With under four weeks to go until kick-off in season nine of the Hyundai A-League pre-season stepped up a gear overnight with six teams taking part in friendlies.
With under four weeks to go until kick-off in season nine of the Hyundai A-League pre-season stepped up a gear overnight with six teams taking part in friendlies.
Brisbane Roar 1 – 0 Melbourne Victory
A late goal from Kwame Yeboah proved the match winner as Brisbane Roar defeated Melbourne Victory 1-0 in a pre-season fixture at North Ipswich Reserve.
The Roar enjoyed the lion-s share of possession throughout the afternoon but couldn-t break through until the 83rd minute.
The away side had the first real opportunity of the match but Victory striker Andrew Nabbout sent the ball high after rounding Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theo.
But the Roar enjoyed most of the attacking chances of the first half with the Victory relying strongly on their counter attacks.
A number of near misses had frustrated Kwame Yeboah all afternoon but in the dying minutes he was able to smartly control a chipped ball, before curling the ball past the out stretched Victory keeper to break the deadlock.
Newcastle Jets 1 – 0 Sydney FC
Newcastle Jets defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in a pre-season trial match at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on Saturday night.
After a tight opening half where both sides created chances to score, the Jets started strongly after the interval and took the lead through Virgili in the 53rd minute.
Michael Bridges showed sharp footwork to turn his defender near the halfway line, before playing a delightful through ball to Virgili.
The pacey winger took on Sydney FC defender Tiago Calvano, before side-footing a perfectly placed shot past Janjetovic-s near post and into the bottom corner.
The inevitable onslaught of second half substitutions from both camps broke up the tempo of the match after the 60th minute, with both sides taking a while to settle back into the contest after a raft of changes.
Despite some late pressure from the Sky Blues, the Jets were able to hang on and secure a 1-0 victory.
Perth Glory 1 – 1 Melbourne Heart
A superb late strike from Steven McGarry earned Glory a share of the spoils from Saturday’s pre-season clash with Melbourne Heart which was friendly in name only.
Referee David Bruce dished out no fewer than nine yellow cards at a rain and wind-lashed Hyundai Stadium in Mandurah, with Glory defender Steve Pantelidis picking up two of those and making a premature exit just before half-time.
Heart eventually made their numerical superiority count when Harry Kewell fired home from the edge of the box on 84 minutes, but as the final whistle loomed, McGarry produced a stunning finish of his own from some 25 metres out to lock things up at 1-1.
The first-half was light-on in terms of clear-cut goalscoring chances as both sides struggled to adapt to the wild weather conditions, but there was plenty of niggle right from the outset and it culminated in Pantelidis’ dismissal on 40 minutes.
After the break, Heart seemed to enjoy playing into the wind more than they had with it at their backs and duly carved out several decent opportunities in front of goal.
Vukovic was powerless to prevent Heart from taking the lead with six minutes left, however, Dugandzic rolling a free-kick into the path of Kewell who fired low into the bottom corner.
But just as Heart seemed set to avenge Wednesday’s defeat at the hands of their A-League rivals, McGarry trumped Kewell with an even more impressive effort and secured a battling draw for the hosts.
