One 2 Watch: Wellington Phoenix 0-1 Perth Glory
I have some words of advice for you. Don't put money down on a match that you're going to be writing a match for. This was the most tense match I've ever watched, and I was praying for a draw. I put down the money at half time - the pitch was waterlogged, and it was tipping it down, there was a gale - i couldn't see anyway that anyone would score. What do you know, as soon as i put the money down, the ball hit the crossbar twice.
It was the most tense 0-0 matches I've ever seen until the 93rd minute - Josh Mitchell managed to slot home from like 10 yards. I was heartbroken. But enough about me. This result means Perth pick up their first win in Wellington, and pulls them up to 7th, 4 points from bottom and in touching distance of the finals whereas for Wellington, their push for the top 2 continues, 4 poitns behind Brisbane.
Adelaide United 1-1 Brisbane Roar
The atmosphere for this game was electric, with a tropical storm whipping round the stadium, players falling flat on their faces, and the ball skidding across a greasy surface. Nakajima-Farran netted in the 60th minute to jeers from the crowd - due to the foul he commited earlier that sparked a brawl amongst the players. However, talismanic Sergio Van Dijk (with the least Indonesian-sounding name I've ever heard) put one past Theoklitos from the spot after a foul from Smith. The Adelaide fans will undoubtedly be the happiest in the return fixture from a 7-1 thrashing in October.
Brisbane are still losing pace on Central Coast but are at least in the major final position, albeit level on points with Melbourne Heart who have a game in hand. For a revived Adelaide, they are now 8th place, but 1 point away from 5th, so there is plenty of reason for hope.
Melbourne Victory 2-1 Newcastle Jets
Victory showed their true colours and how good they can really play in this match. The Jets spent 40 minutes of the game without Elrich who was sent off for blocking a goalscoring opportunity, and by then, Harry Kewell had already assisted Daniel Allsop. And when Sung-Hwan Byun slid home an own goal to make it 2-0, the game seemed all but over. Ryan Griffiths handed Jets a lifeline late on, but it was too late, and Victory held on to record their 4th victory of the season.
The victory *snigger* lifts them up into the finals positions - 6th - and will inspire hope next week against a stubborn Adelaide side. However, for the Jets, it is a stark reminder of their defensive failings, and against Central Coast next week...I can't see them reversing their poor form of late.
Sydney FC 0-1 Central Coast Mariners
This was another one I had money on. However this time it turned out a lot better - Central Coast to win the first half was my bet, and 20 seconds after I placed the bet, they scored. Happy face. Seeing Bozanic slot home in the 8th minute was the perfect start of the match for me and Central Coast fans. Mariners pressure continued to build for the remainder of the first half. However the second was a completely different story. Sydney were pushing so hard for an equaliser, they were pretty much camped in the other half. But alas, there was no reply. It seems what they need is a tall target man in the middle. So many crosses from Cole (who had an excellent game), but nobody was there to bury them. Carle seems to be coming back to fitness aswell, which is one of the few positives.
Central Coast are just dominating the league now. They are 8 points ahead of Brisbane and Heart, with a game in hand over Roar. If they can hold on and beat off the last few contenders as we move closer to the last round-robin of matches, I can definitely see them winning this title by a fair way, possibly with a record number of points. As for Sydney, they continue their slump, but are still sitting pretty in fifth position in the table, though this is not where they want to be. Matches against Newcastle Jets and Brisbane await Central Coast and Sydney respectively.
Gold Coast United 1-1 Melbourne Heart
Gold Coast have starting picking up points now,against some top teams. I can really see them climbing off the bottom and maybe getting something from this season now. Sarkies didn't give them the best start though, as he scored for Melbourne 7 minutes into the match. However, Rigters - an ex-Blackburn player - skilfully guided the ball into the bottom of the net with a clever little flick that gave the home side a reward for their dominance in the second half.
Melbourne are 3rd and Gold Coast are 10th. No change there. However, Melbourne have lost ground on Central Coast, and will definitely see this as two points dropped. Heart play an in-form Perth side, while Gold Coast take on the losers from the other clash, Wellington Phoenix.
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