Ligue 1 - 27th February 2012

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!

A -League Review: Gameweek 18 (Previously Postponed)

Gold Coast United 3-3 Central Coast Mariners

Gold Coast and Central Coast met today under very different circumstances to each other. Gold Coast are the only team that the Mariners haven't beaten this season, and they looked to hold onto that fact. However, their recent form was not on their side, still searching for the first win of 2012. For Central Coast, they were looking to cement their place at the top of the A-League and make almost certain their Premiership. They had just about recovered from a slight dip in form, and were out to destroy a youthful Gold Coast side.

Gold Coast were still suffering from a long injury list, though Michael Thwaite's return from suspension was a major lift to the side, while Central Coast's only problems were the 3 Australian Olyroos players, Under-23's to you and me, but Tom Rogic has been a revelation, and there was much hope that he could inspire the team.

Things got off to the perfect start for Central Coast, as Adam Kwasnik netted after just three minutes with what was a fairly scrappy goal, though Rogic had a great run to get the assist. Being bottom of the table, one would have expected Gold Coast to roll over and admit defeat, as we expected last weekend against Melbourne. However, 5 minutes later, and Hutchy will love this name - Gol-Gol Mebrahtu was knocked over in the penalty area, and Chris Harold barged his way through a crowd of his players to take the spot kick, and duly buried it. There was no sign of Gold Coast relenting, and as the crowd at Skilled Park could sense something, Ben Halloran barged his way onto the scene, with a fantastic goal to give the hosts hope of causing an upset going into half time.

The second half began brightly aswell, as Central Coast found themselves on the defensive for a fair while as United gained confidence. Mitch Cooper, the 17-year old captain who cost Miron Bleiberg his job last week, scored a great goal on only his second A-League start. Bernie Ibini-Isei scored only 3 minutes later to give Central Coast hope of a revival. This was realised 7 minutes later when Adam Kwasnik slotted home the equaliser to set up a pulsating final 25 minutes of play in which Central Coast really should have taken it. But take nothing away from Gold Coast United, they were fantastic on the night, and were good value for their point.

While they are still consigned to the wooden spoon, Gold Coast will finish the season as the only side that Central Coast haven't managed to beat, and with their youth on display, they have a lot to look forward to - assuming they're still a club next year. Central Coast have started slipping and losing ground to Brisbane Roar again, and are now only 6 points ahead.

A-League: New Intro

A-League Review: 20th February 2012

BNR - MBV
The Roar continue their chase of Central Coast Mariners with an entertaining 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory at Suncorp Stadium. Brisbane had the dream start, with Besart Berisha scoring after just 42 seconds and one amazing run through a maze of defenders. Harry Kewell then levelled just a few minutes later after a fine finish, before Berisha again showed exactly why he has been offered his contract extension before Henrique smashed home from the penalty spot a few minutes later. Harry Kewell then bagged his second goal as the Socceroo showed a burst of pace to break and slot home which left about half an hour of intense football as Melbourne pushed desparately for an equaliser, but to no avail. While the Victory are in 8th place, they will be confident of their potential for a finals place, and face Gold Coast United next week. Brisbane face a long trip to Perth next week as they attempt to mount pressure on league leaders Central Coast.

MBH - GCU
Heart faired better than their Melbourne counterparts back at home at AAMI park as they narrowly beat a youthful Gold Coast United. With so much said midweek about the team and their 17 year old captain Mitch Cooper, along with the sacking/resigning/suspending of coach Miron Bleiberg over remarks on the matter, most people expect Gold Coast to just roll over and accept the fate. But no, a lively defensive display saw them create their fair share of chances throughout the game, and it was slightly tragic to see a team with only one player over the age of 25 fall behind to an Eli Babalj goal late in the game. Gold Coast, who face the other Melbourne side next week, are now basically guarenteed of the Wooden spoon, finding themselves 8 points adrift at the bottom of the A-League, while for Heart it is 3 vital points gained as they vie for a finals place and they face.

CCM - WPX
Central Coast continued to assert their dominance at the top of the A-League with a win over title rivals Wellington Phoenix today. Tomas Rogic struck first as he scored a superb goal and established his growing reputation within the Mariners side. Veteran defender Patrick Zwaanswijk capped off another fantastic performance by netting his own goal in the 81st minute, and set Mariners on their way to their first win in three attempts and keep them away from the snapping jaws of Brisbane on their tails. Wellington's title charge is now essentially over, but they can be proud of what they have achieved over the past few weeks, and can just keep up the race for second place and what I believe is there best finish ever.

PTH - NUJ
Perth cemented their grip on a finals place with this victory against Newcastle Jets. When Liam Miller was taken off after only 12 minutes with a suspected hamstring injury, Glory fans feared the worst. Then up stepped Adam Hughes. Within four minutes, he scored only his second goal in a Perth shirt and after that goal, Perth never seemed in any real danger. Newcastle never really threatened, and it was Billy Mehmet's goal in the 56th minute that sealed the win for Ian Ferguson's side, they're 6th win in 8 games. Jets, who seemed to have finally found their feet, are now back in limbo, 2 points below the finals positions, while Perth themselves have leapfrogged Wellington to climb into the top 3 in the A-League.

ADU - SFC
Adelaide's disappointing league form returned to haunt them after their 3-0 drubbing of Persipura in their midweek Asian Champions League qualifier. Chianese scored first for Sydney, who were coming off the back of their 2-1 win last week and have now thrown themselves back into contention for a finals place. His goal came just before half time, while Adelaide's equaliser through Barbiero came just after. The match looked set to end as a draw before substitute Mitchell Mallia scored the winner with 10 minutes left to play. Sydney have now lifted themselves back into the top 6 with this win, and are sitting pretty on 30 points, while for the Reds, it was a case of business as usual, as they slumped to their 9th defeat of the season and are 9th in the table, five points outside the finals places they crave so much.

Ligue 1 - 20th February 2012

I'm really not feeling football this week. I gave it my all last week, so this week I'm all like "blaueeghghg." So don't expect anything exciting.

Eugh. So, Bordeaux vs. Lyon. What happened there, eh? Well, Plan "Us" didn't go down too well with one particular Bordeaux player, because he tried to steal the pitch, and as such, Planus got booked in the 50th minute. Other than that, I can't really make any puns. The final score was 1-0 to Bordeaux. Fun.

Sigh.

I can't even be motivated with the use of puns for this one. There are literally none. I'm just going to go ahead and say that Paris Saint-Germain drew with Montpellier 2-2. There. That wasn't exciting at all. It was equal throughout both halves. Literally. Paris scored at 41 minutes, so then four minutes later Montpellier scored. Montpellier then scored at 82 minutes, so Paris scored six minutes later. THAT'S NOT EXCITING. THAT'S JUST TO AND FRO. However, that did sound like a match report.

Now, you see, this one looks like a good game. In fact, it looks like a very good game. Rennes were pretty much sitting on their arses for the entire thing, because St Etienne kicked their... I don't want to say arses twice, and St Etienne couldn't kick them anyway because Rennes were sitting on them. See? Anyway, look at the goal scorers names (they all play for St Etienne by the way). In the 24th minute Mignot scored the only goal in the first half. But then in the second half Batlles had a right challenge ahead of him (you might even say, a batlle), but despite that he scored in the 53rd minute. Whoo! Bakary Sako baked up some mean... sako when he scored in the 67th minute. And then of course Gradel was certainly cradling a semi when he scored in the 78th minute, bringing the final score to 4-0. You see that? Not only was that an amazing match report, but it also included puns.

Aaaaaannnnddd back to a boring game. Yawn. This game even has Brest in it, but I can't make that joke every week. Can I? No, I can't. They played against AC Ajaccio and no goals were scored. Yay.

Well, at least there are some cool names in this game. Let's just get the score out of the way. Caen 2-2 Evian Thonon Gaillar. We good? Right. Frau? Frau, what are you doing on the pitch? You know this is a men's sport right? Come on, get back in the kitchen. No don't kick the ball! Shit! It went in! They're counting that? But it's two minutes into half-time! Alright, fine. I'm not one to judge. Well done Caen for picking a Frau to do your dirty work. Oh wait, that's not even the best bit. Evian have got pirates scoring for them. Barbosa fucking scored in the 50th minute. He probably stabbed some people to secure that. I mean, it's not like he can move around a lot with only one leg. Ooh, someone finally caught out Rippert for raping and murdering slags in White Chapel. He got booked for it. Seems like he's been let off really.

Argh! Exciting score but no puns! Nice weren't being too nice (ooh, spoke too soon) this game, because three of their players got booked, and that didn't help them at all. They didn't score any goals. However, Dijon, in all their niceness (irony), scored three goals, leaving the final score at 3-0.

Okay, bored now.

Lille beat Lorient 1-0. Debuchy scored in the 76th minute.

Marseille 1-1 Valenciennes. Gil scored in the 51st minute for Valenciennes, and Diarra scored in the 16th minute for Marseille. That actually sounds pretty exciting. Marseille scored in the first few minutes, making the Valenciennes fans scared, and then Valenciennes scored in the first few minutes of the second half. I bet the entire game was pretty tense.

Toulouse didn't lose this week! Instead, they beat Nancy 3-0. Exciting stuff. Well done, Toulouse. Nope, no interesting names though.

Ah, and the last game of the week. Well, actually, it was the first, but because they're in reverse order on the BBC I do them in reverse order as well. I'm just so lazy. Like the French. Ah, you thought you'd get away without a "the French are lazy" joke in there somewhere. Well guess again. Anyway, it's actually a pretty fucking boring game. Not surprised really, because it's the first game. It should really build up. In fact, if you read from bottom to top then my match reports get more and more interesting, and the games get more exciting. Huh, go figure. Anyway, Sochaux 0-0 Auxerre. See? Boring. Although the player who got booked for Sochaux is called Martin. Just Martin. That seems a bit of a ... boring name for a French ligue player. Martin is the guy who fixes your boiler, not a footballer. Hah.

Anyway, that's that for another week.

Pete out.

A-League Review: 12th February (Sorry for lateness!)

From now on, these videos will be much better quality, i promise