Melbourne scratch Victory against Gold Coast

The new kid on the block could not defeat the champions in a close game between Melbourne Victory and Gold Coast United. In the round that see’s the top seven teams with an exciting 2 point difference (1st Gold Coast-13points_7th Adelaide United-11points).

The Gold Coast season thus far proved that could take any team confident they could win against twice Champs Melbourne.

It was a second half penalty put in by Captain Kevin Muscat that sealed the Victory for the Victory only after (to the frustration of the United fans) he was made to re-take a first attempt miss.
It didn’t start well for Melbourne however rueing an 11minute chance to take the lead when Muscat brought down Joel Porter inside the box for a penalty.

Jason Culina calmly put United in the lead.
United fans stopped celebrating 4minutes later when Carlos Hernandez pulled the trigger on the ball from 30 meters into the top left hand corner.

The game took a bad turn for United as Steve Fitzsimmons was given a straight red for a bad two footed tackle.

Melbourne took advantage immediately keeping their disadvantaged rivals on the defensive until the 43rd minute when a corner converted by super striker Archie Thompson.

It looked like Melbourne would have the advantage at the half until Joel Porter scored his first ever goal in stoppage time so that both teams would go into the sheds equal.

However in the second half Gold coast conceded a penalty and Kevin Muscat kept his 100% record for penalties.

Melbourne Victory 3 Gold Coast United 2

(Image from A-league

Sydney could've been on top

With Sydney and Gold coast on 13 points each Sydney versing a low moral Brisbane Roar seemed to be their best opportunity this season to finally be 3points clear of the table. Playing at Brisbane’s home ground on Coach Frank Farina’s 150^th game as coach.

Despite many chances from Mark Bridge in the first half Sydney could not get ahead of Brisbane who had suffered a heavy 4-2 loss to Perth Glory. Liam Reddy lifting his game from his last game saving on of Bridges great chances in just the fourth minute. In the 29^th minute former Queensland player Alex Brosque helped Bridge with another great opening at goal but failed again. Bridge came yet again in the 43^rd minute with a free kick that was the last great opportunity of the half.

Clint Bolton’s great performances as goalkeeper in the last few weeks blocking a penalty and some spectacular saves was matched in the second half saving a great shot from Josh McCloughan.

Steve Corica expressed his disappointment at not being able to clear the table in terms of points. Sydney FC is now in second and Gold Coast in first only goal difference separating them. for more see this related blog

wrap up of round 7(pt2)

The fourth fixture between Newcastle Jets and Sydney F.C was a game people considered a waste by critics judging from the performance of the Jets. In the 22^nd minute they were awarded a controversial penalty which Thompson missed. Sydney punished the Jets in the 26^th minute by scoring via Mark Bridge. Eleven minutes later Thomson did what he couldn't do on the spot making it one apiece before the half. The second half saw Sydney F.C’s Alex Brosque go down in the box for another penalty this time Steve Corica delivered a goal on the spot despite Ben Kennedy guessing the direction of the ball. Newcastle created many more chances but failed to score a goal, disappointed not to share points with Sydney.

Sydney F.C 2 Newcastle Jets 1

The fifth and final game turned out to be the most interesting as the Brisbane Roar crowd was silenced after 45seconds as McCloughan scored an own goal from a Perth Glory cross. Perth extended their lead just before the end of the half when Roar goalkeeper ran out allowing Wayne Srhoj to calmly drive the ball in. The roar struck back early in the second half with a fantastic goal from Henrique. Glory striker Branko Jelic and Roar striker Sergio van Dijjk earned a goal a piece making the score line 3-2 in favour Glory. Roared sealed the deal for Perth that is when goalkeeper Liam Reddy made a second blunder letting in an easily defended goal.

Perth Glory 4 Brisbane Roar 2

wrap up of round 7(pt1)

The first match of round seven began with bitter rivals Adelaide United and Melbourne at Adelaide’s home ground at Hindmarsh stadium. Nick Ward stopped the Adelaide fans cheering early scoring a goal. From then on it was a tough match with the usual suspects Kevin Muscat and Leigh Broxham getting yellow cards. Despite a good effort put in by Adelaide they conceded another goal in the 89^th minute via striker Grant Brebner.

Melbourne Victory 2 Adelaide United 0

The second game the Central Coast Mariners battled Gold Coast United the Mariners having the best defence versus United’s best attack. The Mariners completely subdued United, Travis scoring in the 25^th minute. United failed to be a threat as they entered the sheds at half time to regroup. United attacked quickly creating a corner, one of the only chances they managed. The Mariners punished Gold Coast scoring a goal in 53^rd and 69^th minute. Any chance to come back was thwarted as leading goal scorer Shane Smelts was sent off in the 68^th minute after getting a second yellow card.

Central Coast Mariners 3 Gold Coast 0

Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante describes his teams result against North Queensland Fury as gut-wrenching. The third game of the 7^th round started off well for Wellington with a 6^th minute goal from Leo Bertos, and they continued to dominate with many chances to double their money with two great shots from Daniel. Ian Ferguson coach of Fury admitted his team was lucky to be trailing by one goal at the half. With a little bit of motivation from their coach the Fury did better in the second half gaining a free kick into injury time, Fowler kicked ball in the penalty area and with a few lucky ricochets it was finally put in by Chris Grossman.

Wellington Phoenix 1 North Queensland Fury 1

round 1 continued

Third match see’s brand new team gold coast united live up to the hype recruiting some of the best players from the a-league. Taking defender Adam Griffiths from Newcastle, striker Shane Smelts from Wellington Phoenix and Australian Socceroos midfielder Jason Culina. They started their campaign in the first ever Queensland derby (derby is when two teams from the same state play each other) against the original QLD team Brisbane Roar. It didn’t take long for Smelts to begin the goal scoring putting the ball in effortlessly from a cross. The second goal came from Captain Jason Culina who scored a super strike from inside the box. At 90 minutes a penalty goal from Sergio van dyke with only 3minutes of extra time left. But Robson of Gold Coast conclusively ended the game running straight down the defence for a great strike.

Gold Coast United 3 Brisbane Roar 1

The reds (Adelaide United) started their new campaign with a win over Perth Glory taking the lead in the 31st minute from a penalty awarded to Adelaide after some shirt pulling in the box. Captain Travis Dodd scored. Perth’s attack was shut down for the remainder of the game giving Adelaide a confident win.

Adelaide 1 Perth Glory 0

The last game was between wooden spoon of last season Newcastle Jets and Wellington Phoenix the only New Zealand team in the A-league. Newcastle determined to get a better result took an early lead scoring 2 goals by the 22nd minute. Wellington fought back to make it two all by the first half. Newcastle sealed the victory with 6minutes left with a goal from substitute Jason Naidovski.

Newcastle Jets 3 Wellington Phoenix 2

the story so far...

As we approach the 8th round of an undeniably interesting season of the a-league we have seen Clive Palmer’s Gold Coast United lose twice after he predicted a an undefeated season for the new team. After many respectable wins against the best clubs, Gold Coast lost by a massive 3-0 to Central Coast after leading goal scorer Shane Smelts showing Gold Coast weakness without him.
Perth have done surprisingly well defeating Brisbane Roar 4-2, mind you Brisbane did concede two own goals to an understandably shocked home crowd, even though Perth beat a weak Brisbane Perth are still in a respectable 4th place on the ladder ahead of Adelaide and Melbourne.
These usually high achieving teams sit near the bottom of the ladder Adelaide on 8 points only slightly ahead of Melbourne on a pathetic 9 points. Last week Melbourne could only scrap a draw with Wellington a well-known weak team in the competition.
Contrary to Gold Coast United great start North Queensland Fury’s start to the A-league went 6 rounds without a win. They finally won their first game to Sydney F.C thanks to E.P.L (English premier league) legend Robbie Fowler scoring a superb goal from outside the box. This shocked Sydney supporters, as this was just their second loss of the season, the first loss going to Gold Coast incidentally.

history of A-league (part 2)

Newcastle United Jets also known as the jets came from the N.S.L as Newcastle United but was renamed Jets to prevent confusion with English Premier League club Newcastle United. The name jets is a reference to an air force based near the Newcastle home grounds, the R.A.A.F base contains F-18 hornets which are on the clubs logo. In version 3 Newcastle lost some great players but gained some new ones including Adam Griffiths, twin brother Joel beating record for most goals in a season 12 goals in 21 rounds. Newcastle went on to become the champions beating arch rival's Central Coast 1-0.




Brisbane Roar also known as the roar changed it's name only this year from Queensland Roar as two new Queensland teams were introduced. Brisbane has an interesting record of coming one place higher each year on the A-league ladder, they came 6th in version one and last season continued the trend by coming 3rd in version four.




Perth Glory known simply as glory is one of the more unsuccessful teams in the league. Despite winning 50% of games in there first season, ending in a respectable 5th place,Perth's poor management and performances saw a sharp decline in the following seasons coming in 7th for the past 3 years with an average win rate of just 9%.



Adelaide United also known as the Reds is one of only three teams to keep its name from the old N.S.L. The other two are Perth and Newcastle (who keep the name United despite the opposition from the FAA). Adelaide is the most successful club in terms of international performances. Being the only A-league team to make it to finals of the Asian football tournament (A.F.C) losing to Japanese heavyweights Gamba Osaka. Because of this achievement they are also the only A-league team to make it to the F.I.F.A Club world cup ending in a respectable 5th to win US$1.5million. On home soil have been a consistently successful team being premeirs in the first season and coming second to Melbourne in the finals twice.

Central Coast Mariners also known as the mariners have done well in the a-league despite not having any marqee players. They have made it to a grand final twice once in the first season to Sydney F.C and in the third losing to Newcaslte there biggest rival. There fans are called the Marinators and there famous chant is "we all follow a yellow football team".Pundits are often proven wrong by the Martiners saying each year they will not place highly, coach Lawrie McKinna says "we always prove them wrong.

for more info on the A-league check out their website