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| Melbourne Victory put themselves in the box seat to finish as minor premiers when they recorded a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix at Telstra Dome on Friday night. Wellington needed a win to have any hope of qualifying for the finals, and got off to a bright start. Ben Sigmund had a golden opportunity early which needed a fine save by Michael Theoklitos to prevent a score. Shane Smeltz and Leo Bertos both went for long-range strikes, but Theoklitos was again up to the task and the scores remained deadlocked. Against the run of play, the Victory opened the scoring shortly before half-time. Matthew Kemp went for a run inside the penalty area, to be brought down by Manny Muscat and Ben Sigmund. Referee Shane Delovski pointed to the spot, and Kevin Muscat made no mistake to put the Victory 1-0 ahead. Phoenix pressed hard for an equaliser after the break, and Jon McKain butchered a golden opportunity to score. But as the half went on, the equaliser appeared less likely as the Victory began to get a greater flow of possession. In injury time, Archie Thompson forced a turnover then struck to the corner of the net, leaving Phoenix keeper Glenn Moss no chance. The goal not only put the Victory win beyond doubt, but with the Victory having scored more goals than Adelaide this season, the Reds will need to beat Central Coast by 2 goals on Sunday to take top spot. Melbourne Victory 2 (K Muscat 40pen, A Thompson 90) Wellington Phoenix 0. Yellow Cards : Victory - D Allsopp, N Fabiano. Phoenix - Nil. Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 28,905 at Docklands. Queensland Roar needed a win to keep their chances of a top-2 finish alive, and they achieved that with a 4-2 home win over Perth Glory on Saturday night. The home crowd was silenced early when Nikita Rukavytsya weaved his way around the Roar defence before his strike hit the back of the net. But just 7 minutes later, the match was back on level terms when Van Dijk's header was blocked only for the ball to ricochet to the feet of Matthew Nicholls for the simplest of tap-ins. It was 1-1 at the break, but shortly after the hour Danny Tiatto put the home side in front; his long-range strike leaving Glory keeper Tando Velaphi no hope. 4 minutes later Anthony Skorich headed in an equaliser; but late goals to van Dijk and McCloughan were enough to give the Roar the points. Should Central Coast defeat or draw with Adelaide, the Roar will leap-frog the Reds into the top 2. Queensland Roar 4 (M Nicholls 28, D Tiatto 63, S Van Dijk 77, J McCloughan 82) Perth Glory 2 (N Rukavytsya 21, A Skorich 67). Yellow Cards : Roar - D Tiatto 66. Glory - V Sikora 25, S Neville 54. Referee - P O'Leary. Crowd - 17,367 at Suncorp Stadium. |
| FINALS FIXTURES - SEMI FINALS Friday 6th February Minor Semi-Final - 1st Leg Central Coast Mariners v Queensland Roar (Bluetongue Stadium, 8:00pm) Saturday 7th February Major Semi-Final - 1st Leg Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory (Hindmarsh Stadium, 7:00pm) Friday 13th February Minor Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Queensland Roar v Central Coast Mariners (Suncorp Stadium, 8:30pm) Saturday 14th February Major Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Melbourne Victory v Queensland Roar (Telstra Dome, 7:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
With neither side in finals contention, and with Newcastle having already wrapped up the
wooden spoon, the Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets match at the SFS on Sunday was a dead
rubber; which was reflected in the small crowd of less than 10,000 who generated less
atmosphere when normal.
But on the day, Sydney FC were too good, at least having something positive to finish their
2008/09 season with. A double from Alex Brosque in the first half laid the platform. The first
goal came when Brosque swooped on a perfectly-timed cross from Stuart Musialik, the second
being set up by Mark Bridge who found Brosque unmarked within scoring range.
It has been a disappointing season for Newcastle, going from first to last in a season; and the
Jets were never in the contest. More disappointment was to come with 15 minutes left on the
clock, when a cross from Iain Fyfe deflected off Newcastle's Mark Milligan for an own-goal. With
5 minutes to go, Mark Bridge put the icing on the cake; Sydney's 4-0 win giving their fans
something positive to finish the season with to leave them contemplating what might have
been had it not been for some dismal efforts earlier in the season.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this game.
Sydney FC 4 (A Brosque 12,40, M Milligan 76og, M Bridge 85)
Newcastle Jets 0.
Yellow Cards : Sydney - I Fyfe 21. Jets - Nil.
Referee - K Docherty. Crowd - 9,551 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Central Coast had little to play for, other than pride and the desire to continue momentum
before the finals, when they hosted Adelaide at Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday evening. The
Mariners were safe in 4th spot, but it was impossible for them to climb any higher. In contrast,
the stakes were higher for Adelaide. A loss or draw would see the Reds drop to 3rd and see
them miss out on the double-chance; while a win by 2 goals would see the Reds finish as minor
premiers and be the first to qualify for the Asian Champions League.
But, much as the Reds pressed hard for their 2-goal win, it would not be forthcoming. Central
Coast keeper Danny Vukovic time and time again denied the Reds with a series of outstanding
saves; while other scoring opportunities went sailing high or wide away from the goals. The
Mariners created few chances, but as the clock ticked by it was becoming more desperate for
the Reds and the nerves and pressure continued to build.
Finally in the 81st minute Cristiano broke through for the Reds to keep their hopes alive. But
although the Reds continued to keep Vukovic busy during the final minutes of the match,
there would be no second goal. The 1-0 win to Adelaide was enough to ensure the Reds took
the double-chance, but it will be Melbourne Victory who qualify first for Asia and will have the
advantage of having their home led second during the major semi-final series.
Central Coast Mariners 0
Adelaide United 1 (Cristiano 81).
Yellow Cards : Mariners - M Simon 74. Reds - F Barbiero 35, R Cornthwaite 45.
Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 12,351 at Bluetongue Stadium.
wooden spoon, the Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets match at the SFS on Sunday was a dead
rubber; which was reflected in the small crowd of less than 10,000 who generated less
atmosphere when normal.
But on the day, Sydney FC were too good, at least having something positive to finish their
2008/09 season with. A double from Alex Brosque in the first half laid the platform. The first
goal came when Brosque swooped on a perfectly-timed cross from Stuart Musialik, the second
being set up by Mark Bridge who found Brosque unmarked within scoring range.
It has been a disappointing season for Newcastle, going from first to last in a season; and the
Jets were never in the contest. More disappointment was to come with 15 minutes left on the
clock, when a cross from Iain Fyfe deflected off Newcastle's Mark Milligan for an own-goal. With
5 minutes to go, Mark Bridge put the icing on the cake; Sydney's 4-0 win giving their fans
something positive to finish the season with to leave them contemplating what might have
been had it not been for some dismal efforts earlier in the season.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this game.
Sydney FC 4 (A Brosque 12,40, M Milligan 76og, M Bridge 85)
Newcastle Jets 0.
Yellow Cards : Sydney - I Fyfe 21. Jets - Nil.
Referee - K Docherty. Crowd - 9,551 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Central Coast had little to play for, other than pride and the desire to continue momentum
before the finals, when they hosted Adelaide at Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday evening. The
Mariners were safe in 4th spot, but it was impossible for them to climb any higher. In contrast,
the stakes were higher for Adelaide. A loss or draw would see the Reds drop to 3rd and see
them miss out on the double-chance; while a win by 2 goals would see the Reds finish as minor
premiers and be the first to qualify for the Asian Champions League.
But, much as the Reds pressed hard for their 2-goal win, it would not be forthcoming. Central
Coast keeper Danny Vukovic time and time again denied the Reds with a series of outstanding
saves; while other scoring opportunities went sailing high or wide away from the goals. The
Mariners created few chances, but as the clock ticked by it was becoming more desperate for
the Reds and the nerves and pressure continued to build.
Finally in the 81st minute Cristiano broke through for the Reds to keep their hopes alive. But
although the Reds continued to keep Vukovic busy during the final minutes of the match,
there would be no second goal. The 1-0 win to Adelaide was enough to ensure the Reds took
the double-chance, but it will be Melbourne Victory who qualify first for Asia and will have the
advantage of having their home led second during the major semi-final series.
Central Coast Mariners 0
Adelaide United 1 (Cristiano 81).
Yellow Cards : Mariners - M Simon 74. Reds - F Barbiero 35, R Cornthwaite 45.
Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 12,351 at Bluetongue Stadium.