Round 3 saw Gold Coast gain outright leadership of the competition
Results – Round 3
Adelaide United 0 lost GOLD COAST UNITED 2
Central Coast Mariners 0 drew Sydney FC 0
North Queensland Fury 0 lost MELBOURNE VICTORY 1
Queensland Roar 1 drew Wellington Phoenix 1
PERTH GLORY 2 beat Newcastle Jets 0
Game Wraps
Gold Coast United showed once again why they are one of the favourites with a comfortable 2-0 win over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium. An early goal from an in form Shane Smeltz, who pounced on a rebound from a Steve Pantelidis shot had Gold Coast in command and another from Steve Fitzsimmons five minutes after the break threatened a blitz. Credit to Adelaide who created a number of chances in the last half hour, but the Gold Coast defence stood tall.
The Central Coast v Sydney derby usually produces goals, but on this occasion it was a dour affair that came to life in the dying minutes thanks largely to the brilliance of Sydney keeper Clint Bolton. He saved a 91st minute penalty by Adam Kwasnik with a terrific save and then right on fulltime, made another telling save to deny Dylan Macallister. In between these two events, Sydney-s Terry McFlynn almost grabbed the winner with a curling effort that just went the wrong side of the post. Up until then the main talking point had been Danny Vukovic-s save from John Aloisi from point blank range. Both sides remain unbeaten.
Archie Thompson grabbed the only goal right before half time to hand Melbourne Victory its first win of the season against an unlucky North Queensland Fury in Townsville. Thompson raced onto Adrian Leijer-s precision through ball, took one touch in his stride and instinctively planted his shot past Paul Henderson from the edge of the box. North Queensland once again showed they will be hard to beat at home and did enough to grab a goal or two in the second half, with Dyron Daal having the best chance 5 minutes from the end but was thwarted by Glen Moss. Henderson also produced some heroics for his side twice denying Thompson another goal with excellent close range saves.
Brisbane Roar has squandered its second lead in as many weeks to record its second draw in a row, this time 1-1 with Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium. It was a tale of two halves as Brisbane dominated the first half and Sergio Van Dijk made it 1-0 with a neat finish from inside the 6-yard box off a Henrique cross. But it was all Wellington in the second half and they created numerous chances to equalise and were rewarded with an 85th minute goal, Chris Greenacre heading home a Daniel cross. The match ended in dismal circumstances for Roar, with Tommy Oar getting two yellow cards in quick succession and sent from the field and coach Frank Farina sent from the bench.
Perth Glory got its season up and running with a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets at Members Equity Stadium. Wayne Shroj put Glory on the right path foe the win, with a neat finish from 10 metres out after 23 minutes. The match was sealed thanks a superb strike from Adriano Pellegrino with a little under 20 minutes remaining, his shot giving Ben Kennedy no chance from the edge of the box.
Weekend Goals Tally: 7
Attendances (total / average): 45,766
Goal of the Week
He scored one of the Goals of the Season last year and he was at it again on Sunday in sealing a win for Perth Glory. It wasn-t just the finish from Adriano Pellegrino that made it the Goal of the Week, but the lead up play which featured some superb one touch play from their own half and Naum Sekulovski-s superb overlapping run and cross that found Pellegrino at the edge of the penalty box. Pellegrino hit his shot on the half volley with superb precision and gave Ben Kennedy no chance in the Jets goal.
Player of the Week
As one of the stalwarts of the competition, Clint Bolton has been exceptional for Sydney FC over the previous four seasons. He showed just why he is one of the premier keeper-s in the competition saving an injury penalty from Adam Kwasnik and with then with just seconds left denied Dylan Macallister the winner with another superb save. On this form he will be hard to displace as FC keeper for the remainder of the season.
One to Watch
It-s been a tough start for North Queensland Fury but they bounced back with a good effort against Melbourne Victory and were unlucky not to get a point. One player to shine was midfielder Royston Griffiths, who got into several good goal scoring positions and might have had a goal next to his name with a bit more luck. Definitely one to watch this season.
Leading Goalscorers
6 – Shane Smeltz (GCU)
3 – Sergio Van Dijk (QR)
2 – John Aloisi (SFC), Jason Hoffman (NJ) , Carlos Hernandez (MV), Chris Greenacre (WP),
1- Travis Dodd (AU), Danny Tiatto (BR), Henrique (BR), Matt Simon (CCM), Michael McClinchey (CCM), Nigel Boogaard (CCM), Jason Culina (GCU), Steve Fitzsimmons (GCU), Robson (GCU), Tahj Minniecon (GCU), Danny Allsopp (MV), Archie Thompson (MV), Jason Naidovski (NJ), Jin-Hyung Song (NJ), Robbie Fowler (NQF), Royston Griffiths (NQF), Victor Sikora (PG), Wayne Srhoj (PG), Adriano Pellegrino (PG), Kofi Danning (SFC), Mark Bridge (SFC), Ben Sigmund (WP), Paul Ifill (WP), Leo Bertos (WP)
