Perth Glory had an opportunity to leap-frog Melbourne Victory into the top three when they took
on Adelaide at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night. And the Glory did exactly that as a late
effort by Victor Sikora got them over the line 1-0.
The Glory should have taken the lead after just four minutes when Branko Jelic found himself at the
edge of the area with only the keeper to beat, but squandered the chance as it sailed over the
goals. It was part of a bright opening by the Glory, and not long afterwards Adrian Pellegrino had a
shot at goal, but it went straight into the arms of Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic.
But eventually the Reds’ defence organised itself and kept the Glory at bay through what then
became a defensive first half in which few chances were set up, none were taken, and the game
was still locked scoreless at half time.
The Reds, barely creating a chance in the first half, had a chance to take the lead in the opening
minutes of the second half, but Mark Rudan’s header was denied by Glory keeper Tando Velaphi. It
was the first of a number of spectacular saves by Velaphi, who during the course of that half also
denied Lloyd Owusu, Fabian Farbiero and; most spectacular of all; a high pinpoint jump to keep a
strike from Kristian Sarkies out of the net.
The Reds had the Glory under pressure, but the Glory created chances on the counter. And with
ten minutes to go, a cross by substitute Eugene Dadi landed at the feet of Dutch import Victor
Sikora, who slammed the ball home to give the Glory the lead.
There were anxious moments at the end, after Andy Todd’s second yellow saw the Glory reduced
to ten men for the final minute plus an agonising six minutes of time added on. But the Glory hung
on for a well-earned three points.
Perth Glory 1 (V Sikora 80)
Adelaide United 0.
Glory – T Velaphi, C Coyne, J Coyne, N Sekulovski, A Todd (sent off 89), T Howarth, A Pellegrino,
V Sikora (S Neville 90+1), W Srhoj (A Jukic 77), M Sterjovski, B Jelic (E Dadi 77). Sub not used – A
Vrteski.
Reds – E Galekovic, R Cornthwaite, Cassio, I Fyfe, S Jamieson, M Rudan, F Barbiero (Cristiano 82), T
Dodd, A Hughes, K Sarkies, L Owusu (M Leckie 78). Subs not used – M Birighitti, Alamao.
Yellow Cards : Glory – M Sterjovski 13, A Todd 43,89, W Srhoj 51. Reds – R Cornthwaite 22, M
Rudan 33.
Red Cards : Glory – A Todd 89.
Referee – C Beath. Crowd – 9,462 at Members Equity Stadium.
It was a perfect start for the Central Coast Mariners on Sunday afternoon when they scored in the
opening minute, but in the end the Mariners would be forced to settle for a draw against the North
Queensland Fury after a late equaliser.
While the latecomers were still making their way to their seats, the match kicked off. From the kick-
off, an errant back-pass by the Fury was swooped on by Matt Simon, who slammed the ball long
and straight into the Fury net; and with just 15 seconds on the clock, the home side was already in
the lead.
After the early goal, the rest of the first half didn’t reach any great heights. There were few
attacking opportunities for either side. And on the half hour mark, Scott Wilson went down injured,
forcing the Fury into an early substitution and into re-organising their defence. Conditions were
warm and humid, and the pitch was in poor condition, making it difficult for either team to
penetrate the other’s half to create scoring chances.
The Mariners, having started the game with a goal in the opening minute, went close to doubling
their lead in the opening minute of the second term; but the assistant referee’s flag went up to
indicate, correctly, that Adam Kwasnik was offside when he headed the ball into the Fury net.
By the hour, the Fury had lifted and began to get a greater share of possession than the Mariners.
Fred Agius, after an indifferent first half, had been subbed off; and David Williams looked dangerous,
twice forcing Mariners’ keeper Danny Vukovic into desperate saves.
With 14 minutes to go, and momentum looking to be swinging the Fury’s way, a corner by Robbie
Fowler was picked up by Daniel McBreen, who put the ball beyond Vukovic’s save, the ball bouncing
off the upright and landing into the Mariners’ net to level the scores.
With scores tied up, the game petered out and neither side showed any real urgency to try to
snatch a late winner. And so an ordinary game in difficult conditions finished with honours shared.
Central Coast Mariners 1 (M Simon 1)
North Queensland Fury 1 (D McBreen 76).
Mariners – D Vukovic, P Bojic, M Boogaard, D D’Apuzzo (D Macallister 65), C Doig (A Clark 46), D
Heffernan, A Wilkinson, B Porter, N Travis (M Crowell 72), A Kwasnik, M Simon. Sub not used – A
Redmayne.
Fury – P Henderson, R Middleby, C Tadrosse, J Tambouras, S Wilson (C Grossman 32), F Agius (D
Williams 52), R Griffiths, J Spagnuolo (D Daal 72), R Fowler, D McBreen, J Robinson. Sub not used –
J Pasfield.
Yellow Cards : Mariners – Nil. Fury – D McBreen 18.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee - R Shepheard. Crowd – 8,042 at Bluetongue Stadium.
Gold Coast defeated Brisbane away for the second time this season when the competition
newcomers scored on the half hour mark to take a 1-0 win over the Roar in front of a disappointing
crowd of 8,882 at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The match was overshadowed by the Roar’s suspension of coach Frank Farina. Farina was pulled up
for drink driving on Saturday morning, and in the aftermath of the charge he was stood down
pending a decision this week on his future.
Gold Coast were without Jason Culina and Shane Smeltz, both absent on national team duty, and in
their absence it was a struggle for them in the early stages; and the Roar spent much of the first
half in Gold Coast’s half of the ground. But for their efforts, they didn’t put Gold Coast keeper Jess
Vanstratten under any real pressure.
Against the run of play on the half hour mark, it was Gold Coast who got on the scoreboard. Tahj
Minniecon took a free kick from outside the area, which was collected on the head by Roar
defender Bob Malcolm. But, unable to control the ball, his header landed at the feet of Joel Porter,
who had no trouble in striking the ball hard and straight into the Roar net.
The Roar got the ball into the Gold Coast net during injury time in the first half, with Sergio Van Dijk
getting the ball home, but obstruction behind the play saw the goal disallowed. And early in the
second half, it took an acrobatic save by Jess Vanstratten to keep a strike by Tommy Oar out of the
net.
But Gold Coast rode out the storm, and the game petered out in the late stages, with the Roar
struggling to create half-chances for an equaliser after that. In the late stages of the game, off-field
events would again overshadow the on-field action as Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer needed to be
treated by paramedics in the grandstand. But the game wound down, and Gold Coast had taken a
valuable three points to move to second place on the ladder.
Brisbane Roar 0
Gold Coast United 1 (J Porter 31).
Roar – L Reddy, L DeVere, I Franjic, B Malcolm, J McCloughan, M Karlovic, M McKay, M Nichols (I
Cernak 63), Reinaldo, T Oar (A Sarota 72), S Van Dijk.
United – J Vanstratten, Anderson, S Pantelidis, K Rees, M Thwaite, A Traore (S Fitzsimmons 33), B
Van den Brink, Robson, Z Caravella, T Minniecon (G-G Mebrahtu 87), J Porter (Milson 61).
Yellow Cards : Roar – J McCloughan 42, M Nichols 63, M McKay 67, M Karlovic 71. United – S
Fitzsimmons 75.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – B Williams. Crowd – 8,882 at Suncorp Stadium.
on Adelaide at Members Equity Stadium on Friday night. And the Glory did exactly that as a late
effort by Victor Sikora got them over the line 1-0.
The Glory should have taken the lead after just four minutes when Branko Jelic found himself at the
edge of the area with only the keeper to beat, but squandered the chance as it sailed over the
goals. It was part of a bright opening by the Glory, and not long afterwards Adrian Pellegrino had a
shot at goal, but it went straight into the arms of Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic.
But eventually the Reds’ defence organised itself and kept the Glory at bay through what then
became a defensive first half in which few chances were set up, none were taken, and the game
was still locked scoreless at half time.
The Reds, barely creating a chance in the first half, had a chance to take the lead in the opening
minutes of the second half, but Mark Rudan’s header was denied by Glory keeper Tando Velaphi. It
was the first of a number of spectacular saves by Velaphi, who during the course of that half also
denied Lloyd Owusu, Fabian Farbiero and; most spectacular of all; a high pinpoint jump to keep a
strike from Kristian Sarkies out of the net.
The Reds had the Glory under pressure, but the Glory created chances on the counter. And with
ten minutes to go, a cross by substitute Eugene Dadi landed at the feet of Dutch import Victor
Sikora, who slammed the ball home to give the Glory the lead.
There were anxious moments at the end, after Andy Todd’s second yellow saw the Glory reduced
to ten men for the final minute plus an agonising six minutes of time added on. But the Glory hung
on for a well-earned three points.
Perth Glory 1 (V Sikora 80)
Adelaide United 0.
Glory – T Velaphi, C Coyne, J Coyne, N Sekulovski, A Todd (sent off 89), T Howarth, A Pellegrino,
V Sikora (S Neville 90+1), W Srhoj (A Jukic 77), M Sterjovski, B Jelic (E Dadi 77). Sub not used – A
Vrteski.
Reds – E Galekovic, R Cornthwaite, Cassio, I Fyfe, S Jamieson, M Rudan, F Barbiero (Cristiano 82), T
Dodd, A Hughes, K Sarkies, L Owusu (M Leckie 78). Subs not used – M Birighitti, Alamao.
Yellow Cards : Glory – M Sterjovski 13, A Todd 43,89, W Srhoj 51. Reds – R Cornthwaite 22, M
Rudan 33.
Red Cards : Glory – A Todd 89.
Referee – C Beath. Crowd – 9,462 at Members Equity Stadium.
It was a perfect start for the Central Coast Mariners on Sunday afternoon when they scored in the
opening minute, but in the end the Mariners would be forced to settle for a draw against the North
Queensland Fury after a late equaliser.
While the latecomers were still making their way to their seats, the match kicked off. From the kick-
off, an errant back-pass by the Fury was swooped on by Matt Simon, who slammed the ball long
and straight into the Fury net; and with just 15 seconds on the clock, the home side was already in
the lead.
After the early goal, the rest of the first half didn’t reach any great heights. There were few
attacking opportunities for either side. And on the half hour mark, Scott Wilson went down injured,
forcing the Fury into an early substitution and into re-organising their defence. Conditions were
warm and humid, and the pitch was in poor condition, making it difficult for either team to
penetrate the other’s half to create scoring chances.
The Mariners, having started the game with a goal in the opening minute, went close to doubling
their lead in the opening minute of the second term; but the assistant referee’s flag went up to
indicate, correctly, that Adam Kwasnik was offside when he headed the ball into the Fury net.
By the hour, the Fury had lifted and began to get a greater share of possession than the Mariners.
Fred Agius, after an indifferent first half, had been subbed off; and David Williams looked dangerous,
twice forcing Mariners’ keeper Danny Vukovic into desperate saves.
With 14 minutes to go, and momentum looking to be swinging the Fury’s way, a corner by Robbie
Fowler was picked up by Daniel McBreen, who put the ball beyond Vukovic’s save, the ball bouncing
off the upright and landing into the Mariners’ net to level the scores.
With scores tied up, the game petered out and neither side showed any real urgency to try to
snatch a late winner. And so an ordinary game in difficult conditions finished with honours shared.
Central Coast Mariners 1 (M Simon 1)
North Queensland Fury 1 (D McBreen 76).
Mariners – D Vukovic, P Bojic, M Boogaard, D D’Apuzzo (D Macallister 65), C Doig (A Clark 46), D
Heffernan, A Wilkinson, B Porter, N Travis (M Crowell 72), A Kwasnik, M Simon. Sub not used – A
Redmayne.
Fury – P Henderson, R Middleby, C Tadrosse, J Tambouras, S Wilson (C Grossman 32), F Agius (D
Williams 52), R Griffiths, J Spagnuolo (D Daal 72), R Fowler, D McBreen, J Robinson. Sub not used –
J Pasfield.
Yellow Cards : Mariners – Nil. Fury – D McBreen 18.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee - R Shepheard. Crowd – 8,042 at Bluetongue Stadium.
Gold Coast defeated Brisbane away for the second time this season when the competition
newcomers scored on the half hour mark to take a 1-0 win over the Roar in front of a disappointing
crowd of 8,882 at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The match was overshadowed by the Roar’s suspension of coach Frank Farina. Farina was pulled up
for drink driving on Saturday morning, and in the aftermath of the charge he was stood down
pending a decision this week on his future.
Gold Coast were without Jason Culina and Shane Smeltz, both absent on national team duty, and in
their absence it was a struggle for them in the early stages; and the Roar spent much of the first
half in Gold Coast’s half of the ground. But for their efforts, they didn’t put Gold Coast keeper Jess
Vanstratten under any real pressure.
Against the run of play on the half hour mark, it was Gold Coast who got on the scoreboard. Tahj
Minniecon took a free kick from outside the area, which was collected on the head by Roar
defender Bob Malcolm. But, unable to control the ball, his header landed at the feet of Joel Porter,
who had no trouble in striking the ball hard and straight into the Roar net.
The Roar got the ball into the Gold Coast net during injury time in the first half, with Sergio Van Dijk
getting the ball home, but obstruction behind the play saw the goal disallowed. And early in the
second half, it took an acrobatic save by Jess Vanstratten to keep a strike by Tommy Oar out of the
net.
But Gold Coast rode out the storm, and the game petered out in the late stages, with the Roar
struggling to create half-chances for an equaliser after that. In the late stages of the game, off-field
events would again overshadow the on-field action as Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer needed to be
treated by paramedics in the grandstand. But the game wound down, and Gold Coast had taken a
valuable three points to move to second place on the ladder.
Brisbane Roar 0
Gold Coast United 1 (J Porter 31).
Roar – L Reddy, L DeVere, I Franjic, B Malcolm, J McCloughan, M Karlovic, M McKay, M Nichols (I
Cernak 63), Reinaldo, T Oar (A Sarota 72), S Van Dijk.
United – J Vanstratten, Anderson, S Pantelidis, K Rees, M Thwaite, A Traore (S Fitzsimmons 33), B
Van den Brink, Robson, Z Caravella, T Minniecon (G-G Mebrahtu 87), J Porter (Milson 61).
Yellow Cards : Roar – J McCloughan 42, M Nichols 63, M McKay 67, M Karlovic 71. United – S
Fitzsimmons 75.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – B Williams. Crowd – 8,882 at Suncorp Stadium.
| Since the A-League began, Sydney FC have found hated rivals Melbourne Victory to be a bogey team, and the Sky Blues had never won in Melbourne. Until Friday night, when the curse was finally broken with Sydney FC completing a 3-0 win. It could have been a different story had Ney Fabiano made anything of a chance he was handed in just the third minute, but he sprayed his shot high over the goal. But instead, a devastating five-minute burst would decide the game. In the 15th minute, a cross from Simon Colosimo found Alex Brosque, who put in a well-timed header to nod the ball past Glenn Moss into the Victory net for the opening goal. Barely a minute later, Mark Bridge stunned the Victory with a strike from the edge of the area into the corner of the net; and Sydney FC found themselves with a shock 2-0 advantage. And it took just a couple more minutes for the Sky Blues to come up with a third, with a corner from Shannon Cole finding the feet of Bridge, who toed his second goal through. The Victory were stunned, looking down the barrel of a loss to their bitter rivals at home for the first time. The Sky Blues were high on confidence after their three-goal burst, and it was all the Victory could do to stop the rot and prevent the visitors from adding to their goal tally during the remainder of the half. The Victory attempted to get back into the contest in the second half, and substitute Evan Berger had a golden opportunity to get one goal back. But Berger was denied by an acrobatic save from Clint Bolton; maintaining his clean sheet for the night. Time ticked down, and Sydney FC counted down to a memorable victory, extending their lead at the top of the ladder and finally getting bragging rights in Melbourne for the first time. Melbourne Victory 0 Sydney FC 3 (A Brosque 15, M Bridge 16,19). Victory – G Moss, M Kemp (E Berger 65), A Leijer, K Muscat, R Vargas, L Broxham (G Brebner 46), C Hernandez, S Sukha, N Fabiano, R Kruse (T Pondeljak 36), A Thompson. Sub not used – M Langerak. Sydney – C Bolton, S-H Byun, S Cole, S Colosimo, S Ryall, S Corica, K Kisel (B Gan 65), T McFlynn, S Musialik, M Bridge (J Aloisi 77), A Brosque (M Jurman 86). Sub not used – I Necevski. Yellow Cards : Victory – R Kruse 32, K Muscat 86. Sydney – S Colosimo 40. Red Cards – Nil. Referee - P Green. Crowd – 30,668 at Docklands. |
| ROUND 11 Friday 16th October Adelaide v Sydney (8:00pm) Saturday 17th October Brisbane v Central Coast (7:00pm) North Queensland v Wellington (9:00pm) Sunday 18th October Newcastle v Melbourne (3:00pm) Gold Coast v Perth (5:00pm) ROUND 12 Friday 23rd October Newcastle v Central Coast (8:00pm) Saturday 24th October Melbourne v Adelaide (7:00pm) North Queensland v Perth (9:00pm) Sunday 25th October Wellington v Gold Coast (3:00pm) Sydney v Brisbane (5:00pm) |
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