| HARBOURSPORT |
| A-LEAGUE |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Just 9,514 people, the smallest crowd ever to attend an A- League finals match, were on hand at Central Coast Stadium; and the majority would go home disappointed after Queensland Roar continued their run of success on the Central Coast to take a 2-0 away win to gain a virtually insurmountable advantage in their minor semi-final tie. The Mariners started the match full of running, and with a bit of luck could have taken an early lead. A low shot by Dylan Macallister was saved by Roar keeper Liam Reddy inside the first minute, and not long later Macallister had another golden opportunity but after he had the keeper beaten sprayed the ball wide of the net. The Roar steadied, and having survived the early onslaught, began to work their way back into the match. But it wasn't until shortly after the half hour until the Queensland side got a genuine scoring opportunity. It came with a cross from Tahj Minniecon, which Mitch Nichols pounced on to head the ball into the Mariners' net to take the Roar to a 1-0 lead against the run of play. The Mariners had the majority of possession over the remainder of the first half, but were unable to create any serious scoring opportunities and the Roar came in 1-0 ahead at the break. The Roar started the better in the second half, and it took just 9 minutes to double their lead. The ball moved forward into the box, and Paul O'Grady brought down Mitch Nichols. Referee Ben Williams had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Sergio van Dijk made no mistake to slot home the penalty. With 2 important away goals in their keeping, and the match looking safe, the Roar were content to play out time. But suddenly at 75 minutes such a tactic became dangerous when Danny Tiatto was shown his second yellow card for the game and was ordered from the field. But despite the Mariners having the advantage of an extra player over the final 15 minutes, they never looked like getting a goal back. With a 2-0 away win in the first leg, the Roar have a huge advantage in the semi-final tie, and only a miracle on the road will see the Mariners survive beyong the second leg in Brisbane next week. Central Coast Mariners 0 Queensland Roar 2 (M Nichols 32, S van Dijk 54pen). Yellow Cards : Mariners - Nil. Roar - D Tiatto 33,75, A Packer 55, A Zullo 58. Red Cards : Roar - D Tiatto 75. Referee - B Williams. Crowd - 9,514 at Bluetongue Stadium. |
| FINALS FIXTURES - SEMI FINALS Minor Semi-Final - 1st Leg Central Coast Mariners 0 Queensland Roar 2 Major Semi-Final - 1st Leg Adelaide United 0 Melbourne Victory 2 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 |
Melbourne Victory are so close to their second home grand final they can smell it after the
Victory were untroubled in completing a 2-0 away win over Adelaide United in the first leg of
the Major Semi-Final at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Melbourne had won all three of their clashes against Adelaide during the home and away
season, and continued their dominance over the Reds early when they were on the board
after just 13 minutes. A long pass from Tom Pondeljak found Hernandez on the run, his long
range shot beating Eugene Galekovic's desperate save to hit the crossbar before just crossing
the line then bouncing back in the field of play. Just to make sure it was a score, Danny Allsopp
was there to head the ball home, but the referee ruled the ball had crossed the line and the
goal to Hernandez stood.
Spurred into action, the Reds began to attack, and could have added a quick reply just
minutes later; but Kristian Sarkies' shot was held out by an acrobatic save by Victory keeper
Michael Theoklitos. But against the run of play, the Victory went close to adding a second, but
a shot from Archie Thompson rebounded off one crossbar to hit the other. But, unlike the
earlier attempt from Hernandez, the ball didn't cross the line and no goal was awarded.
The second half saw the Reds dominate possession, but never seriously looked like finding a
way to tie up the contest. A series of half-chances and near misses kept interest going, but
the breakthrough to force an equaliser would elude the Reds.
With the clock ticking down, Danny Allsopp put the Reds out of their misery. Just one minute
of regulation time remained, when Danny Allsopp ran around Sasho Ognenovski in a one-on-
one contest before a beautifully timed strike was too quick and too accurate for Galekovic to
keep out.
With a 2-0 away win, Melbourne are in the box seat to qualify for their second home grand
final. Only a 3-goal loss in the return fixture in Melbourne next week, or 2-goal loss with the
Reds scoring 3 or more goals, would deny the Victory the result they are seeking through the
semi-final series.
Adelaide United 0
Melbourne Victory 2 (C Hernandex 13, D Allsopp 89).
Yellow Cards : Reds - S Ognenovski 5, S Jamieson 35. Victory - N Ward 50, K Muscat 53.
Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 14,119 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Victory were untroubled in completing a 2-0 away win over Adelaide United in the first leg of
the Major Semi-Final at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Melbourne had won all three of their clashes against Adelaide during the home and away
season, and continued their dominance over the Reds early when they were on the board
after just 13 minutes. A long pass from Tom Pondeljak found Hernandez on the run, his long
range shot beating Eugene Galekovic's desperate save to hit the crossbar before just crossing
the line then bouncing back in the field of play. Just to make sure it was a score, Danny Allsopp
was there to head the ball home, but the referee ruled the ball had crossed the line and the
goal to Hernandez stood.
Spurred into action, the Reds began to attack, and could have added a quick reply just
minutes later; but Kristian Sarkies' shot was held out by an acrobatic save by Victory keeper
Michael Theoklitos. But against the run of play, the Victory went close to adding a second, but
a shot from Archie Thompson rebounded off one crossbar to hit the other. But, unlike the
earlier attempt from Hernandez, the ball didn't cross the line and no goal was awarded.
The second half saw the Reds dominate possession, but never seriously looked like finding a
way to tie up the contest. A series of half-chances and near misses kept interest going, but
the breakthrough to force an equaliser would elude the Reds.
With the clock ticking down, Danny Allsopp put the Reds out of their misery. Just one minute
of regulation time remained, when Danny Allsopp ran around Sasho Ognenovski in a one-on-
one contest before a beautifully timed strike was too quick and too accurate for Galekovic to
keep out.
With a 2-0 away win, Melbourne are in the box seat to qualify for their second home grand
final. Only a 3-goal loss in the return fixture in Melbourne next week, or 2-goal loss with the
Reds scoring 3 or more goals, would deny the Victory the result they are seeking through the
semi-final series.
Adelaide United 0
Melbourne Victory 2 (C Hernandex 13, D Allsopp 89).
Yellow Cards : Reds - S Ognenovski 5, S Jamieson 35. Victory - N Ward 50, K Muscat 53.
Referee - S Delovski. Crowd - 14,119 at Hindmarsh Stadium.