Round 9 Review

By: Kieran | October 7th, 2009

Three draws, a very intense Melbourne Brisbane game, and a good win for Sydney made for a long weekend of contrast.
McFlynn

Gold Coast United 0-0 Wellington Phoenix
Yawn… A bore draw at Skilled Park further added to Gold Coast’s woes, after only 4,209 people filed into the stadium to see the new bling team being held by 8th placed Wellington. The abismal crowd will not please the FFA, especially considering the star players in the GCU lineup, and that until this week they were top of the table.

By all reports Wellington actually played well, and even Gold Coast manager Miron Bleiberg admited after the game that “Had we scored it would have been cruel to them,” and that “We didn’t deserve to win.”

Also, we are looking for bloggers for both Gold Coast United and Wellington Phoneix, so if your interested, read this.

Perth Glory 1-1 North Queensland Fury
North Queensland Fury bounced back from having Ufuk Talay sent off for simulation and snatched a point from the Glory in Perth. A solid crowd and a sunny day set the scene for what looked like a Perth win, after Talay was sent off in the 45th and Mile Sterjovski slotted home a penalty in the 49th. But a controversial own goal from Tando Velaphi, who appeared to have been pushed over the line by Chris Grossman, sent the Fury level in the 71st, and it stayed that way for the remainer. You can read a full match report, including the conclusion that Velaphi was fouled, at Ben’s Perth Offside

My tip for this game was 2-1 Perth, so not quite, but if you agree with Ben’s opinion, I would have been correct if the referee didn’t rob Perth blind.

Melbourne Victory 2-1 Brisbane Roar
A 72nd minute winner from Adam Leijer saw Melbourne Victory edge the Roar in a game featuring ‘the bird’ from Danny Tiatto. As two of our bloggers have already covered the game, I won’t go into detail, and you can read Marcus’ acount here or Ahmed’s here.

Tip for this game was 1-0 Melbourne, so i got the result and the margin right .

Sydney FC 1-0 Central Coast Mariners
A single goal from Terry McFlynn on his return from injury pushed Sydney FC past local (well localish) rivals Central Coast, and pushed Sydney past Melbourne to the pinnacle of the A League. A quality performance in front of a solid crowd of 13,887 saw Sydney reclaim first on the table. Despite missing frontman Matt Simon due to injury, Central Coast fought on, and almost managed a second half comeback, but couldn’t quite find the back of the net.

It was a promising perfomance for Sydney, and it seems as if new coach Vitezslav Lavicka has made the Sky Blues a polished, passing team. For Central Coast however, the loss leaves them on equal 5th, a respectable position, but a loss next week could theoretically see them down to 8th, and thus will be looking to bounce back against North Queensland. Sydney will be looking to carry the momentum forward as they face Melbourne on friday night, in what is sure to be the game of the week.

My tip last week was 2-0 Sydney, so I got the win right, and almost the score.

Adelaide United 1-1 Newcastle Jets
A late Cassio goal put Adelaide equal with the Jets on Monday afternoon at Hindmarsh stadium. An opener in the 6th minute from Korean midfielder Jin-Hyung Song looked as if it wouldn’t be enough to get Newcastle a point, but a missed penalty from Travis Dodd and a very slow start from Adelaide saw them only manage the lone Cassio goal.

Jet’s debutant Michael Bridges managed 80 minutes, and his addition to the lineup, plus the return of Newcastle’s Young Socceroos bodes well for the Jets, who are looking to move clear of second last. However, Adelaide will have to improve if they are to claim all three points against Perth this week, as they try to push into the top six.

My tip was Adelaide 1-0, so close, but not on the money.

So not the greatest week of tipping for me I’m afraid, but some interesting games made the weekend bearable. Look out for my round 10 preview coming soon.