Victory back to the pack
Wait, what was that? The bottom-placed Newcastle Jets beat top-of-the-table Melbourne Victory away from home? Surely not. This is the same Newcastle Jets club that may yet fail to pay this month’s phone bill, and they’ve helped throw the Premier’s Plate race wide open.
After defending deep and with great desperation on Friday night, maximum points were deserved for the Jets, in truth. With little to play for – apart from the avoidance of the wooden spoon – Newcastle simply looked like they wanted it more than Kevin Muscat’s men. Melbourne, for their part, still have a game in hand on the title rivals Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Wellington Phoenix, but they’re going to need to improve in a real hurry to give that advantage meaning. The pace with which they moved possession around this week will have nobody worried – aside from Muscat, of course.
This certainly was one of the craziest results of the season to date, and it’s no surprise that the unpredictable Jets were involved. So, is it possible – however remote it may have seemed a few weeks ago – that Phil Stubbins may not be so bad after all? Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn’t, but it’s now a question at least worth pondering.
Sky Blues soar as Glory fall
Perth Glory naturally looked a little rattled this week after the ruling that they would not be eligible to take part in this year’s finals series was handed down by FFA. However, that shouldn’t take anything away from how good Sydney FC looked in short spells in Western Australia during their 3-0 win.
In particular Bernie Ibini is really starting to have a say on the outcome of matches, having a hand in all three of the Sky Blues’ goals. With he, Marc Janko, Alex Brosque and Chris Naumoff starting to click up front, there is plenty of evidence to suggest Sydney FC are championship favourites at this point.
Meanwhile, the frustrations of the Glory fans are certainly understandable, and a select few vented via flares and chants during the game. Having watched the club struggle to reach the heights of its NSL halcyon days, then abandoning Alistair Edwards’ policy to develop local talent, Perth supporters must now be wishing for anything but the current circumstance. Not only will they miss out on the finals, but in A-League terms the $269,000 fine imposed is no loose change. This will hurt the Glory for some time to come, and none will feel it more so than the faithful fans who are still waiting for - and deserving of – genuine success.
Going down to the wire
This round, it seemed that none of the silverware contenders wanted to go top, with the exception of Sydney. Adelaide were on the back foot for much of their first half against Brisbane, for which they paid the price. Victory, as noted, were far too sluggish against a beatable Newcastle side.
And Wellington, who had the luxury of playing the final game of the round against Melbourne City, lacked any sort of conviction when presented with chances. Socceroo Nathan Burns had the ultimate opportunity to send his side back to the top of the pile from the penalty spot but even he could not own the moment. Beyond that gilt-edged chance, the City-Phoenix game was free-flowing enough that a little bit of composure still would have seen the New Zealand club move to the summit. That was not to be.
Is it nerves? Are players focusing too much on other results rather than their own performance? Regardless of the reason, it’s making for an intense ride for neutral fans, and it seems certain to continue right through until the final round, when Wellington host Sydney FC in a potential title-deciding clash.
Roar making the most of their shot
It’s not how Brisbane Roar coach Frans Thijssen would want to have qualified for this season’s A-League finals but after defeating title hopefuls Adelaide 3-2 in South Australia on Saturday night, it seems his charges are determined make their mark. There is no doubt that Brisbane have been thrown a massive lifeline with Perth’s exclusion from the finals for breaching the salary cap. They must now qualify in sixth place, despite sitting four points below Melbourne City, who would have occupied the last berth
It would be easy, therefore, to dismiss the Roar out of the gate. But the manner in which they seized their chances against Josep Gombau’s men offered a glimpse into their potential. That the Reds spurned a golden chance to equalise in the 34th minute, and that Adelaide dominated large portions of the second half, are not to be forgotten but when Andrija Kaluderovic scores, you get the sense Brisbane have something on their side at the moment. Indeed, any outfit featuring Thomas Broich should be approached with caution in a knockout scenario.
Farewell Hutch
It was a fitting home departure for Mariners skipper John Hutchinson on Saturday evening. There was not a dry eye in Gosford which, to be fair, was partially due to the smoke bombs let off in the active support bay of the away team.
There will certainly be better players to grace the A-League stage, and indeed there already have been. Hutchinson’s legacy, strange as it may sound, is in his ability to keep a dressing room united. Like any professional sporting organisation the Mariners have had their highs and lows, but there has been a thread of consistency running through that club over the past decade. Hutchinson has been a big part of that. He has helped rein in big egos, encouraged young players, and watched the likes of Mile Jedinak and Mat Ryan go on to much bigger things. There’s something to be said for his contribution to the culture of the A-League, so it made sense for the Central Coast to send him off in style – even if a large part of the atmosphere belonged to the Western Sydney Wanderers fans on the night.
