| HARBOURSPORT |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
|
| A-LEAGUE |
| Adelaide were left to rue the one that got away while the Mariners were buoyant at their salvage mission after Adelaide surrendered a 3-0 lead against Central Coast in just 18 minutes. A penalty to Travis Dodd got the Reds off to a flying start, with Cornthwaite adding another before the game was even 20 years old. And when Cristiano found space to slam home the Reds' third shortly before half time, they were in a comanding position. But the Mariners, showing a determination that has been a feature throughout their A-League existence, weren't beaten yet and worked their way back into the contest. A contentious penalty enabled Mile Jedinak to get the Mariners on the board, and just 9 minutes later Jedinak's long-range strike reduced the margin to 3-2. And with time running out, Reds' keeper Eugene Galekovic was caught out of position, enabling Matt Simon to pounce on the ball and level the scores. In the final moments of the game, the Mariners pressed for an unlikely winner. It wasn't to be, but turning a 3-0 deficit into a draw was a fine achievement by Central Coast. Adelaide United 3 (T Dodd 7pen, R Cornthwaite 19, Cristiano 50). Central Coast Mariners 3 (M Jedinak 66pen, 75, M Simon 84). Yellow Cards : Reds - Cristiano 31, A Costanzo 66, S Jamieson 73, R Ognenovski 79, R Cornthwaite 85. Mariners - A Clark 9, P Bojic 88. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 9,074 at Hindmarsh Stadium. A solid performance by Melbourne Victory, helped along by an error-riddled shocker from Perth Glory, gave the Melbourne side a comprehensive 4-0 win and outright top spot on the ladder. It took 25 minutes for the first to come, but it came after a bungled defensive clearance went straight to Grant Brebner. And shortly before half time the Victory doubled their lead when a shot from Danny Allsopp was blocked, only for the ball to rebound to Allsopp; and with the defenders out of position the goal was an obvious result. 2-0 down at half-time, the Glory needed to lift their game to have any hope of getting away with a result. But instead, within minutes of the restart, Vargas scored the Victory's third to put the game out of reach. Allsopp's second goal with 19 minutes to go completed the rout. Melbourne Victory 4 (G Brebner 25, D Allsopp 40,71 R Vargas 47). Perth Glory 0. Yellow Cards : Victory - Nil. Glory - J Harnwell 17, A Pellegrino 73. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 18,036 at Telstra Dome. |
| ROUND 8 FIXTURES Friday 17th October Queensland Roar v Adelaide United (Suncorp Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 18th October Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory (Energy Australia Stadium, 7:00pm) Sunday 19th October Central Coast Mariners v Wellington P'nix (Bluetongue Stadium, 3:00pm) Perth Glory v Sydney FC (Members Equity Stadium, 5:00pm) ROUND 9 FIXTURES Friday 24th October Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets (Bluetongue Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 25th October Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC (Telstra Dome, 7:00pm) Sunday 26th October Wellington Phoenix v Queensland Roar (Westpac Stadium, 3:00pm) Adelaide United v Perth Glory (Hindmarsh Stadium, 5:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
| A lacklustre first half in wet condiitions saw few scoring opportunities and little to get the crowd excited. But the game sprung to life just minutes after the break when Roar striker Charlie Miller fired a speculator from the edge of the box that beat the outstretched arms of Sydney keeper Clint Bolton into the corner of the net. The Roar were on a row, and created several chances over the next 20 minutes that would have put them into a virtually unbeatable position. But the chances went begging, going high, wide or straight into Bolton's gloves. The clock ticked down, with Sydney having few chances to get back into the game. But, with the clock deep in injury time, Stuart Musialik weaved his way around the Roar defence to make his way into the box. Slamming the ball with all the power he had, Musialik's strike hit the Roar net to salvage a point for the Sky Blues and break Queensland hearts. A game that had looked like a Roar win was suddenly a draw. Musalik's goal was against the run of play, but immensely valuable in keeping Sydney in the top 2. Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this game. Sydney FC 1 (S Musialik 90). Queensland Roar 1 (C Miller 48). Yellow Cards : Sydney - S Musalik 86. Roar - C Miller 45. Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 12,403 at Sydney Football Stadium. A public holiday clash in Newcastle saw the Jets and Phoenix fight out a 2-2 draw. It was a game of two distinct halves, the first dour and defensive, the second free-flowing, high scoring and producing a finish that would go down to the wire. It was scoreless at the break, but Shane Smeltz would step up to the penalty spot early in the second half to put the Phoenix ahead. That lead was to be short-lived however, with Tariq Elrich went long and beat Phoenix keeper Mark Paston to get the Jets on the board. The Jets hit the lead with 22 minutes to go when Kaz Patafta received a perfectly directed header from Zura to score from point blank range. But when the match was headed for a 2-1 win for Newcastle, the Phoenix had other ideas; and when Leilei Gao was brought down in the box with just moments to go, a chance had appeared to salvage a draw. Shane Smeltz stepped up and no mistake, and 2-2 was how it finished. Newcastle Jets 2 (T Elrich 59, K Patafta 68). Wellington Phoenix 2 (S Smeltz 52pen, 89pen). Yellow Cards : Jets - N Spencer 19, J Hakansson 45, T Elrich 49). Phoenix - Nil. Referee - C Zetter. Crowd - 8,492 at Energy Australia Stadium. |