Sixth-time lucky for Glory?

This weekend’s Adelaide v Perth fixture was always going to be interesting on account of Perth’s inability to beat Adelaide in five attempts this season despite proving themselves the most consistent team in the competition. But their meeting on Sunday has additional appeal now that both teams are last start losers. Though they are still leading the competition you could argue Perth have the most to lose on Sunday — at least psychologically. Defeat could mean relinquishing their hold on top spot for the first time since Round 4.

More worryingly, a loss to the Reds would constitute a third loss (and no wins) in their past four games. Kenny Lowe has calmly refuted any notion that his team is in a slump, adding, “In all our last few games we’ve not been out-played, not been out-thought and not been out-shot, or out-passed so we are in a good spot.”

One might be willing to grant him that — although Perth seemed well below par against Sydney last weekend — but to lose again on Sunday would surely constitute at least a wobble. Whether Lowe admits it or not. But I’m hypothesising. Perth haven’t lost yet and they’ll be looking to the welcome return of Rostyn Griffiths at the back and Mitch Nichols in midfield to help put all that bogey talk, and slump talk, to bed.

As for Adelaide (who welcome back Marcelo Carrusca from injury) it’s hard to know what we’ll get. On their day they sparkle like a disco ball, yet too often, for all their dominance of possession, they don’t have their fans dancing in the aisles at the end of the 90 minutes. It’s easy to forget when you see them put seven goals past Newcastle but Josep Gombau’s men have lost five of their past nine games.

Can the Wanderers kick on?

Five months isn’t much a dry spell if you’re a monk living on the side of a mountain; so lonely the wind whistles country music laments as it navigates its rocky crags and stony faces. But when you’re the reigning club champions of Asia five months is a lifetime and one can only imagine the relief felt around Wanderland with that stoic, if somewhat fortunate, win against Wellington in Penrith last week.

Relief is one thing, however, now the Wanderers need to pursue pride. Still bottom of the ladder, and a massive 12 points from sixth, finals football, surely, is out of the question, but the Wanderers still have 13 matches remaining in which to pull their season from the sewer and give it enough of a polish that they can see their faces in it. But by Zeus they need to score more goals.

For all their poor results they’ve conceded fewer goals than the competition leaders (and four other teams for that matter) in the season to date, admittedly having played two fewer games. Goals scored, however? Ten, with Tomi Juric and Mark Bridge leading their scorers with just two each (from seven and 13 games respectively). If the Wanderers are going to work their way up the ladder that has to change. It could just help that on Saturday they head to Newcastle to take on the league’s most generous defence.

A light on the horizon

You have to give the Central Coast Mariners their due. All year they’ve played as if winning would come from boring the opposition to death. Yet despite this tactic being so thoroughly unsuccessful they stuck with it and low and behold it has paid dividends with two wins in their past three games and only one loss (a diabolical 5-1 loss to Sydney) in five.

Their 2-1 win over Adelaide last week was one of the shocks of the season, and more shocking still in that it went against the grain of the match. Everything about the Mariners has been so downbeat all season you don’t expect fortune to smile upon them. But smile it did and you can hardly begrudge the Mariners the modicum of happiness and even hope the win must have brought. Beat the Roar on Friday and the Mariners, incredibly, could be just one point out of the six.

It sure has been a tough year for the proud and successful club that has made a habit of punching above their weight, all the while losing their biggest names to bigger suitors (and now Mitchell Duke has gone as well, not that he’s got around to fulfilling his potential just yet). This has forced the Mariners to push young players through and there’s no reason to think that won’t keep happening. And it could even work out.

Teenagers Anthony Kalik and Liam Rose lifted the Mariners last week when they came and you’d think Phil Moss will give them another crack this week. He’ll also have at hand new signing Fabio Ferreira, who will slip into Duke’s position up front. Perhaps he and the young ’uns can add some of the flair that has been jettisoned in the search for results at any cost.

Milligan’s eye lands on top spot

It’s easy to forget because we saw him performing admirably for the Socceroos during the Asian Cup but Mark Milligan’s appearance for Melbourne Victory on Saturday against Sydney FC will be his first since December 13, six matches ago.

In a nice bit of symmetry, Victory’s opponents that evening were Sydney FC and it was in that game that Milligan earned a three-match suspension (but not a send-off, Mr Magoo being the referee that evening) for elbowing Terry Antonis, with whom he went into Socceroos camp (and, I imagine, the pair quickly made up at the bain-marie in the mess hall upon discovering a shared love of quinoa, or cocktail frankfurters, or whatever).

Anyway, now Milligan is back - and that’s a real boost for a team that hardy needs a boost at the moment. Given how polished Victory were in smacking City in last week’s derby it will be tough on whomever gets dropped to accommodate Milligan (Leigh Broxham, presumably) but you’d think Kevin Muscat will be keen to use his energy and drive considering the intensity of the fixture that has a history of, um, making babies laugh.

Sydney have halted their pre-Asian Cup slide with goals and back-to-back away wins and it’s a pity they’ll have to face the league’s top-scoring team without centre-backs Nikola Petkovic and Jacques Faty after both were sent-off against Perth last week. Sebastian Ryall and Matthew Jurman will likely step in and together they will look to reason with Besart Berisha in the nicest possible way.

It’s all good at the Wellington Phoenix

Ernie Merrick’s Wellington Phoenix have now lost twice in succession but they’ve no reason as yet to be too downbeat about it. Brisbane beat them with a 92nd-minute winner after Wellington lost their grip on the midfield; that happens.

Then the Wanderers beat them last week by scoring early and then —and you could hardly blame them— barricading their goal with 11 players, a few wheely bins, some larger members of the Red and Black Bloc and, yes, the team coach that had brought them across from Parramatta to the foot of the mountains.

With 60% possession, 23 crosses to 13 and 430 passes to 288 Wellington did all they could to score. Except score. Again, that happens. So one doesn’t imagine there’d be any anxiety in the Phoenix camp and they’ll happily recall that the last, and only, time they lost consecutive matches this season they went on a seven match unbeaten run (six wins, one draw).

Nevertheless, a home win against a Melbourne City team firmly put in their place last week will be seen as a necessary restorative. If they slip up again, however, they may begin to wonder if there just might be something to worry about after all.

Fixtures:

Friday

Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar, Central Coast Stadium, Gosford, 7.40pm

Saturday

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City, Hutt Recreational Ground, Wellington, 5pm local (3pm AEDT)

Newcastle Jets v Western Sydney Wanderers, Hunter Stadium, Newcastle, 5pm

Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory, Sydney Football Stadium, 7.30pm

Sunday

Adelaide United v Perth Glory, Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, 4.30pm local (5pm AEDT)