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| A-LEAGUE |
| The start of the 2008-09 season had been forgettable for Newcastle, but their trip to Queensland saw the Jets return to some sort of form in taking out their first win for the new season. For much of the game the Roar looked to have the better of possession, but were unable to convert their dominance into scoring opportunities. Jets' keeper Ante Covic was magnificent, pulling off a succession of brilliant saves to deny the Roar. Late in the game, with just minutes to go and the match looking headed for a 0-0 draw, a scramble in the Queensland box saw the Roar unable to clear the ball out of danger. Jets' striker Joel Griffiths pounced on the loose ball to send it into the Roar net and take a valuable 3 points in a match in which the Jets rarely threatened to score. Queensland Roar 0 Newcastle Jets 1 (J Griffiths 83). Yellow Cards : Roar - M McKay 60, M Zullo 90. Jets - J Song 4, T Elrich 60. Referee - C Zetter. Crowd - 12,103 at Suncorp Stadium. The mercury climbed to 33 degrees for Sydney FC's Saturday twilight match against Adelaide, and it was a hot start for the Sky Blues on the scoreboard as well when a long-range strike from Terry McFlynn from outside the area beat the diving efforts of Galekovic to hit the corner of the adelaide net in just the second minute. Sydney continued to press home their advantage, and the lead doubled shortly after the half hour when a cross from Tony Popovic hit Alex Brosque, enabling him to send home the goal from close range. In the hot weather, and having played a midweek Asian Champions League match, the Reds were tired and never looked like getting back into the contest. And Brendan Santalab made the most of his opportunity with just 10 minutes to go to add another and give Sydney a 3-0 lead and a shot at top spot. Sydney FC 3 (T McFlynn 2, A Brosque 34, B Santalab 79. Adelaide United 0. Yellow Cards : Sydney - Nil. Adelaide - P Reid 20, S Ognenovski 62. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 12,462 at Sydney Football Stadium. |
| Honours were shared in an entertaining contest at Central Coast Stadium, a match that again proved a game is never over until the final whistle is blown. It was 1-1 at the break, with Matt Simon and Archie Thompson getting on the scoresheet. But the game shifted momentum shortly before the hour mark when Victory keeper Michael Theoklitos collided with Mariners' forward Sasho Petrovski; with referee Peter Green having no hesitation in pulling out the red card to banish Theoklitos from the pitch. The Mariners continued to press, and were rewarded in the 84th minute when Matt Simon headed the ball, rebounding off the crossbar over the line to put the Mariners 2-1 ahead. A man up, with the home crowd singing, it was looking like the Mariners were set to take all 3 points; but deep in injury time Archie Thompson made a break and beat the diving save of Mark Bosnich to salvage a point, break the Mariners' hearts, and ensure the Victory would remain on top of the table. Central Coast Mariners 2 (M Simon 12,84). Melbourne Victory 2 (A Thompson 16,90). Yellow Cards : Mariners - Nil. Victory - M Kemp 71. Red Cards : Victory - M Theoklitos 57. Referee - P Green. Crowd - 9,010 at Bluetongue Stadium. A crowd of just 4,433, the lowest crowd ever to attend an A-League match in Australia, came along to Members Equity Stadium as the struggling Perth Glory took on Wellington Phoenix. But the Glory faithful were to be rewarded, with the home side taking out their first victory of the season. It was a game of few highlights, but after a lacklustre first half the Glory began to assert themselves after half-time; dominating possession and creating plenty of scoring chances. But frustration was beginning to set in as the Glory failed to convert their opportunities, until the 77th minute when striker Eugene Dadi was brought down inside the box. Holding his composure and making no mistake from the spot, Dadi converted the penalty kick to give the Glory their first win and send the small crowd into vocal raptures. Perth Glory 1 (E Dadi 78pen). Wellington Phoenix 0. Yellow Cards : Glory - J Harnwell 13, N Topor-Stanley 63. Phoenix - R Johnson 27, T Lochhead 44, J McKain 77. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 4,433 at Members Equity Stadium. |
| ROUND 6 FIXTURES Friday 26th September Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory (Bluetongue Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 27th September Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets (Hindmarsh Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 28th September Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC (Westpac Stadium, 3:00pm) Melbourne Victory v Queensland Roar (Telstra Dome, 5:00pm) ROUND 7 FIXTURES Friday 3rd October Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners (Hindmarch Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 4th October Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory (Telstra Dome, 5:00pm) Sydney FC v Queensland Roar (Sydney Football Stadium, 7:00pm Monday 6th October Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix (Energy Australia Stadium, 3:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |