The end is nigh

Just two rounds remaining and, still, half* the teams in the competition have a mathematical chance of finishing the regular season in first spot (half, that is, if you include Perth Glory, now all but an asterisk on season 2014-15 ). The reward for that, of course, is the Premier’s Plate, as well as the opportunity to cripple yourself for season 2015-16 by spending all those midseason midweeks fighting over the oversized massage chairs in airports lounges all over Asia. While the clear gap between the top- and bottom-five speaks of a season of haves and have nots, it’s also representative of the inability of any of the top teams to put a gap between themselves and the chasers despite many chances to do so. And why have such chances been spurned? Because points have been dropped not only against fellow premiership aspirants but strugglers too. Upsets like Melbourne Victory’s 1-0 home loss to last-placed Newcastle last week are a case in point. Indeed, such a loss could point to the closeness of the competition if this didn’t actually contradict my remark just moments ago of it being a season of haves and have nots. It’s enough to do your head in.

Anyway, we are on the verge of being able to pocket our premiership permutations. If Melbourne Victory beat Brisbane on Saturday night at Suncorp (if it seems like just the other day since Victory beat the Roar in Brisbane, it’s because it is just the other day since Victory beat the Roar in Brisbane) they will almost certainly be A-League premiers for the first time since 2008-09. If Victory lose, however (and given the ebb and flow of the run-in you can’t discount it for all Victory’s class), and Sydney FC, Adelaide and Wellington win, well, the race for the Premier’s Plate will come down to the final round and it could still be a four horse race, presuming, of course, that Perth Asterisk don’t find a way to stave off execution.

Spoiler alert

The Newcastle Jets have had a wretched year. The Jets’ version of Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding episode —the mid-season sacking of six-players and a number of coaching staff— was driven by woeful results, and they hardly ended after the cull. The club has won just three of 25 games. One of those wins, of course, was last week’s deserved upset of Melbourne Victory, a win which led Jets owner Nathan Tinkler to say the team had “plenty to look forward to next year”. You take happiness where you can get it, and more can be salvaged from the wreckage of the season with a win against Sydney FC on Friday night. As well as helping keep Newcastle from the wooden spoon, the Jets’ beating Sydney would almost certainly prevent the Sky Blues from winning the Premier’s Plate and possibly ruin their chances of a top-two finish and the benefits that entails. That Sydney are the Jets’ overbearing neighbours must make this an attractive proposition to Newcastle. Sydney, it hardly needs to be said, will do well to learn from Victory’s mistakes last week, and they need to hold their nerve and play with the same attacking intent that has underwritten their best performances this season. In that endeavour they will be helped by the availability for selection of key midfielder Mickael Tavares, nor will it hurt to have Shane Smeltz and Alex Brosque back on board. It all points to a Sydney win.

Adelaide United

They are only four points off the competition lead but when I think of Adelaide’s season I can’t help but dwell on negatives; not just their costly mid-season slump when they lost seven of 13 games, but their way of inflating hopes before sticking a pin in them. How did Adelaide follow up their 7-0 win over Newcastle? With a 2-1 loss to the dull Mariners. What about their 1-0 snatch-and-grab win over Sydney that had them on the verge of outright second and a chance of nipping Victory at the finishing post? With a flat 3-2 home loss over the seventh-placed Roar. Now Adelaide have the theoretical benefit of playing their final two matches against teams lower than them on the ladder, beginning with the Wanderers away this week. Momentum is priceless at this time of year and Adelaide would do well to develop some. Can they bring their A-game twice in succession and begin the finals with the wins at their backs? Having won the FFA Cup earlier in the season the double (actually, make that the treble) is still on the table. It’s time to show some mettle.

The Phoenix’s one simple goal

The international break (a misnomer since no-one actually got a break, unless they mean international players getting a break from playing for their paymasters) really put the skids under Wellington. The Phoenix were on a four-game winning streak ahead of it and were sitting in poll position leading many to entertain the thought that the premiers of Australia’s A-League could be a team from New Zealand, akin to Israel winning Eurovision. But missing Nathan Burns, Michael McGlinchey and many others Wellington folded 3-0 home at home to Sydney. And although their internationals returned to duty the following week the Phoenix picked up where they left off, and not where they (Burns etc) left off. Another 3-0 home loss ensued, this time to Victory. Last week they scrambled a 0-0 draw against City —and might have won but for a poorly taken Burns penalty— but the form line remained grim: no win or goals in three matches whilst conceding six. As Ernie Merrick said this week, “I’m a pretty positive person, but I’ve got to be realistic. When you lose like that, you’re not going to finish on top.” Top-two is still on, however, but such contingencies must be pushed aside behind one objective: beat the Central Coast on Friday night and rediscover the joy of putting the ball in the opposition’s net. Burns McGlinchey, Albert Riera, Roly Bonevacia, Roy Krishna and Ben Sigmund are all available. No excuses.

City’s unenviable trip

They’ll be told to remove all thoughts of Perth’s troubles and associated finals permutations from their minds and just concentrate on the matter at hand: beating the Glory. But that’s like saying ‘don’t turn around, there’s a clown standing behind you with a machete in his hand’. So City will most certainly take a peek behind them but it behooves them to remain calm and play as if this were a dress rehearsal for the finals, which in a way it is. Kew Jaliens in a loss for City (after an accumulation of cards) but they’ve held their nerve in the run in to the finals, holding off Brisbane when you would have bet against it. This will another test but the passing of it could deliver lasting benefits with the finals nigh.

Fixtures

Friday
Wellington Phoenix vs Central Coast, 5:30pm
Newcastle Jets vs Sydney, 7:45pm

Saturday
Western Sydney vs Adelaide United, 5pm
Brisbane Roar vs Melbourne Victory, 7:30pm

Sunday
Perth Glory vs Melbourne City, nib Stadium, 5pm