Roar win A-League title in thriller

Brisbane Roar are the A-League champions after beating Central Coast Mariners in a penalty shootout in an extraordinary grand final on Sunday.

The match was goalless at full-time but in a dramatic half hour of extra time, both sides scored twice.

The Mariners went 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes of added time but Brisbane hit back to secure a 2-2 draw with the last play of the match.

However, it still took a penalty shoot-out, won 4-2 by the Roar, to separate the teams in a match that had it all, played in front of more than 50,000 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in A-League history, in the first grand final outside of Sydney or Melbourne.

The Mariners had the title all but clinched with six minutes left after Adam Kwasnik and Oliver Bozanic scored after the scores were deadlocked after 90 minutes of end-to-end entertainment.

It looked as if Brisbane’s amazing run of 27 games undefeated was over.

But as they showed a fortnight ago in the second leg of the major semi-final, the Brisbane Roar will never, ever say die as they snagged two goals in the last three minutes to take the title to penalties.

There, Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos was the hero, saving spot kicks from Daniel McBreen and Pedj Bojic before Henrique scored the decisive penalty.

It was an incredible climax that looked beyond all realms of possibility in the 96th minute when Bojic sent in a corner kick, with Roar star Thomas Broich jumping to clear it.

The ball went back into the danger area and Kwasnik reacted the quickest to grab the breakthrough from close range.

Seven minutes later Kwasnik was at it again on the break, unleashed by game-changing youngster Bernie Ibini-Isei and though his shot was saved by Theoklitos, he passed to Bozanic, who looked to have confirmed Central Coast’s first championship.

But in the 117th minute Brazilian Henrique pegged one back for the Roar, set up by Jean Carlos Solorzano after a break down the left.

It seemed it was all too late but up rose Erik Paartalu, meeting a perfect corner from Broich to level the scores.

Sun 13 March, 2011

Roar win A-League title in thriller

Brisbane Roar are the A-League champions after beating Central Coast Mariners in a penalty shootout in an extraordinary grand final on Sunday.

The match was goalless at full-time but in a dramatic half hour of extra time, both sides scored twice.

The Mariners went 2-0 up in the first 15 minutes of added time but Brisbane hit back to secure a 2-2 draw with the last play of the match.

However, it still took a penalty shoot-out, won 4-2 by the Roar, to separate the teams in a match that had it all, played in front of more than 50,000 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in A-League history, in the first grand final outside of Sydney or Melbourne.

The Mariners had the title all but clinched with six minutes left after Adam Kwasnik and Oliver Bozanic scored after the scores were deadlocked after 90 minutes of end-to-end entertainment.

It looked as if Brisbane’s amazing run of 27 games undefeated was over.

But as they showed a fortnight ago in the second leg of the major semi-final, the Brisbane Roar will never, ever say die as they snagged two goals in the last three minutes to take the title to penalties.

There, Brisbane goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos was the hero, saving spot kicks from Daniel McBreen and Pedj Bojic before Henrique scored the decisive penalty.

It was an incredible climax that looked beyond all realms of possibility in the 96th minute when Bojic sent in a corner kick, with Roar star Thomas Broich jumping to clear it.

The ball went back into the danger area and Kwasnik reacted the quickest to grab the breakthrough from close range.

Seven minutes later Kwasnik was at it again on the break, unleashed by game-changing youngster Bernie Ibini-Isei and though his shot was saved by Theoklitos, he passed to Bozanic, who looked to have confirmed Central Coast’s first championship.

But in the 117th minute Brazilian Henrique pegged one back for the Roar, set up by Jean Carlos Solorzano after a break down the left.

It seemed it was all too late but up rose Erik Paartalu, meeting a perfect corner from Broich to level the scores.

Sun 13 March, 2011

A-League loses longest-serving manager

Australia’s A-League has been rocked by the exit of Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick on Saturday.

Merrick’s six-year tenure at the Victory was confirmed at a press conference which the dual premiership coach did not attend.

It was left to club chairman Anthony Di Pietro and managing director Richard Wilson to make the announcement.

“The board of Melbourne Victory can announce head coach Ernie Merrick and the club have agreed to part ways,” Di Pietro said.

“This decision has been reached after an extensive board review of all parts of the business. We determined the best way forward was to part ways and Melbourne Victory are to undertake a new coaching direction.”

“Ernie’s been obviously a very successful coach and we are appreciative of this, however, we’ve mutually agreed it is time to part ways.”

Merrick, who led the Victory to titles in 2006-07 and 2008-09, was the longest serving A-League manager and had one year left on his contract.

Di Pietro denied Merrick had been axed and refused to go into detail about the agreement reached between the two parties, before explaining that the change in manager was important in the new direction of the football club.

“There’s been no sacking here. The details of the discussion remain confidential. Ernie and ourselves left on amicable teams,” he said.

“We are undergoing some very important changes at our football club. We have a new leadership and a clear vision moving forward.”

Di Pietro said the club was disappointed with the recent A-League season, where the Victory were knocked out of the finals in the first round by Gold Coast and their AFC Champions League campaign started disastrously with a 5-1 loss to Gamba Osaka in Japan.

“Our club sets extremely high standards and we’re disappointed by the results in this A-League season along with the start to our AFC Champions League campaign,” he said.

“Our intent is to continue to be the benchmark club in the A-League and be successful in Asia and believe this decision will assist us in taking us to that level.”

The club’s youth team coach Mehmet Durakovic will take care of first-team duties as caretaker manager and will deputise during Tuesday’s home AFC Champions League encounter against Jeju United at AAMI Park.

As far as a permanent replacement goes, Di Pietro said the search had not begun and was reserved when quizzed if out-of-contract Queensland Roar boss Ange Postecoglou could make the move back to Melbourne to be with his family and take charge of the Victory.

“As far as Ange is concerned, we wish him well tomorrow, (for the Grand Final) but we haven’t commenced the search yet,” Di Pietro said.

Sat 12 March, 2011

A-League loses longest-serving manager

Australia’s A-League has been rocked by the exit of Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick on Saturday.

Merrick’s six-year tenure at the Victory was confirmed at a press conference which the dual premiership coach did not attend.

It was left to club chairman Anthony Di Pietro and managing director Richard Wilson to make the announcement.

“The board of Melbourne Victory can announce head coach Ernie Merrick and the club have agreed to part ways,” Di Pietro said.

“This decision has been reached after an extensive board review of all parts of the business. We determined the best way forward was to part ways and Melbourne Victory are to undertake a new coaching direction.”

“Ernie’s been obviously a very successful coach and we are appreciative of this, however, we’ve mutually agreed it is time to part ways.”

Merrick, who led the Victory to titles in 2006-07 and 2008-09, was the longest serving A-League manager and had one year left on his contract.

Di Pietro denied Merrick had been axed and refused to go into detail about the agreement reached between the two parties, before explaining that the change in manager was important in the new direction of the football club.

“There’s been no sacking here. The details of the discussion remain confidential. Ernie and ourselves left on amicable teams,” he said.

“We are undergoing some very important changes at our football club. We have a new leadership and a clear vision moving forward.”

Di Pietro said the club was disappointed with the recent A-League season, where the Victory were knocked out of the finals in the first round by Gold Coast and their AFC Champions League campaign started disastrously with a 5-1 loss to Gamba Osaka in Japan.

“Our club sets extremely high standards and we’re disappointed by the results in this A-League season along with the start to our AFC Champions League campaign,” he said.

“Our intent is to continue to be the benchmark club in the A-League and be successful in Asia and believe this decision will assist us in taking us to that level.”

The club’s youth team coach Mehmet Durakovic will take care of first-team duties as caretaker manager and will deputise during Tuesday’s home AFC Champions League encounter against Jeju United at AAMI Park.

As far as a permanent replacement goes, Di Pietro said the search had not begun and was reserved when quizzed if out-of-contract Queensland Roar boss Ange Postecoglou could make the move back to Melbourne to be with his family and take charge of the Victory.

“As far as Ange is concerned, we wish him well tomorrow, (for the Grand Final) but we haven’t commenced the search yet,” Di Pietro said.

Sat 12 March, 2011

Fury axed from A-League

North Queensland Fury have been axed from the A-League after the club was unable to make assurances about their financial viability going forward.

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley and A-League Head of Operations Lyall Gorman met with club officials on Tuesday where it was decided it was too big of a financial risk to continue next season.

“Despite the hard work put in, the target of $A1.5m of capital from the ‘Retain the Fury’ campaign was not met, with less than $300,000 being pledged,” Buckley said.

“Whilst the club and the advisory board had attracted some very encouraging sponsorship commitments, the projected loss to run the club next season is still in our assessment in excess of $2m.”

“FFA had been looking for capital from the campaign to set the foundations for a move to local ownership and a long term future for the club.”

“However with the capital-raising falling well short of the target, FFA has had to make the hard decision that it cannot continue to own and finance the club in these circumstances.”

Fury only joined the competition in August 2009, and were immediately under financial strain, despite a strong support for the code in the region.

FFA had taken up the funding of the club and Buckley said that in the end the burden was too much.

“We need to concentrate our resources on the growth, promotion and stability of the entire A-League competition and this level of investment would prevent us from undertaking programs to achieve the above,” he said.

“Many leagues around the world have adjusted the composition of clubs in early years and we feel this move will strengthen the A-League just as it did for Major League Soccer in the United States and the J-League in Japan.”

“We acknowledge the region is an important development area for football and there are some fantastic supporters and FFA remains committed with Football Queensland to nurturing football in North Queensland.”

“I would like to thank everybody who supported the Fury including the fans, staff, players sponsors and the Fury Advisory Board.”

Two A-League clubs have now failed in the six-year history of the competition, with North Queensland following the New Zealand Knights into the history books.

The competition will now feature just 10 teams next season.

Tue 1 March, 2011

Fury axed from A-League

North Queensland Fury have been axed from the A-League after the club was unable to make assurances about their financial viability going forward.

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley and A-League Head of Operations Lyall Gorman met with club officials on Tuesday where it was decided it was too big of a financial risk to continue next season.

“Despite the hard work put in, the target of $A1.5m of capital from the ‘Retain the Fury’ campaign was not met, with less than $300,000 being pledged,” Buckley said.

“Whilst the club and the advisory board had attracted some very encouraging sponsorship commitments, the projected loss to run the club next season is still in our assessment in excess of $2m.”

“FFA had been looking for capital from the campaign to set the foundations for a move to local ownership and a long term future for the club.”

“However with the capital-raising falling well short of the target, FFA has had to make the hard decision that it cannot continue to own and finance the club in these circumstances.”

Fury only joined the competition in August 2009, and were immediately under financial strain, despite a strong support for the code in the region.

FFA had taken up the funding of the club and Buckley said that in the end the burden was too much.

“We need to concentrate our resources on the growth, promotion and stability of the entire A-League competition and this level of investment would prevent us from undertaking programs to achieve the above,” he said.

“Many leagues around the world have adjusted the composition of clubs in early years and we feel this move will strengthen the A-League just as it did for Major League Soccer in the United States and the J-League in Japan.”

“We acknowledge the region is an important development area for football and there are some fantastic supporters and FFA remains committed with Football Queensland to nurturing football in North Queensland.”

“I would like to thank everybody who supported the Fury including the fans, staff, players sponsors and the Fury Advisory Board.”

Two A-League clubs have now failed in the six-year history of the competition, with North Queensland following the New Zealand Knights into the history books.

The competition will now feature just 10 teams next season.

Tue 1 March, 2011

A-League wrap: Wellington wait, Mariners clinch second

Wellington’s bid for a second consecutive finals berth may go down to the wire after losing 2-0 to Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the Central Coast Mariners clinched second place on the table and a double chance, ending Gold Coast United’s faint hopes of doing the same with a 3-1 win at Skilled Park.

New Zealand outfit Wellington could head into their final-round clash with bottom-placed North Queensland on Sunday needing at least a point to fend off Newcastle for the final spot in the top six.

The Phoenix arrived for the Sky Blues’ final home game with a patched-up side and it showed.

Their leaky defence rode its luck in the first half and had goalkeeper Danny Vukovic to thank for keeping things even at the break.

But a comical penalty that eventually found the back of the net on the third attempt via an own-goal early in the second half was followed by a strike to replacement Brendan Gan sealed their fate.

Sydney midfielder Nick Carle was awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after being brought down by James Musa but hit his spot kick straight at Vukovic.

The ball came straight back to Carle, who hit his second attempt again at Vukovic.

It rebounded off the keeper then ricocheted off Nick Ward’s head and into the back of the net.

Attacker Gan put the game out of Wellington’s reach with an assured finish on 69 minutes after Shannon Cole broke through the defence before pulling his pass back into the box.

On the Gold Coast, all three of the Mariners’ goals came through debut senior strikes from National Youth League starlets Bernie Ibini-Isei, Mustafa Amini and Mitchell Duke, who all stepped into the squad to fill the shoes of a host of injured players.

The trio never looked out of place, capping a dominant performance from Graham Arnold’s men.

The hosts nabbed a consolation goal six minutes from time after Andrew Barisic flicked the ball into the path of fellow striker Shane Smeltz and, though the Kiwi made no mistake from close range, there was no danger of a late surge from United.

The win ensures that the Mariners will meet premiers Brisbane Roar in the major-semi final, with the first leg likely to be played on Saturday, February 19 at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford.

United must now end Brisbane’s 24-match unbeaten run in Saturday’s M1 derby at Suncorp Stadium to have any chance of finishing third.

Wed 9 February, 2011

A-League wrap: Wellington wait, Mariners clinch second

Wellington’s bid for a second consecutive finals berth may go down to the wire after losing 2-0 to Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the Central Coast Mariners clinched second place on the table and a double chance, ending Gold Coast United’s faint hopes of doing the same with a 3-1 win at Skilled Park.

New Zealand outfit Wellington could head into their final-round clash with bottom-placed North Queensland on Sunday needing at least a point to fend off Newcastle for the final spot in the top six.

The Phoenix arrived for the Sky Blues’ final home game with a patched-up side and it showed.

Their leaky defence rode its luck in the first half and had goalkeeper Danny Vukovic to thank for keeping things even at the break.

But a comical penalty that eventually found the back of the net on the third attempt via an own-goal early in the second half was followed by a strike to replacement Brendan Gan sealed their fate.

Sydney midfielder Nick Carle was awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after being brought down by James Musa but hit his spot kick straight at Vukovic.

The ball came straight back to Carle, who hit his second attempt again at Vukovic.

It rebounded off the keeper then ricocheted off Nick Ward’s head and into the back of the net.

Attacker Gan put the game out of Wellington’s reach with an assured finish on 69 minutes after Shannon Cole broke through the defence before pulling his pass back into the box.

On the Gold Coast, all three of the Mariners’ goals came through debut senior strikes from National Youth League starlets Bernie Ibini-Isei, Mustafa Amini and Mitchell Duke, who all stepped into the squad to fill the shoes of a host of injured players.

The trio never looked out of place, capping a dominant performance from Graham Arnold’s men.

The hosts nabbed a consolation goal six minutes from time after Andrew Barisic flicked the ball into the path of fellow striker Shane Smeltz and, though the Kiwi made no mistake from close range, there was no danger of a late surge from United.

The win ensures that the Mariners will meet premiers Brisbane Roar in the major-semi final, with the first leg likely to be played on Saturday, February 19 at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford.

United must now end Brisbane’s 24-match unbeaten run in Saturday’s M1 derby at Suncorp Stadium to have any chance of finishing third.

Wed 9 February, 2011

A-League wrap: Victory grab finals spot, stalemate at Gold Coast

Melbourne Victory booked an A-League finals spot with a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday, while Gold Coast United and Adelaide could not be split.

For Newcastle, who have now lost seven of their last nine matches and four in a row, the result deals a further blow to their playoff ambitions.

Veteran Victory midfielder Tom Pondeljak scored a rare goal 57 minutes in, bending a shot over goalkeeper Ben Kennedy with the outside of his boot before Robbie Kruse marked his return from Socceroo duties with a well-taken effort 13 minutes later.

The visitors had Italian Marcello Fiorentini sent off just after the hour for kicking out at Marvin Angulo. The Jets find themselves four points adrift of sixth-placed Wellington with just two matches to go.

Victory’s third win in the space of seven days secures their spot in the finals with one match remaining and strengthens their push for fourth place, which means they would host a final in the opening week.

Elsewhere, Adelaide United failed to put pressure on the second-placed Central Coast Mariners after playing out a scoreless draw with Gold Coast United at Skilled Park.

In a carbon-copy of the match between the two sides at the same ground almost four months ago, neither team could find the back of the net in a game that promised so much yet delivered so little.

But the injury-ravaged hosts – who were already missing first-choice players Zenon Caravella, Jason Culina, Bas van den Brink and James Brown – will be feeling worse off after in-form striker Bruce Djite succumbed to a hamstring strain and English defender John Curtis was stretchered off the field.

Wed 2 February, 2011

A-League wrap: Victory grab finals spot, stalemate at Gold Coast

Melbourne Victory booked an A-League finals spot with a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Wednesday, while Gold Coast United and Adelaide could not be split.

For Newcastle, who have now lost seven of their last nine matches and four in a row, the result deals a further blow to their playoff ambitions.

Veteran Victory midfielder Tom Pondeljak scored a rare goal 57 minutes in, bending a shot over goalkeeper Ben Kennedy with the outside of his boot before Robbie Kruse marked his return from Socceroo duties with a well-taken effort 13 minutes later.

The visitors had Italian Marcello Fiorentini sent off just after the hour for kicking out at Marvin Angulo. The Jets find themselves four points adrift of sixth-placed Wellington with just two matches to go.

Victory’s third win in the space of seven days secures their spot in the finals with one match remaining and strengthens their push for fourth place, which means they would host a final in the opening week.

Elsewhere, Adelaide United failed to put pressure on the second-placed Central Coast Mariners after playing out a scoreless draw with Gold Coast United at Skilled Park.

In a carbon-copy of the match between the two sides at the same ground almost four months ago, neither team could find the back of the net in a game that promised so much yet delivered so little.

But the injury-ravaged hosts – who were already missing first-choice players Zenon Caravella, Jason Culina, Bas van den Brink and James Brown – will be feeling worse off after in-form striker Bruce Djite succumbed to a hamstring strain and English defender John Curtis was stretchered off the field.

Wed 2 February, 2011

A-League wrap: Allsopp fires Victory, Phoenix into top six

A Danny Allsopp brace all but booked Melbourne Victory’s spot in the finals as the home side defeated Gold Coast United 2-0 at AAMI Park.

In a preview of a likely-first week final, Melbourne dominated the play and thanks to Allsopp’s well-taken goals either side of half-time have moved within touching distance of a confirmed spot in the finals.

Allsopp, who only re-joined the club at the start of January, is now the form striker in the league, having managed five goals in his past four matches.

With Archie Thompson and Robbie Kruse set to come back into the side in the next two weeks, Victory will have their best attacking line-up available for the finals.

As temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius in Melbourne on Sunday, Allsopp scored a cracking goal on 28 minutes from over 25 yards out and then showed his versatility by turning John Curtis in the box and firing accurately 11 minutes into the second half.

The veteran striker could have had his first-ever A-League hat-trick, spurning several chances, but it mattered little as Melbourne made it two wins in a row.

Elsewhere, a first-half goal from Dylan Macallister was enough to give Wellington Phoenix a vital 1-0 win over 10-man Newcastle Jets in Wellington.

Macallister’s goal in the 20th minute secured a club record fifth straight victory at home for Wellington but more importantly the three points lifted the Phoenix to sixth (35 points) on the table and in the process dented Newcastle’s hopes of reaching the play-offs as they stayed in eight spot with 31 points.

The Jets were not helped by the red card shown to Ryan Griffiths in the 66th minute for abusing referee Chris Beath, who also booked captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley in the first half.

But the Phoenix did not escape either with Andrew Durante, Troy Hearfield, Vince Lia, Ben Sigmund and Manny Muscat all shown yellow cards by the referee.

Sigmund’s yellow was his eighth of the season meaning he will miss the next two crucial away matches against Adelaide and Sydney.

Sun 30 January, 2011

A-League wrap: Allsopp fires Victory, Phoenix into top six

A Danny Allsopp brace all but booked Melbourne Victory’s spot in the finals as the home side defeated Gold Coast United 2-0 at AAMI Park.

In a preview of a likely-first week final, Melbourne dominated the play and thanks to Allsopp’s well-taken goals either side of half-time have moved within touching distance of a confirmed spot in the finals.

Allsopp, who only re-joined the club at the start of January, is now the form striker in the league, having managed five goals in his past four matches.

With Archie Thompson and Robbie Kruse set to come back into the side in the next two weeks, Victory will have their best attacking line-up available for the finals.

As temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius in Melbourne on Sunday, Allsopp scored a cracking goal on 28 minutes from over 25 yards out and then showed his versatility by turning John Curtis in the box and firing accurately 11 minutes into the second half.

The veteran striker could have had his first-ever A-League hat-trick, spurning several chances, but it mattered little as Melbourne made it two wins in a row.

Elsewhere, a first-half goal from Dylan Macallister was enough to give Wellington Phoenix a vital 1-0 win over 10-man Newcastle Jets in Wellington.

Macallister’s goal in the 20th minute secured a club record fifth straight victory at home for Wellington but more importantly the three points lifted the Phoenix to sixth (35 points) on the table and in the process dented Newcastle’s hopes of reaching the play-offs as they stayed in eight spot with 31 points.

The Jets were not helped by the red card shown to Ryan Griffiths in the 66th minute for abusing referee Chris Beath, who also booked captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley in the first half.

But the Phoenix did not escape either with Andrew Durante, Troy Hearfield, Vince Lia, Ben Sigmund and Manny Muscat all shown yellow cards by the referee.

Sigmund’s yellow was his eighth of the season meaning he will miss the next two crucial away matches against Adelaide and Sydney.

Sun 30 January, 2011

A-League wrap: Mariners go equal top on points

The Central Coast Mariners moved to second on the A-League ladder with a 2-0 win over the Newcastle Jets on Sunday.

A 14th minute poacher’s goal from Matt Simon gave the Mariners an early lead in front of a season-best Newcastle crowd of 13,467 before substitute John Hutchinson sealed the win three minutes before full-time.

The win moves the Mariners to 43 points on the table, equal with Adelaide United but ahead on goal difference with the Central Coast side having a game in hand over the South Australians.

The Jets hold onto sixth despite the loss but will have to regroup with an undermanned squad when they travel to Queensland to play the Gold Coast next Saturday.

The Jets went into the clash with a host of senior players on the injury list and they were dealt an early blow when skipper Kasey Wehrman hobbled off the ground with an ankle injury.

With the Jets in a sense of disarray the Mariners took advantage scoring an early opening goal.

An Oliver Bozanic Jets long ball looked like being easily dealt with by Jets defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley but he didn’t get enough on his back pass to keeper Ben Kennedy and Simon pounced on the loss ball to slot it into the corner of the net from 15 yards.

Simon should have grabbed his second in the 77th minute when he was one-on-one with Kennedy but the Jets glovesman got down low to effect a strong reflex save.

The visitors eventually put the game beyond doubt when McClinchey squared to Hutchinson on the edge of the box and the Mariners favourite slotted a right-footed shot inside the far post.

Sun 16 January, 2011

A-League wrap: Adelaide thrash Victory

Adelaide United ended their 10-match losing streak against Melbourne Victory and re-ignited their season with a 4-1 away win on Sunday.

The history books will record it as the Reds’ first success over Victory since October 2007 and their first win over their bitter rivals in Melbourne in four and a half years.

Sergio van Dijk’s 57th minute goal, scored from 30m out with a wickedly curling free kick, was the highlight, but Marcos Flores set-up the result by getting on the end of some robust work from skipper Travis Dodd on 12 minutes.

The Argentine smashed home from Dodd’s header across the goal, while van Dijk’s scorcher came as a result of a foul by Kevin Muscat on Cassio.

Substitutes Fabien Barbiero’s first touch on 74 minutes sealed the deal, as he got onto to a rebounded shot from Iain Fyfe while the Victory’s humiliation was completed when a horrible defensive mix-up allowed van Dijk to net his 13th goal of the season on 77 minutes.

Fyfe played a major role in that goal as well, looping in a long free kick which Rody Vargas and Michael Petkovic managed to make a complete mess of it, with the Dutchman capitalising. Mate Dugandzic scored a consolation for the home side with the last kick of the game.

Victory’s afternoon was soured further by a red card shown to skipper Kevin Muscat on 65 minutes.

Melbourne play away in Sydney next week, needing to find some form, while Adelaide have a week off before facing North Queensland on Friday week at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Michael McGlinchey scored his first goal of the season four minutes before half-time to give the Central Coast Mariners the points against Wellington at Gosford.

But it was former Argentina under-20 international Patricio Perez who kept the Mariners’ hopes of a top-two finish alive with an outstanding performance, especially in the first half.

Perez created McGlinchey’s winner in midfield, before delivering a perfect pass to Joshua Rose who cut the ball back for the Kiwi international to fire home only his second goal for the Mariners.

Sun 9 January, 2011

A-League wrap: Adelaide thrash Victory

Adelaide United ended their 10-match losing streak against Melbourne Victory and re-ignited their season with a 4-1 away win on Sunday.

The history books will record it as the Reds’ first success over Victory since October 2007 and their first win over their bitter rivals in Melbourne in four and a half years.

Sergio van Dijk’s 57th minute goal, scored from 30m out with a wickedly curling free kick, was the highlight, but Marcos Flores set-up the result by getting on the end of some robust work from skipper Travis Dodd on 12 minutes.

The Argentine smashed home from Dodd’s header across the goal, while van Dijk’s scorcher came as a result of a foul by Kevin Muscat on Cassio.

Substitutes Fabien Barbiero’s first touch on 74 minutes sealed the deal, as he got onto to a rebounded shot from Iain Fyfe while the Victory’s humiliation was completed when a horrible defensive mix-up allowed van Dijk to net his 13th goal of the season on 77 minutes.

Fyfe played a major role in that goal as well, looping in a long free kick which Rody Vargas and Michael Petkovic managed to make a complete mess of it, with the Dutchman capitalising. Mate Dugandzic scored a consolation for the home side with the last kick of the game.

Victory’s afternoon was soured further by a red card shown to skipper Kevin Muscat on 65 minutes.

Melbourne play away in Sydney next week, needing to find some form, while Adelaide have a week off before facing North Queensland on Friday week at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Michael McGlinchey scored his first goal of the season four minutes before half-time to give the Central Coast Mariners the points against Wellington at Gosford.

But it was former Argentina under-20 international Patricio Perez who kept the Mariners’ hopes of a top-two finish alive with an outstanding performance, especially in the first half.

Perez created McGlinchey’s winner in midfield, before delivering a perfect pass to Joshua Rose who cut the ball back for the Kiwi international to fire home only his second goal for the Mariners.

Sun 9 January, 2011

A-League wrap: Mariners close in on Reds, Roar held

Adelaide slumped to their third straight defeat as the Brisbane Roar extended their lead at the top of the A-League on Sunday.

The Central Coast Mariners moved to within one point of second-placed Adelaide after beating the Reds 2-0 at Bluetongue Stadium, while the Roar twice came from behind against the Gold Coast before holding on for a 2-2 draw.

In Gosford, Mariners striker Matt Simon broke the deadlock in the 51st minute with a stylish solo effort before a Sergio van Dijk own goal in the 78th minute sealed the win for Central Coast.

The win lifts the Mariners onto 36 points, just one behind the Reds on 37, although Central Coast have two games in hand over their South Australian rivals.

Both sides started the crucial clash cautiously and for the most part it was a fairly uneventful first half.

The home side eventually grabbed the opener six minutes after half-time when Simon got the better of Iain Fyfe on the left touchline, before sneaking a low shot inside the near post from 18 yards out.

Just two minutes later the Mariners put the game beyond doubt when van Dijk was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when a Michael McGlinchey corner cleared a throng of players in the penalty area only to slide off van Dijk’s shin and into his own net.

In Brisbane, the Roar extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches after twice coming from behind at a rain-soaked Suncorp Stadium.

The torrential downpour did nothing to dampen an entertaining match, and it was the Gold Coast who struck first after Dino Djulbic headed home on 14 minutes.

Costa Barbarouses equalised on the half hour mark after chipping Gold Coast goalkeeper Glen Moss, but the visitors reclaimed the lead 10 minutes after the interval when Robson broke through the defence and placed a low shot through the legs on goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos.

But Gold Coast veteran John Curtis gave Brisbane and avenue back into the match when he brought down Barbarouses in the area in the 66th minute, and Jean Carlos Solorzano slotted the resultant penalty to give the Roar a share of the points.

Sun 26 December, 2010

A-League wrap: Mariners close in on Reds, Roar held

Adelaide slumped to their third straight defeat as the Brisbane Roar extended their lead at the top of the A-League on Sunday.

The Central Coast Mariners moved to within one point of second-placed Adelaide after beating the Reds 2-0 at Bluetongue Stadium, while the Roar twice came from behind against the Gold Coast before holding on for a 2-2 draw.

In Gosford, Mariners striker Matt Simon broke the deadlock in the 51st minute with a stylish solo effort before a Sergio van Dijk own goal in the 78th minute sealed the win for Central Coast.

The win lifts the Mariners onto 36 points, just one behind the Reds on 37, although Central Coast have two games in hand over their South Australian rivals.

Both sides started the crucial clash cautiously and for the most part it was a fairly uneventful first half.

The home side eventually grabbed the opener six minutes after half-time when Simon got the better of Iain Fyfe on the left touchline, before sneaking a low shot inside the near post from 18 yards out.

Just two minutes later the Mariners put the game beyond doubt when van Dijk was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when a Michael McGlinchey corner cleared a throng of players in the penalty area only to slide off van Dijk’s shin and into his own net.

In Brisbane, the Roar extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches after twice coming from behind at a rain-soaked Suncorp Stadium.

The torrential downpour did nothing to dampen an entertaining match, and it was the Gold Coast who struck first after Dino Djulbic headed home on 14 minutes.

Costa Barbarouses equalised on the half hour mark after chipping Gold Coast goalkeeper Glen Moss, but the visitors reclaimed the lead 10 minutes after the interval when Robson broke through the defence and placed a low shot through the legs on goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos.

But Gold Coast veteran John Curtis gave Brisbane and avenue back into the match when he brought down Barbarouses in the area in the 66th minute, and Jean Carlos Solorzano slotted the resultant penalty to give the Roar a share of the points.

Sun 26 December, 2010

A-League wrap: Perth win thriller, Mariners go third

A second-half brace from Robbie Fowler re-ignited Perth Glory’s faint finals hopes as they won 4-2 over Adelaide United on Wednesday.

In a see-sawing affair, Perth opened the scoring through Jamie Coyne in the sixth minute before Adelaide equalised against the run of play through early substitute Joe Keenan, who had been on 12 minutes for Paul Reid when he fired home in the 22nd.

The Glory again went ahead through Mile Sterjovski 10 minutes before the break but once again gave up the advantage when Sergio van Dijk levelled in the 50th minute through his 10th goal of the season.

But Adelaide failed maintain the momentum as Cassio narrowly missed with a 67th-minute volley, the Glory going on with the job as a brilliant Adriano Pellegrino through-ball released Fowler one-on-one with Eugene Galekovic, the Liverpool legend making no mistake.

Iain Ramsey missed a gilt-edged chance in the 74th minute when he was released through on goal, Glory stopper Tando Velaphi doing well to partially come off his line and force Ramsey wide, the Adelaide man subsequently shooting over.

The Glory made the Reds pay just three minutes later. Sterjovski was somewhat fortunate to be still on the park after only receiving a yellow when he appeared to kick out at Iain Fyfe in the 55th minute.

And, Adelaide will feel further aggrieved as Sterjovski burst through into the area in the 75th minute, with Nigel Boogaard grabbing hold of the former Socceroo’s shirt as he went to ground.

Boogaard, on the field for just two minutes for Fyfe, was sent on his way and Fowler stepped up to take the spot kick, giving Perth just their second win in 17 games, as the Glory moved off the bottom of the table.

In Wednesday’s other game, Central Coast Mariners cruised to a 1-0 victory in their clash with North Queensland Fury at Bluetongue Stadium.

A first-half goal to Adam Kwasnik was all that was needed to give Graham Arnold’s men their ninth win of the season.

Kwasnik’s emphatic header in the 28th minute was his eighth goal of this A-League campaign, and pushed the Mariners past Gold Coast United on goals scored, and subsequently into third spot on the ladder.

Wed 22 December, 2010

A-League wrap: Perth win thriller, Mariners go third

A second-half brace from Robbie Fowler re-ignited Perth Glory’s faint finals hopes as they won 4-2 over Adelaide United on Wednesday.

In a see-sawing affair, Perth opened the scoring through Jamie Coyne in the sixth minute before Adelaide equalised against the run of play through early substitute Joe Keenan, who had been on 12 minutes for Paul Reid when he fired home in the 22nd.

The Glory again went ahead through Mile Sterjovski 10 minutes before the break but once again gave up the advantage when Sergio van Dijk levelled in the 50th minute through his 10th goal of the season.

But Adelaide failed maintain the momentum as Cassio narrowly missed with a 67th-minute volley, the Glory going on with the job as a brilliant Adriano Pellegrino through-ball released Fowler one-on-one with Eugene Galekovic, the Liverpool legend making no mistake.

Iain Ramsey missed a gilt-edged chance in the 74th minute when he was released through on goal, Glory stopper Tando Velaphi doing well to partially come off his line and force Ramsey wide, the Adelaide man subsequently shooting over.

The Glory made the Reds pay just three minutes later. Sterjovski was somewhat fortunate to be still on the park after only receiving a yellow when he appeared to kick out at Iain Fyfe in the 55th minute.

And, Adelaide will feel further aggrieved as Sterjovski burst through into the area in the 75th minute, with Nigel Boogaard grabbing hold of the former Socceroo’s shirt as he went to ground.

Boogaard, on the field for just two minutes for Fyfe, was sent on his way and Fowler stepped up to take the spot kick, giving Perth just their second win in 17 games, as the Glory moved off the bottom of the table.

In Wednesday’s other game, Central Coast Mariners cruised to a 1-0 victory in their clash with North Queensland Fury at Bluetongue Stadium.

A first-half goal to Adam Kwasnik was all that was needed to give Graham Arnold’s men their ninth win of the season.

Kwasnik’s emphatic header in the 28th minute was his eighth goal of this A-League campaign, and pushed the Mariners past Gold Coast United on goals scored, and subsequently into third spot on the ladder.

Wed 22 December, 2010