Dukey's One 2 Watch: Melbourne Victory 2-2 Sydney FC
Sebastian Ryall's late goal meant that Melbourne Victory could not kickstart their push towards the finals at AAMI Park on thursday. Cernak and Fabio both scored just before half time to give Victory the lead going into the break. However Sydney responded well and Bruno Cazarine scored in the 56th minute to give Sydney hope. In the 89th minute, they drew level through former Victory defender Ryall.
The result really benefits neither side. Sydney have consolidated their position in midtable, while Victory remain 4 points off the finals, although they do have a game in hand over their close rivals.
Gold Coast United P-P Central Coast Mariners
In a game that featured...wait, what? Postponed? Heavy rain? Aww, man. What a rip off. What if this was Brisbane vs Perth? People would have flown hours just to see it! Not happy about this, Australia.
Despite not playing, Central Coast's lead at the top of the A-League table is now 10 points and they now have this game in hand against the basement club. Only a couple of weeks to keep on slugging it out before they can claim their second Premiership. Gold Coast remain at the bottom of the table by 6 points, but have 2 games in hand.
Brisbane Roar 0-1 Newcastle Jets
Despite all their best efforts in the second half, Brisbane just couldn't get the equaliser they so desparately needed after Newcastle Jets recorded their first away win since last January. Kantarovski...err...roared the Jets...did I get away with that? I'm sure I did. Anyway, he roared the Jets into the lead after a clinical finish and maintain a fairly impressive record that stands at just one loss in 10 away matches against Brisbane.
Brisbane are...well they're 3rd. They spent half the season in the top spot, slipped and lost it to Central Coast, before entering a race with Melbourne Heart for 2nd, before losing that race with Heart to...Phoenix. They really have to start picking up points and fast if they are going to have their easy route into the Grand Final. As for Newcastle, this unlikely victory means they still have the chance to make it into the Finals come the end of the season.
Wellington Phoenix 3-1 Melbourne Heart
Wellington are 2nd. Who thought we'd see that at the beginning of the season? They achieved this through their conquest of fellow top 2 contenders Melbourne Heart. It took 3 goals - 2 from Paul Ifill and 1 from Chris Greenacre - to counter the Alex Terra goal in front of a season high 13,000 strong crowd. The only downside was Leo Bertos being stretchered off in the 76th minute.
However, it was all smiles in New Zealand as the victory means Phoenix jump up to the heady heights of second place, and if they can sustain their recent fantastic form, I have no doubt that they can push for a strong finish to the season. For Melbourne Heart, it probably means the end of their Major Final hopes. They have to consolidate what they have now, and gear up for a push in the finals unless they can start getting some good results.
Adelaide United 0-3 Perth Glory
Adelaide were the cream of the crop recently after their fantastic run of form. However, that run came to a sudden stop today as Perth continued their own run. They have proven themselves as title contenders. It is just a shame they couldn't have done this at the beginning of the season. However, it is better late than never, and they now have 7 matches unbeaten. Shane Smeltz and Steven McGarry both scored in the first half to give Glory a 2-0 lead at half time, before Liam Miller netted aswell to give Glory a 3-0 victory.
Glory are now 4th. Very good considering their horrible run at the beginning of the season. As for Adelaide, their chances of reaching the finals were dealt a blow from this match, and they need to get back into their top form if they are to get out of 9th place and pick up the 4 points difference they need to get into 6th.
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