As the Isuzu UTE A-League season reaches its crescendo, Tom Smithies picks out the matches which could prove decisive.
The marathon is slowly turning into a series of sprints. The finishing line that looked last October far in the distance is now getting closer and closer by the minute.
The maths for every team, whether chasing the Premier’s Plate or a place in the top six, gets more acute with every passing round, and more and more games get inevitably dubbed “crunch” ties.
With just two weekends left in the regular season, these are the games that could prove decisive in the final reckoning.
Central Coast v Western United
Saturday April 30, Central Coast Stadium, 4.05pm
You want a game with real meaning? Head to Gosford this weekend to feel the tension. The Mariners know a win would put them within touching distance of securing a place in the finals, and just a point outside the top four as they hunt a home final. But after all the chasing down that Western United have done of Melbourne City’s lead at the top, this is the game where they can go top for the first time in eight games and be in pole position to secure the Premier’s Plate.
Macarthur v Newcastle Jets
Sunday May 1, Campbelltown Stadium, 4.05pm
The Jets maybe all but out of the finals race but they still have a huge king-making role to play. First up is this trip to the south-west of Sydney, to face a Macarthur side that has badly lost its way in recent weeks. Having sat in the top two for almost the whole of the first 11 games, Ante Milicic’s side has subsided to seventh in the weeks since – and the news that Milicic will leave at the end of the season is hardly likely to stabilise things. Defeat to the Jets would hole the Bulls dangerously close to the waterline.
Newcastle Jets v Western United and Perth Glory v Melbourne City
Wednesday May 4, McDonald Jones Stadium, 7.05pm followed by
Wednesday May 4, HBF Park, 9.05pm
Depending on how Western United go against the Mariners, this could be a red-letter day for this season’s A-League – with an array of outcomes possible, including the identity of the Premiers becoming clear, or the competition being set up for a final-round decision day.
City return from weeks away at the Asian Champions League having watched Western whittle away their lead at the top of the table – and this will be Patrick Kisnorbo’s side’s seventh game in 21 days.
Who will blink first in the race for the Premier’s Plate? Just about the only thing we can be sure of is that a Victorian side will be the answer.
Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory
Saturday May 7, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, 7.45pm
A-League schedulers put this game in the fixture list at this point in the hope it would have big implications for the title race – instead it has a macabre fascination for Sydney FC fans who have grown so used to success over recent years. At best the Sky Blues will be fighting to keep a place in the finals within their grasp; at worst they could already have been ruled out. Melbourne Victory, on the other hand, are on a club record unbeaten run of 13 games, and can enjoy the misery of their oldest rivals – especially at a ground where four years ago Victory were humbled 6-0 in a semifinal.
