Danny Vukovic at his near post.

Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar met at Allianz Stadium in torrential conditions to bring the weeks games to a close, the home team came out on top with a 5-4 win in a remarkable game. The rain was so heavy that it short circuited the fourth officials display board so he had to resort to holding up number boards to show susbstitutions, just like the good old days.

The game opened brightly with the Roar taking a fifth minute lead, Jean Carlos Solarzano slipped Henrique in behind the Sydney FC backline, he got the benefit of any offside call and expertly finished to the far corner past Vedran Janjetovic. Just two minutes later Sydney equalised through Matt Jurman, Nikola Petkovic lumped a ball from the half way line to Jurman he headed down to Marc Janko the ball bounced off his heel back into the path of Jurman who curled home from the edge of the box.

Brisbane had a quartet of presentable chances in a five minute period midway through the half with Dimitri Petratos spurning a brace, Solarzano and Jerome Polenz missing the others. Those misses came back to haunt the visitors as Janko first had a shot diverted just wide by the feet of Jamie young and then put the home side ahead three minutes later when he converted a penalty won by Alex Brosque.

That goal made the Austrian striker an A League record holder by scoring in seven consecutive games. The Sky Blues started the second period well and claimed a third goal in the fifty second minute. Bernie Ibini made a run through the centre before feeding the ball to Chris Naumoff on the right hand edge of the box, his low centre to the far post was tapped home by Janko. 

Janko completed his hat trick with a second penalty kick on seventy five minute to make the score 4-1, Corey Brown clumsily shoved and the Austrian adroitly hammered home from twelve yards. Surely game over I hear you cry well no one told the Roar who came, well, roaring back. Five minutes later it was the Roars turn to get a spot kick when James Donachie was brought down by Petkovic, Andrija Kuluderovic made no mistake from the spot, 4-2.

Roar got another back four minutes later when Brendon Borrello made inroads down the right before pulling back to Steven Lustica fired home from the edge of the box, 4-3 could they level? Sadly for them no, as Sydney scored a fifth to surely finally break the Queenslanders resolve. Terry Antonis fed Shane Smeltz on the right side of the box, who crossed to Alex Brosque for him to smash home from eight yards.

Brisbane still weren’t going down meekly and scored a fourth in the ninetieth minute. Borrello worked his way into the box, his attempted cross was intercepted by the Sydney centre halves who contrived to hit it into each other leaving the ball to Petratos to smash home from six yards. Sydney climb into second on the table just a point behind the Nix while Brisbane sit in seventh but have two games in hand over Melbourne City their rivals for sixth place.
 

What have we learned?

The pundits know nothing, myself included! Wellington Phoenix were supposed to be just fodder for the big hitting Aussie teams this season but sit proudly atop the league table.

Next A League fixtures

Sydney FC v Melbourne City

Western Sydney Wanderers v Newcastle Jets

Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory

Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory

Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix