Dukey's One 2 Watch: Brisbane Roar 3-1 Melbourne Victory
We wondered when this would happen, and it's about time aswell. This was a match between two clubs who were desparate for a win. Brisbane took the 3 points which they SO badly needed thanks to goals from Nichols, Visconte and Franjic. Harry Kewell's first open-play goal (and what a goal it was) came in only the 2nd minute. Hang on.
YOUTUBE!
So yeah, that was cool. The former Liverpool striker's...strike, was answered by boos from around the 50,000 seater Suncorp stadium. But the positive start made by a determined Victory side disappeared after Nichols' fine header after 44 minutes. Victory kept absorbing pressure, but they cracked eventually, after Visconte latched onto a brilliant through ball from Berisha and used beautiful piece of skill to net the Olyroo's 2nd goal for Roar. Three minutes later, Roar bagged a third thanks to another Berisha assist, this time Franjic slotting home.
It was a fitting end to the year for a Brisbane side who, until recently, were the absolute epitome of brilliance in Aussie sport. For Melbourne it was a stark reminder of the challenges that await them in the coming year. Brisbane face a challenging match against Perth on Wednesday, whilst for Victory, it's a trip to Gosford to face Central Coast Mariners.
Sydney FC 0-4 Melbourne Heart
I don't know if anyone saw this coming. This is just such a suprise. Melbourne Heart are definitely title contenders based on this evidence. They absolutely thrashed Sydney, with the Blues unable to find any response to the onslaught of attacks Heart unleashed on them.
Heart have never lost to Sydney since they were incepted into the league, and that run looks set to continue. Babalj, Dugandzic, Hoffman and Terra all cored in a pulsating match which leaves Heart 2 points away from the top of the table. Sydney meanwhile maintain their mid table...ness, and although this season they have been fantastic in their comeback ability, but this time they had no answers.
The only negative point for Heart was the loss of their Skipper, Fred, to injury. But this didn't slow down the industrious Heart side. They will go into their next match against the struggling Adelaide United, while Sydney face a trip to Wellington Pheonix.
Adelaide United 2-0 Wellington Pheonix
Adelaide are no longer on the bottom of the Hyundai A-League table after a win against Wellington. Pheonix had been on the up and up, but for Adelaide coach Kosmina, Djite's excellent strike in the first 20 minutes was the perfect New Year's gift. Is that a thing? Should be. Anyway, they also scored in the 62nd minute through Golec.
The Wellington keeper, Warner, had an exceptionally busy man. He definitely earned his christmas bonus. Sergio van Dijk...erm...I'm not really sure how to explain this...I'll see if I can find a video...Well I think this video makes this whole post kind of...unnecessary, but it explains it and really shows Adelaide's dominance.
Once again, YOUTUBE!
He went for a toilet break and got a yellow card. Lol! But yeah, Wellington Pheonix's decent run came to an abrupt end. It seems like the bottom clubs have recently started to come good. That's why I love this league, it's so open. Adelaide have...Melbourne Heart, ouch. While Pheonix have Sydney. It's going to be a good week.
Newcastle Jets 1-1 Perth Glory
Newcastle finally seemed to have put the breaks on their appauling run of form. It was the opposite of their recent run, they actually came back towards the end of the match rather than just looking tired as they have recently. However, credit must got to Perth, who played almost an hour with only ten men after Billy Mehmet (Irish), scored early and then got subbed off, until Francis Jeffers (English, hell yeah), who many of you may remember from the Premier League, equalised in the 60th minute.
There was a lot of frantic defending from both sides, but some smart attacks, primarily from Newcastle, but their day could have been ruined had Mehmet scored the free header he had in the 15th minute, and had he not been sent off the game could have ended so differently. Newcastle will have to up their game, however, if they want to beat in-form Gold Coast on wednesday, while Perth host Brisbane, who as we already know are finally back in the saddle.
Central Coast Mariners 0-0 Gold Coast United
This game was a let down to be fair. Gold Coast have been coming back into it recently, but they will definitely be pleased with a point against the league leaders. Mariners' six-match winning streak was ended by one of the Gold Coast's best performances of the season. Zwaanswijk (what a name) is fantastic at getting the ball across the field out from defence, and Maceo Rigters stuck to him like glue. Gold Coast were obviously wary of the Mariners' immense scoring ability, and could definitely be accused of playing for the draw, with a tight defensive formation basically freezing out Bernie Ibini and Matt Simon.
Man-marking was widespread in this match, and it made it somewhat of a dull match to watch, but the single point will be appreciated by both sides. It keeps Mariners in the lead at the top of the table, though that lead has been cut by Heart's win, and Gold Coast riss in fortune continues, so in the end, it was a very good day for both sides.
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