A-League Review: 27th February

Newcastle Jets 1-0 Adelaide United

Adelaide's hopes of reaching the final 6 have been all but eradicated after Newcastle pulled one out of the bag and claimed 3 valuable points to aid their own finals charge. The reds were on the back foot for most of the game, and it came as no surprise when Tarek Elrich's goal came in the 39th minute, scoring off the back of a brilliant Francis Jeffers cross.

While Adelaide were for the most part well contained by the Jets defence and posed no real threat, the final 20 minutes or so showed how desparately they needed the points, and they through literally everything they had at the resolute Jets defenders. However, they managed to stay strong, and United found their route to the goal blocked at every turn.

The win puts the Jets in sixth place, but with a possible eye on moving up as high as third, though they are only one point ahead of Sydney. For Adelaide however, an 8 point deficit to make up over the space of 4 games, with 3 teams ahead of them, seems an insurmountable challenge, and they could probably use these final few games to blood some youngsters, help Van Dijk on his way to the golden boot, or to try and spoil the party for teams above them.

Sydney FC 0-1 Wellington Phoenix

Sydney are in danger of missing out on a finals place after this latest slip against Wellington at the SFS. While admittedly, they did deserve a draw, they did little to show the class we know they possess, and key players like Brett Emerton and Bruno Cazarine failed to shine.

Phoenix's leading scorer Paul Ifill fired them into the lead after just 12 minutes and to be perfectly honest, after that, it was a fairly dull match. While Emerton tried everything he could to lead a turnaround, the rest of the team weren't on his level, and each attack came to an early, frustrating end.

Wellington have jumped into third after this victory, hopping over Perth Glory and all but assuring themselves of a finals place unless something dramatic happens. Sydney, however, are one point off, and are desparately trying to snatch some points late on in the season.

Gold Coast United 1-1 Melbourne Victory

Gold Coast followed up their great performance against Central Coast with another good showing against Melbourne Victory.

While they played a good match, it was a case of same old-same old for the side, as they took the lead through Maceo Rigters in the 50th minute. They seemed to have finally broken their bad habit of conceding late, late goals, but their youth and lack of experience shone through, and sure enough Carlos Hernandez levelled just 6 minutes later to hand Victory a valuable point.

However, it may not be enough. They sit 5 points off a finals spot, and with only four games to go, including rounds at Phoenix and Perth, they will need to pick up their game to have any chance of qualifying. For Gold Coast, it was just another opportunity to blood their youngsters, and they will feel they have done that and shown they are a force to be reckoned with.

Perth Glory 0-3 Brisbane Roar

The champions are back to their best, and this time without their talisman Thomas Broich. Their star man was absent, but it hardly showed, whereas Glory's absentees Liam Miller and Shane Smeltz left a noticeable scar on the side.

Henrique opened the scoring after 20 minutes after taking the ball calmly round the keeper and slotting into the empty goal and Brisbane never looked like surrendering their lead which was extended after the interval in the 58th minute through Besart Berisha, who completed his brace 4 minutes later after good work and clever thinking from the young Nick Fitzgerald who could have taken the shot but instead went for the sure thing and flicked the ball past the oncoming keeper to Berisha to tap home the easiest goal he'll ever score.

Roar are now certain they can catch Mariners, and one more slip-up from the Central Coast and they'll be level on points and with a superior goal difference, they will be confident they will be celebrating again come the end of the regular season. As for Glory, they remain 4 points clear of the bottom and need just a few more points to guarentee themselves of more football after their 27 game season is over.

Melbourne Heart 1-0 Central Coast Mariners

Melbourne Heart showed glimpses of their mid-season form that for a short while turned them into title contenders as they beat Central Coast Mariners for the first time in their history. Eli Babalj fired home just after half time to give the Heart a much needed confidence and morale boost ahead of their season run in.

Central Coast, however, don't seem to have recovered from their draw against the Gold Coast, and players like Rogic and Kwasnik, who have been on such good form recently, failed to make an impact on the game, and the referee was the busiest man on the pitch, handing out 4 yellow cards in the first 15 minutes. 5 minutes after the goal, however, they recieved a penalty, which Englishman John Sutton proceeded to hit at the keeper.

Central Coast desparately need to hit form, and just one more loss could see them leapfrogged by Brisbane unless Roar drop points. It's a real race to the end of the season, with Central Coast needing 10 points from their final four games to guarentee themselves the title. Heart need the same amount to guarentee themselves a finals spot, but with the dog fight going on below them, that will prove a much easier task. What a run in we have!