There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. The numbers from round 15 give you another side of a fascinating weekend of football.
Perth Glory v Sydney FC
Total shots: Perth 18 / Sydney 10; on target: 8/3
Tackles: Perth 18 / Sydney 16; effectiveness: 82% / 76%
Crosses: Perth 25 / Sydney 11
Goalkeeper saves: Perth 1 / Sydney 6
It was a fascinating game at nib Stadium, with Perth enjoying the better opportunities but leaving the door open for a Sydney comeback. Glory had more than double shots on goal but were denied by offside decisions, the woodwork and some excellent work by the increasingly impressive Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic.
Sydney, in contrast, managed just three shots on target and scored two of them. Add this to making fewer effective challenges to their hosts and less than half the number of crosses, it seems Frank Farina-s side were either lucky or Perth were profligate upfront and lax at the back – take your pick.
Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix
Total shots: Victory 13 / Phoenix 10; on target: 3/3
Tackles: Victory 15 / Phoenix 32; effectiveness: 71% / 86%
Crosses: Victory 9 / Phoenix 16
Passes: Victory 484 / Phoenix 401; accuracy: 87% / 86%
Without Gui Finkler, Victory lacked some of their usual fluency on the final third but they withstood a confident Phoenix in the first-half and carved out a number of decent chances as the game went on.
Phoenix did go close on a number of occasions but without a regulation Jeremy Brockie stunner, Ricki Herbert-s side paid the price for their lack of goalscoring support.
Phoenix also had to work hard to disrupt Victory passing game, making more than double the number of tackles, whilst making a great deal more crosses. But those balls into the box count for nothing if you can-t get on the end of them, as Flores did with Rojas-s ball.
Melbourne Heart v Brisbane Roar
Possession: Heart 46% / Roar 54%; passes: 198 / 438; accuracy: 74% / 86%
Total shots: Heart 10 / Roar 18; on target: 6/10
Tackles: Heart 44 / Roar 34
Crosses: Heart 5 / Roar 35
Are Brisbane trying to get back to old ways or learning new ones? It-s hard to say; they dominated the stats against Melbourne Heart, with more possession and a much greater number of passes, shots and crosses.
The Heart, on the other hand, seemed extremely lucky to come away with three points, wilfully ceding possession to hit the visitors on the break. It hardly made for an entertaining game – until Roar got their act together in the final 15 minutes – but it worked. It was a win without confidence for Melbourne, who clearly still have a long way to go under John Aloisi.
Western Sydney Wanderers v Central Coast Mariners
Possession: Wanderers 47% / Mariners 53%; passes: 321 / 391; accuracy: 81% / 86%
Total shots: Wanderers 12 / Mariners 18; on target: 3/4
Tackles: Wanderers 22 / Mariners 25
Crosses: Wanderers 21 / Mariners 14
The game of the weekend as two of the most disciplined and tactically astute teams went head-to-head. Again, the Wanderers impressed but they were tellingly finished off by a clinical Mariners side.
A quick look at the stats shows just how close the sides were; there-s hardly anything to pick between any of the key indicators – but the Mariners kept the pressure on their hosts by playing attacking football and working hard to win the ball back, just as any champion team should.
But the Wanderers can still be proud of how they stood up to the best team in the league. It-s surprising that Tony Popovic-s side are 10 points behind Central Coast – then you remember they-ve only been around for a few months.
*We chose not to look at Newcastle v Adelaide as the teams were so closely matched, no outcomes could be drawn from the statistics.
