How your team fared, who made the headlines and the best from Twitter in your round up of the Hyundai A-League from this weekend.
How your team fared, who made the headlines and the best from Twitter in your round up of the Hyundai A-League from this weekend.
Adelaide United: Booked their finals spot in an enthralling 2-2 draw with Heart on Friday night. Showed tremendous resilience to fight-back in the second half after Tarek Elrich was sent off for a silly head-butt which could have the defender in doubt for the opening week of the finals.
Melbourne Heart: The second week in a row John van ‘t Schip’s side haven’t been able to get the job done against 10-men, meaning they are now back on the bottom of the ladder and they will get the wooden spoon unless they can beat Western Sydney in Harry Kewell’s farewell next weekend.
Newcastle Jets: Threw away a late lead for the second straight week to leave their top six hopes hanging by a thread. Adam Taggart all-but wrapped the golden-boot with his 15th goal of the season while Socceroos hopeful David Carney had his best game since his return to the A-League in the Jets’ 2-2 draw with Victory.
Melbourne Victory: Cemented a top six berth as they came from behind twice to snatch a point. Skipper Mark Milligan capped his 50th appearance for the club with a brace but there must be fears over Tom Rogic’s fitness for the finals after the classy midfielder limped off with a groin injury.
Western Sydney Wanderers: Wanderers are back into the all-important second spot after their pulsating 1-1 draw with the Premiers’ Plate winners. It was a stunning an emotional home farewell for marquee man Shinji Ono but substitute Tomi Juric showed his finishing will be key to their chances of going all the way with a sublime strike in the second half.
Brisbane Roar: Mike Mulvey’s side continued its march towards the finals a well-earned point at a venue they have never won at. While the return from injury of Ivan Franjic was a bonus, there could be some concern over Liam Miller and Thomas Broich who both finished the match in some pain from injuries.
Perth Glory: Glory seem to be finishing the season with a bang, making it back-to-back wins after knocking off Central Coast 3-1 on Saturday night. It not only moved the side off the bottom of the table but gave skipper Jacob Burns the perfect send off in his final home match before retirement.
Central Coast Mariners: Missed the chance to lock-up second spot with a rather flat performance. And it could get worse for Phil Moss with star import Kim Seung-Yong forced off with a hamstring injury in the first half.
Sydney FC: Took a giant step towards confirming a finals berth with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Wellington at a soggy Allianz Stadium on Sunday. Defender Sebastian Ryall continued his good recent run in front of goal with a contender for goal of the season…only to be outdone by Ali Abbas’ thunderbolt soon after. But it was ADP-s master-class that had the fans abuzz.
Wellington Phoenix: Their top six chances finally evaporated after another fruitless trip to the Harbour City. The only bright spot on a miserable day for the Kiwis was Carlos Hernandez’s goal, taking him to sixth on the all-time Hyundai A-League goal-scorers list with 43.
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Newcastle’s Taggart edges closer to golden-boot with his 15th goal of the season. Has he done enough to get a spot on the plane to Brazil?
Going out in style. Western Sydney Wanderers fans gave departing marquee man Shinji Ono a fantastic send off in his final regular season home match while retiring Perth skipper Jacob Burns went out with a bang at nib Stadium as the Glory beat Central Coast 3-1.
The best and worst of ADP. There was a feeling the Italian veteran went down a little too easily – and may have even dived – to win a penalty for the Sky Blues in the win over Wellington. There was no question over the quality of his second goal though, a trademark free-kick from 25 yards out to put one foot into the finals for Sydney.
Injuries hit at the wrong time for finals-bound sides. With just one game left before the playoffs any there is a few clubs sweating on the fitness of some key players. Adelaide have lost defender Michael Marrone to a broken leg while Tom Rogic (groin) and Kim Seung-Yong (hamstring) must both be in doubt for the start of the finals.
Refs in the spotlight. Again! Ben Williams was in the spotlight after 10 yellow cards – and one red – at Coopers Stadium on Friday night, while Stephen Lucas’ A-League debut was mired in controversy after two soft penalties and a controversial (non) offside call in the west. Kris Griffiths-Jones continued the theme on Sunday with another contentious penalty for Sydney FC skipper Del Piero. Let’s hope the drama stays away for the finals.
