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| Already ahead 2-0 after their easy away win in the first leg, Queensland Roar compounded the Mariners' misery as they took out a 2-1 win at Suncorp Stadium to progress through to their second straight preliminary final and to eliminate Central Coast from the 2008-09 A-League. The Mariners were on the back foot and needed an early goal to get their campaign back on track; and went close to getting one only to be denied by a spectacular save from Roar keeper Liam Reddy. And although the Mariners had the majority of possession in the first 15 minutes, they were unable to make any impression on the scoreboard. Against the run of play, it was the Roar who opened the scoring. The Roar ran the ball downfield on the counter, Sergio Van Dijk having a strike which was kept out by Mariners' keeper Danny Vukovic, only for the crumbs to spill to Matt Nichols who made no mistake to get the home side on the board. It was 1-0 at the break, but any hopes the Mariners may have had of making a comeback were dealt a fatal blow just 3 minutes into the second half. A cross from Nichols found the head of Matt McKay, who banged the ball into the Mariners' net like a dagger into the Central Coast heart. The Mariners continued to work hard, and did get one goal back shortly after the hour. It was a long-range strike from substitute Nick Mrdja from well outside the area that got Central Coast on the board. But, still being down 4-1 on aggregate, the Mariners needed another 3 goals to tie up the contrast and progress on away goals. But they were unable to manage another, the Roar happy to play out time and ensure they would be just one more game away from the grand final. Queensland Roar 2 (M Nichols 21, M McKay 48) Central Coast Mariners 1 (N Mrdja 64). Yellow Cards : Roar - Nil. Mariners - N Boogaard 38, P O'Grady 43, D Heffernan 80, J Hutchinson 85. Referee - P Green. Crowd - 24,705 at Suncorp 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 Minor Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Queensland Roar 2 Central Coast Mariners 1 Major Semi-Final - 2nd Leg Melbourne Victory 4 Adelaide United 0 Saturday 21st February Preliminary Final Adelaide United v Queenalnd Roar (Hindmarsh Stadium, 7:00pm) Saturday 28th February Grand Final Melbourne Victory v (Telstra Dome, 7:30pm) All times shown are Sydney time |
Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United for the 5th time in 2008-09, their 4-0 win being
more than enough to book themselves a home grand final while ensuring the Reds would have
to go through a sudden death preliminary final before they could get another crack at grand
final action and another appearance in Asia in 2010.
Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar's frustrations boiled over after the game, his press conference
referring to internal division within the club, and references to Adelaide as a "pissant town" will
do little to endear the Reds' mentor to his own supporters.
The Victory were already 2-0 ahead on aggregate, with 2 away goals, after the first leg at
Hindmarsh, and it took just 10 minutes for the Victory to extend their margin. A cross from
Carlos Hernandez made its way to the feet of Archie Thompson, who made no mistake in
threading the ball into the corner of the net.
It took less than 15 minutes for the Victory to go in again. This time, after passing the ball to
Nick Ward and getting it back, Hernandez went himself and Reds' keeper Eugene Galekovic
had no hope of keeping the ball out. And in the shadows of half-time, Hernandez was again in
the thick of the action, finding Danny Allsopp with only the keeper to beat and the Victory
found themselves 3-0 ahead at half-time.
Hernandez, who only arrived back in Australia the morning of the game after representing
Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifer midweek, was again instrumental early in the second half
with a cross to Tom Pondeljak to turn the game into a 4-0 rout. Hernandez, understandably
exhausted, was substituted not long after the fourth goal went in, to a standing ovation from
the crowd of nearly 35,000.
There were to be no more goals, but there was more disaster to come for Adelaide when
Cassio was booked for a second time and was banished from the field and will be suspended for
the Red's preliminary final clash with Queensland Roar at Hindmarsh next week.
The final result was 4-0 to the Victory, a comprehensive result that sees the Victory maintain
their dominance over Adelaide. The Reds return home humiliated and seemingly racked by
infighting, and it will take something special for them to regain their form and morale before
the preliminary final.
Melbourne Victory 4 (A Thompson 10, C Hernandez 24, D Allsopp 44, T Pondeljak 47)
Adelaide United 0
Yellow Cards : Victory - Nil. Reds - S Ognenovski 30, R Griffiths 53, Cassio 62,81, T Dodd 88.
Red Cards : Reds - Cassio 81.
Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 34,736 at Telstra Dome.
more than enough to book themselves a home grand final while ensuring the Reds would have
to go through a sudden death preliminary final before they could get another crack at grand
final action and another appearance in Asia in 2010.
Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar's frustrations boiled over after the game, his press conference
referring to internal division within the club, and references to Adelaide as a "pissant town" will
do little to endear the Reds' mentor to his own supporters.
The Victory were already 2-0 ahead on aggregate, with 2 away goals, after the first leg at
Hindmarsh, and it took just 10 minutes for the Victory to extend their margin. A cross from
Carlos Hernandez made its way to the feet of Archie Thompson, who made no mistake in
threading the ball into the corner of the net.
It took less than 15 minutes for the Victory to go in again. This time, after passing the ball to
Nick Ward and getting it back, Hernandez went himself and Reds' keeper Eugene Galekovic
had no hope of keeping the ball out. And in the shadows of half-time, Hernandez was again in
the thick of the action, finding Danny Allsopp with only the keeper to beat and the Victory
found themselves 3-0 ahead at half-time.
Hernandez, who only arrived back in Australia the morning of the game after representing
Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifer midweek, was again instrumental early in the second half
with a cross to Tom Pondeljak to turn the game into a 4-0 rout. Hernandez, understandably
exhausted, was substituted not long after the fourth goal went in, to a standing ovation from
the crowd of nearly 35,000.
There were to be no more goals, but there was more disaster to come for Adelaide when
Cassio was booked for a second time and was banished from the field and will be suspended for
the Red's preliminary final clash with Queensland Roar at Hindmarsh next week.
The final result was 4-0 to the Victory, a comprehensive result that sees the Victory maintain
their dominance over Adelaide. The Reds return home humiliated and seemingly racked by
infighting, and it will take something special for them to regain their form and morale before
the preliminary final.
Melbourne Victory 4 (A Thompson 10, C Hernandez 24, D Allsopp 44, T Pondeljak 47)
Adelaide United 0
Yellow Cards : Victory - Nil. Reds - S Ognenovski 30, R Griffiths 53, Cassio 62,81, T Dodd 88.
Red Cards : Reds - Cassio 81.
Referee - M Breeze. Crowd - 34,736 at Telstra Dome.