Sydney assumed top position on the Hyundai A-League table with a 2-1 win over Brisbane after Gold Coast was stunned 6-0 by a resurgent Wellington.
Results – Round 12
NEWCASTLE JETS 2, Central Coast Mariners 1
MELBOURNE VICTORY 3, Adelaide United 1
NORTH QUEENSLAND FURY 2, Perth Glory 1
WELLINGTON PHOENIX 6, Gold Coast United 0
SYDNEY FC 2, Brisbane Roar 1
Game Wraps
Sydney assumed top position on the Hyundai A-League table with a 2-1 win over Brisbane after Gold Coast was stunned 6-0 by a resurgent Wellington.
In a thoroughly entertaining round of football, Sydney was handed a chance to take top spot when Gold Coast slipped up in dramatic fashion at Westpac Stadium, crashing to its worst-ever defeat.
Sydney ground out a win over Brisbane, under the care of Ange Postecoglou for the first time, thanks to goals from Alex Brosque and Karol Kisel, while Isaka Cernak pulled one back for the Roar. The victory moves Sydney to 22 points, one clear of second-placed Melbourne, while Brisbane now finds itself eighth.
Wellington came into the clash against Gold Coast on the back of six successive draws, but recorded the most impressive win in its history. Daniel opened the scoring on 28 minutes before the Phoenix went on a spree in the second half. Tim Brown made it 2-0 on 48 minutes, while two goals in as many minutes from Daniel and Chris Greenacre made it 4-0 on 53 minutes.
Paul Ifill, who had played a support role in three of the goals to that point, made it 5-0 on the hour, while Troy Hearfield completed the rout with a sixth on 83 minutes.
Melbourne continued its run of successes over Adelaide with a 3-1 win at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Mate Dugandzic, starting a game for the first time, scored two goals, one after 18 minutes and the second after 56. The Reds hit back through Adam Hughes just after the hour, but Victory sealed the win, and moved into second place, when Adrian Leijer headed home in the final minutes.
North Queensland notched its first ever home win after coming from behind to defeat Perth 2-1. The Glory looked set for victory when Victor Sikora scored on 25 minutes, but the home side hit back with goals from Robbie Fowler and Dyron Daal to snatch all three points.
The weekend’s opening match also produced an upset, with Newcastle defeating Central Coast 2-1 at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
All three goals came inside the first 20 minutes, with Michael Bridges and Labinot Haliti giving the Jets a 2-0 lead before Adam Kwasnik pulled a goal back for the Mariners.
Weekend Goals Tally: 19
Attendances (total / average): 48729/9745
Goal of the Week – Dyron Daal
The Fury striker has had his fair share of critics, but he will live in the history of the club as the man who secured the club’s first-ever home win. With the game poised at 1-1, Daal created space, then turned his opponent around and delivered a superb shot with his left which left Tando Velaphi no hope of saving.
Player of the Week – Paul Ifill
The Barbadian striker wrapped up a good weekend for Caribbean strikers with a virtuoso performance in Wellington’s stunning 6-0 success against Gold Coast. After setting up three goals, including a brilliant side footed pass to set up Daniel, Ifill put himself on the scoresheet on the hour with a cool finish. He continues to enhance his reputation as one of the best signings of this year.
One to Watch – Tommy Oar
Oar has been on opposition radars for some time, but this was his best performance is some time. Having spent time in Egypt with the Qantas Young Socceroos, he has come back in fine fettle and set up Brisbane’s only goal in Sunday’s loss to Sydney. He will no doubt be in the plans of Ange Postecoglou this season.
Leading Goalscorers after Round 12
10 – Shane Smeltz
6 – Robbie Fowler
5 – Archie Thompson, Carlos Hernandez
4 – John Aloisi, Mark Bridge, Branko Jelic, Victor Sikora, Sergio Van Dijk
3 – Tim Brown, Chris Greenacre, Henrique, Labinot Haliti, Lucas Pantelis, Reinaldo, Matt Simon, Mile Sterjovski
2 – Leo Bertos, Alex Brosque, Cassio, Steve Corica, Daniel Cortes, Cristiano, Jason Culina, Dyron Daal, Mate Dugandzic, Jason Hoffman, John Hutchinson, Paul Ifill, Adrian Leijer, Daniel Mcbreen, Adriano Pellegrino, Joel Porter, Matt Simon, Jin-Hyung Song, Wayne Srhoj, Nicky Travis,
1 – Danny Allsopp, Pedj Bojic, Nigel Boogaard, Grant Brebner, Michael Bridges, Isaka Cernak, Kofi Danning, Travis Dodd, Ney Fabiano, Steven Fitzsimmons, Iain Fyfe, Brendan Gan, Royston Griffiths, Chris Grossman, Troy Hearfield, Karol Kisel, Todd Howarth, Adam Hughes, , Paul Ifill, Adam Kwasnik, Matthew Leckie, Michael Mcglinchey, Terry Mcflynn, Charlie Miller, Tahj Minniecon, Milson, Craig Moore, Kevin Muscat, Jason Naidovski, Mitch Nichols, Lloyd Owusu, Tomislav Pondeljak, Sean Rooney, Ben Sigmund, John Tambouras, Matt Thompson, Danny Tiatto, Nick Ward, Alex Wilkinson
