| HARBOURSPORT |
| A-LEAGUE |
| The A-League’s newest team was in action at the newest ground, with newcomers Melbourne Heart hosting Central Coast at AAMI Park on Thursday night. A-League organisers and the Heart would have been encouraged that more than 11,000 turned up on a weeknight, and the newcomers put up a solid showing but went down 1-0 to the Mariners. On 16 minutes, Alex Wilkinson broke through for the only goal of the game. A corner to John Hutchinson was pounced on by Wilkinson, his header beating the saving attempt by Heart keeper Clint Bolton into the corner of the net. The Mariners had plenty of chances to double the lead during the remainder of the first half, but were unable to capitalise. And in the second half, the Heart began to find their rhythm and threaten an equaliser. Michael Beauchamp lobbed a shot over the crossbar from close range, and on the hour Sibon’s free kick cleared the wall but sailed agonisingly wide. There would be no equaliser, no dream finish for the Heart; as the Mariners stood firm and defended their lead over the final stages of the game to record a valuable first-up win. Melbourne Heart 0 Central Coast Mariners 1 (A Wilkinson 16). Heart – C Bolton, M Marrone, S Colosimo, M Beauchamp, M Thompson, R Worm (A Behich 58), G Sibon, A Terra, J Skoko (E Babalj 68), N Kalmar (B Hamill 73), D Heffernan. Sub not used – P Zois. Mariners – J Vanstrattan, D McBreen (N Mrdja 90+2), P Dojic, B Porter, P Zwaanswijk, J Hutchinson, O Bozanik, M McGlinchey, A Wilkinson, M Simon, A Kwasnik (R Griffiths 68). Subs not used – M Ryan, M Lewis. Yellow Cards : Heart – D Heffernan 71, B Hamill 83, A Behich 86. Mariners – P Bojic 1, J Hutchinson 36, M Simon 72. Red Cards – Nil. Referee – C Beath. Crowd – 11,050 at AAMI Park. Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium was the venue for the A-League’s first draw of the 2010-11 season when the Reds and Newcastle played out a scoreless contest on Friday night. Newcastle were the better side for much of the contest, creating a couple of half-chances within the first five minutes and keeping the ball camped in Adelaide’s half for much of the first half. Adam D’ Apuzzo went close to scoring with a well-timed volley on 20 minutes, but was kept out by a superb athletic save by Eugene Galekovic. Shortly before the break, Kasey Wehrman went down inside the area, but despite the remonstrations from the Jets players, referee Gerard Parsons declined to award the penalty. The Reds lifted early in the second half, and found the back of the net on the hour. Van Dijk flicked a free kick on to Mullen, and his shot found the net; but the assistant put up the flag, ruling that Mullen was offside. |
| ROUND 2 Friday 13th August Wellington v Gold Coast (5:30pm) Newcastle v Melbourne Heart (8:00pm) Saturday 14th August Nth Queensland v Sydney FC (5:15pm) Melbourne Victory v Perth (7:30pm) Sunday 15th August Central Coast v Adelaide (3:00pm) ROUND 3 Friday 20th August Adelaide v Melbourne Heart (8:00pm) Saturday 21st August Perth v Newcastle (5:15pm) Brisbane v Sydney (7:30pm) Sunday 22nd August Wellington v Central Coast (1:00pm) Melb Victory v Nth Queensland (3:00pm) All times shown are Sydney time. |
The Jets attacked during the latter stages of the match, but a winner would not be forthcoming.
The score would remain deadlocked on 0-0, a disappointing result for both teams in front of a
disappointing crowd of just 8,479.
Adelaide United 0
Newcastle Jets 0
Reds – E Galekovic, N Boogaard, I Fyfe, D Mullen, Cassio, L Pantelis (I Shin 85), A Hughes, S Van Dijk, P Reid
(C Watson 85), I Ramsey, M Leckie. Subs not used – M Birighitti, F Monterosso.
Jets – B Kennedy, A D’Apuzzo, N Topor-Stanley (J Wheelhouse 42), L Milicevic, K Wehrman, M Bridges, R
Zadkovich, S Rooney (L Haliti), M Jesic, A Abbas (J Brockie 71). Sub not used – P Henderson.
Yellow Cards : Reds – M Leckie 43, P Reid 44. Jets – K Wehrman 75.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – G Parsons. Crowd – 8,479 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
A record A-League crowd in Perth packed out NIB Stadium, with the lure of former Liverpool legend
Robbie Fowler’s debut in his new Glory colours and the spice of the game being against Fowler’s
former club, North Queensland Fury. And the game lived up to expectations, a feast of
entertainment for the crowd. But it would be the same old story for the Glory that has plagued
them all too often, conceding a late goal to concede competition points.
The home crowd were in raptures after just 5 minutes when Branko Jelic found himself on the end
of a perfect cross from Adrian Pellegrino to slam home the opening score. But half an hour later the
game was back on level terms, Chris Payne pouncing on a sloppy defensive pass to drive the ball
into the Glory net.
It was 1-1 at the break, and shortly after the hour the Fury were in front. But soon afterwards the
lead was to change again, a powerful strike by Scott Neville and a header by Mile Sterjovski putting
the Glory in front.
As the minutes ticked down, the local crowd were anticipating a first-up victory. But in injury time,
they were to be denied. A free kick from just in front of the corner flag found Chris Grossman, who
silenced the home crowd by heading home the equaliser.
Perth Glory 3 (B Jelic 5, S Neville 73, M Sterjovski 79)
North Queensland Fury 3 (C Payne 35, D Williams 64, C Grossman 90+1)
Glory – T Velaphi, J Coyne, J Harnwell, J Burns, R Fowler (A Skorich 84), B Jelic (T Howarth 70), S Neville, S
McGarry, A Pellegrino, N Sekulovski, M Sterjovski. Subs not used – A Vrteski, A Jukic.
Fury – J Pasfield, E Akoto, M Hughes, G Edds, A Casey (J Spagnuolo 84), D Williams, C Grossman, Payne (D
Daal 77), S Storey, O Malik, I Cernak. Subs not used – M Ham, B Studman.
Yellow Cards : Glory – J Burns 25, M Sterjovski 29, N Sekulovski 65. Fury – E Akoto 24, E Storey 33, M
Hughes 45+2.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – K Docherty. Crowd – 16,019 at NIB Stadium.
The FFA’s decision to schedule the blockbuster Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory Grand Final replay up
against the other codes in the opening round backfired, with just 12,000 fans in attendance at the
Sydney Football Stadium. But the fans who did attend would see an entertaining match, with six
goals and plenty of open and attacking football.
After a subdued opening, with both sides feeling each other out, Sydney FC began to get on top
and made numerous attempts at penetrating the Victory goal. Shortly after the half hour, the
opening goal came. Victory skipper Kevin Muscat hesitated in his area, and Mark Bridge capitalised to
dispossess Muscat and centre a cross for Alex Brosque.
It was 1-0 at the break, and a few minutes later Sydney doubled their lead, Sydney skipper Terry
McFlynn catching the Victory defence napping to head the ball past Petkovic into the Victory net.
The 2-0 lead was a fair reflection of play so far, and it was looking like Sydney would cruise to
victory.
But in the blink of an eye, the game was turned on its head. A crazy 7-minute period saw the
Victory move from a 2-goal deficit into the lead. Tom Pondeljak found himself able to keep clear of
the Sydney defenders to twice cross the ball into the area. The first was headed home by Leigh
Broxham, and two minutes later Mate Dugandzic was on hand to slam the ball into the Sydney net.
And when Billy Celeski found the net, the Victory had achieved a remarkable comeback to lead a
game they never looked likely.
But there was to be one more twist in the tale. With just five minutes to go, substitute Shannon
Cole took a free kick from just outside the area. His kick cleared the wall, powering into the top
corner of the net to level the scores. Scores would remain level at the final whistle, honours shared
in this grand final rematch.
Click here to see Harboursport’s photo gallery from this match.
A Tale of Two Matches.
Sydney FC 3 (A Brosque 36, T McFlynn 53, S Cole 85)
Melbourne Victory 3 (L Broxham 66, M Dugandzic 68, B Celeski 73)
Sydney – L Reddy, S Ryall (S Cole 81), S Keller, H Foxe, S Musialik (R Grant 86), N Carle, A Brosque, T
McFlynn, M Bridge, S Jamieson (K Danning 76), S-H Byun. Sub not used – I Necevski.
Victory – M Petkovic, K Muscat, M Dugandzic (M Angulo 90+3), S Sukha (B Celeski 64), L Broxham, G
Brebner, R Vargas, T Pondeljak, C Hernandez (N Ward 88), E Berger, A Leijer. Sub not used – S Mattei.
Yellow Cards : Sydney – N Carle 35. Victory – R Vargas 58, B Celeski 86.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – M Breeze. Crowd – 12,106 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Gold Coast hosted Brisbane in an opening round local derby, but a disappointing crowd of barely
6,000 was on hand at Robina; a sign that Gold Coast would have plenty of work ahead of them in
2010-11 to make up for the loss of public support from their opening season.
On the pitch, keepers Glenn Moss and Michael Theoklitos were the standout performers in a
scoreless draw. The two former Melbourne Victory keepers were in strong form, both repelling
numerous attacking raids but maintaining clean sheets. Both sides created plenty of chances to
score, but neither was able to find the opposition net; as the game moved inevitably towards the
fourth draw of the opening round.
Gold Coast United 0
Brisbane Roar 0
United – G Moss, S Pantelidis (K Rees 32), M Thwaite, R Alves de Silva (G Mebrahtu 74), D Djulbic, S Smeltz,
J Culina, B Van den Brink, J Porter, T Minniecon (Z Caravella 58), A Traore. Sub not used – S Higgins.
Roar – M Theoklitos, M Smith, L DeVere, S Stefanutto, I Franjic, E Paartalu, K Barbarouses, M Murdocca (M
Nichols 86), Henrique (L Brattan 78), M McKay, T Broich. Subs not used – A Redmayne, M Susak.
Yellow Cards : United – A Traore 23, S Pantelidis 27, B Van den Brink 41, K Rees 90. Roar – M Smith 82.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – P Green. Crowd – 6,394 at Skilled Park.
The score would remain deadlocked on 0-0, a disappointing result for both teams in front of a
disappointing crowd of just 8,479.
Adelaide United 0
Newcastle Jets 0
Reds – E Galekovic, N Boogaard, I Fyfe, D Mullen, Cassio, L Pantelis (I Shin 85), A Hughes, S Van Dijk, P Reid
(C Watson 85), I Ramsey, M Leckie. Subs not used – M Birighitti, F Monterosso.
Jets – B Kennedy, A D’Apuzzo, N Topor-Stanley (J Wheelhouse 42), L Milicevic, K Wehrman, M Bridges, R
Zadkovich, S Rooney (L Haliti), M Jesic, A Abbas (J Brockie 71). Sub not used – P Henderson.
Yellow Cards : Reds – M Leckie 43, P Reid 44. Jets – K Wehrman 75.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – G Parsons. Crowd – 8,479 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
A record A-League crowd in Perth packed out NIB Stadium, with the lure of former Liverpool legend
Robbie Fowler’s debut in his new Glory colours and the spice of the game being against Fowler’s
former club, North Queensland Fury. And the game lived up to expectations, a feast of
entertainment for the crowd. But it would be the same old story for the Glory that has plagued
them all too often, conceding a late goal to concede competition points.
The home crowd were in raptures after just 5 minutes when Branko Jelic found himself on the end
of a perfect cross from Adrian Pellegrino to slam home the opening score. But half an hour later the
game was back on level terms, Chris Payne pouncing on a sloppy defensive pass to drive the ball
into the Glory net.
It was 1-1 at the break, and shortly after the hour the Fury were in front. But soon afterwards the
lead was to change again, a powerful strike by Scott Neville and a header by Mile Sterjovski putting
the Glory in front.
As the minutes ticked down, the local crowd were anticipating a first-up victory. But in injury time,
they were to be denied. A free kick from just in front of the corner flag found Chris Grossman, who
silenced the home crowd by heading home the equaliser.
Perth Glory 3 (B Jelic 5, S Neville 73, M Sterjovski 79)
North Queensland Fury 3 (C Payne 35, D Williams 64, C Grossman 90+1)
Glory – T Velaphi, J Coyne, J Harnwell, J Burns, R Fowler (A Skorich 84), B Jelic (T Howarth 70), S Neville, S
McGarry, A Pellegrino, N Sekulovski, M Sterjovski. Subs not used – A Vrteski, A Jukic.
Fury – J Pasfield, E Akoto, M Hughes, G Edds, A Casey (J Spagnuolo 84), D Williams, C Grossman, Payne (D
Daal 77), S Storey, O Malik, I Cernak. Subs not used – M Ham, B Studman.
Yellow Cards : Glory – J Burns 25, M Sterjovski 29, N Sekulovski 65. Fury – E Akoto 24, E Storey 33, M
Hughes 45+2.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – K Docherty. Crowd – 16,019 at NIB Stadium.
The FFA’s decision to schedule the blockbuster Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory Grand Final replay up
against the other codes in the opening round backfired, with just 12,000 fans in attendance at the
Sydney Football Stadium. But the fans who did attend would see an entertaining match, with six
goals and plenty of open and attacking football.
After a subdued opening, with both sides feeling each other out, Sydney FC began to get on top
and made numerous attempts at penetrating the Victory goal. Shortly after the half hour, the
opening goal came. Victory skipper Kevin Muscat hesitated in his area, and Mark Bridge capitalised to
dispossess Muscat and centre a cross for Alex Brosque.
It was 1-0 at the break, and a few minutes later Sydney doubled their lead, Sydney skipper Terry
McFlynn catching the Victory defence napping to head the ball past Petkovic into the Victory net.
The 2-0 lead was a fair reflection of play so far, and it was looking like Sydney would cruise to
victory.
But in the blink of an eye, the game was turned on its head. A crazy 7-minute period saw the
Victory move from a 2-goal deficit into the lead. Tom Pondeljak found himself able to keep clear of
the Sydney defenders to twice cross the ball into the area. The first was headed home by Leigh
Broxham, and two minutes later Mate Dugandzic was on hand to slam the ball into the Sydney net.
And when Billy Celeski found the net, the Victory had achieved a remarkable comeback to lead a
game they never looked likely.
But there was to be one more twist in the tale. With just five minutes to go, substitute Shannon
Cole took a free kick from just outside the area. His kick cleared the wall, powering into the top
corner of the net to level the scores. Scores would remain level at the final whistle, honours shared
in this grand final rematch.
Click here to see Harboursport’s photo gallery from this match.
A Tale of Two Matches.
Sydney FC 3 (A Brosque 36, T McFlynn 53, S Cole 85)
Melbourne Victory 3 (L Broxham 66, M Dugandzic 68, B Celeski 73)
Sydney – L Reddy, S Ryall (S Cole 81), S Keller, H Foxe, S Musialik (R Grant 86), N Carle, A Brosque, T
McFlynn, M Bridge, S Jamieson (K Danning 76), S-H Byun. Sub not used – I Necevski.
Victory – M Petkovic, K Muscat, M Dugandzic (M Angulo 90+3), S Sukha (B Celeski 64), L Broxham, G
Brebner, R Vargas, T Pondeljak, C Hernandez (N Ward 88), E Berger, A Leijer. Sub not used – S Mattei.
Yellow Cards : Sydney – N Carle 35. Victory – R Vargas 58, B Celeski 86.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – M Breeze. Crowd – 12,106 at Sydney Football Stadium.
Gold Coast hosted Brisbane in an opening round local derby, but a disappointing crowd of barely
6,000 was on hand at Robina; a sign that Gold Coast would have plenty of work ahead of them in
2010-11 to make up for the loss of public support from their opening season.
On the pitch, keepers Glenn Moss and Michael Theoklitos were the standout performers in a
scoreless draw. The two former Melbourne Victory keepers were in strong form, both repelling
numerous attacking raids but maintaining clean sheets. Both sides created plenty of chances to
score, but neither was able to find the opposition net; as the game moved inevitably towards the
fourth draw of the opening round.
Gold Coast United 0
Brisbane Roar 0
United – G Moss, S Pantelidis (K Rees 32), M Thwaite, R Alves de Silva (G Mebrahtu 74), D Djulbic, S Smeltz,
J Culina, B Van den Brink, J Porter, T Minniecon (Z Caravella 58), A Traore. Sub not used – S Higgins.
Roar – M Theoklitos, M Smith, L DeVere, S Stefanutto, I Franjic, E Paartalu, K Barbarouses, M Murdocca (M
Nichols 86), Henrique (L Brattan 78), M McKay, T Broich. Subs not used – A Redmayne, M Susak.
Yellow Cards : United – A Traore 23, S Pantelidis 27, B Van den Brink 41, K Rees 90. Roar – M Smith 82.
Red Cards – Nil.
Referee – P Green. Crowd – 6,394 at Skilled Park.
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