The un-level playing field

Because the finals system holds sway in Australian sport we’ve grown accustomed to the inherent bias built into our home and away seasons. In the NRL and AFL, for instance, 16-team competitions mean not every team plays each other twice. This means the playing field is about as level as the small pool table the Connolly family used to have in a glorified storage room under their house. On this table (so close to the walls that to hit a cue ball resting on the cushion meant raising your cue about 50 degrees above the horizontal) a quick game was a good game because to take too long over your shot, to mull the mysteries of physics as you chalked your cue, was to allow the balls time to imperceptibly but inexorably make their way across the battered felt to the pocket in the south-west corner. But I digress…

The A-League is fairer than that but, still, when A-League teams play each other three times per season it means that someone gets the disadvantage of two away games, to one home (or when it comes to Sydney FC, the disadvantage of two home games to one away). That you’ll get two home games against another team doesn’t even things up. This week we see another built in bias, which demonstrates the hold TV has on sport. In the final round of the Premier League all games kick off at the same time so no-one has the advantage of knowing what score or result they need to win the league, avoid relegation, or get a European place. Not so in the A-League. For instance, when the Melbourne Victory walk out onto AAMI Park to play the Central Coast at 5pm on Sunday in the final game of the round they will know exactly what is needed to claim the Premier’s Plate. In the unlikely event Sydney put a whopping score on Wellington Kevin Muscat’s team will know how much they need to win by, or not lose by, which is a rather handy thing to know. If Sydney lose or draw, Victory may as well be given the Premier’s Plate before they run out. That way they could eat their halftime oranges off it.

Credit for Krazy Kev

If, as expected, Melbourne Victory remain on top of the table after this weekend’s round of football, then Kevin Muscat will have achieved at Victory what even Ange Postecogou couldn’t; steering the A-League’s biggest club to its first premiership since Ernie Merrick’s tenure in 2009-2010. This is some achievement and it will be especially rewarding for Muscat since he’s been a part of the furniture at Victory since 2005, mostly as a player and club captain. Although he served an apprenticeship under Merrick, Muscat took over from Postecoglou (who was lured away by the Socceroos’ gig when he had Victory singing like songbirds at dawn) without having ever worn the big pants before (barring one game as caretaker coach). Given the Victory have particularly high expectations this would have been daunting but here’s Muscat, in just his second season, guiding them to the summit. Of course his penchant for thuggery as a player will always taint him in the eyes of many but it should be pointed out that while he stands on the sidelines, fizzing, popping and convulsing, as if fireworks are going off behind his eyes, his Victory is no team of club-footed hardmen, eeking out wins on the back of bone-breakers that would make a butcher wince. By and large their default style is sleek, fast football with a eye for goal. Victory aren’t a team made in his own image but in opposition to it. All credit to him.

Who is getting a rest next week

The battle for second spot on the ladder —the prize for which is a week off next week, a home final the week after, and the knowledge that history is on your side since no side outside the top top has yet been crowned A-League champions— is down to Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix. How fortuitous for us that they will face each other in the final round on Sunday afternoon in Wellington; a pre-finals final if you will. With Sydney a point ahead of the Phoenix a draw would suffice for the Sky Blues, and it would complete a remarkable away run which, to date, has seen them play 13 away games this season without loss (nine wins and four draws: by comparison they’ve won four, drawn four and lost five at home). What is it about playing away from Sydney they like so much? Is it simply the freedom that comes from getting away from the big city, and the fresh air and solicitous, hat-tipping citizens to be found in cute little hamlets like Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide? Who knows, but whatever it is they will hope it inspires them at least once more, this week against the Phoenix.

For both teams it seems they get the best results when not sparing the horses. Attack over defence. Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick hinted this would be the direction his team would take on Sunday having felt his team got the balance wrong the last time these sides met, a 3-0 home loss for the Phoenix during a game affected by the international break. Both teams found their scoring touch last week with Wellington putting three past the Central Coast, and Sydney scoring four against Newcastle. But they did so at considerable cost, not least to their fans’ nerves. The Phoenix conceded two early and left it until the death to win in it, while Sydney were only marginally more timely with their winner. Heart-attack football, but exciting to watch. Stay tuned.

Brisbane’s low-key end

It’s a generous league that allows you to lose (at least) 13 of 27 games and still make the finals but Brisbane were hardly going to object when a play-off spot opened up for them. And with Perth’s finals expulsion having laid out the red carpet, Brisbane had the luxury last week of resting key players against the Victory so as to keep their powder dry for Tuesday night’s ACL match against Beijing Guoan in China (which they duly won, 1-0). Sydney FC weren’t all that pleased with what occurred last week, given a weakened Brisbane enhanced the chances of Premier’s Plate rivals, Victory, but you could hardly blame the Roar who, like Western Sydney, have endured some horror scheduling in recent weeks. While there’s no ACL fixture until May 5 the Roar have again rested from A-League duties the likes of Thomas Broich, Matt McKay, Luke Brattan and James Donachie —who all played on Tuesday night. The Roar will finish sixth win, lose or draw against Newcastle on Friday night so it was an easy decision for Frans Thijssen. But while the Roar’s stars get a breather as they steady themselves for the challenges ahead, the game represents Newcastle’s last chance to avoid the wooden spoon. The thought that Newcastle could still keep last spot at bay tells you how bad the Wanderers season has been.

A finals dress rehearsal in Adelaide

Melbourne City will take some comfort in the fact they achieved finals football without the largesse of Perth, via the heavy hand of the FFA. While the surprise backing of the moneyed City Football Group hasn’t catapulted them to the head of the A-League table (as some deluded souls thought it might before a ball had been kicked) it has sparked progress: small steps rather than mighty leaps, yes, but progress all the same. City had ample opportunity to stumble ahead of the finals, but in a manner most unlike that of their former selves, they’ve kept their nerve, losing just once (last week against Perth) in their past six games. The manner of last week’s loss was disappointing —City were flat and uninspired— but it wasn’t going to alter their table position so in a sense they were playing a friendly, and it is always hard to recapture the best mindset when nothing is on the line. You could argue the same lack of meaning hangs over this week’s match against Adelaide away, but it could be that these same two teams play again next week in an elimination final so there’s always a psychological edge to be gained. With Marcelo Carrusca and Awer Mabil back from injury that edge is Adelaide’s to lose.

Fixtures

Friday:
Brisbane Roar FC v Newcastle Jets, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, 7:40pm

Saturday:
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v Perth Glory, Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta, 5:00pm
Adelaide United v Melbourne City FC, Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, 7:00pm

Sunday:
Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC, Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 5:00pm local (3:00pm AEST)
Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners, AAMI Park, Melbourne, 5:00pm