Weekly Wrap (10/5)

By: Kieran | May 10th, 2009

Alright then, well sorry the blog’s been a bit slow, had a lot of school work, but the A League certainly hasn’t been slow. Adelaide’s been handed over to the FFA, the Central Coast Mariners are out of the Asian Champions League, but the Jets are still in, and the worst kept secret of the season, the renaming of the QLD Roar (now the Brisbane Roar), has finally been made public. Ohh and Perth Glory have signed Jacob Burns. But firstly let’s start with the games…

Newcastle Jets 2-1 Beijing Guoan
Youngster Sean Rooney kept the Newcastle Jets in the hunt for a place in the second round of the ACL with a 94th minute equaliser against Beijing Guoan. The Jets looked to be dead and buried when the hadn’t scored with two minutes of regulation time to go, after Australian Ryan Griffiths has put Beijing in the lead in the 69th minute. Then, villain of the Jets previous ACL game Sasho Petrovski hammered it home from a tight angle. And then, with the game looking as if it would end a score draw, Rooney pounced, to leave the Jets in a strong position on the ladder, only needed a draw in their next match to progress. After the match Jets coach Gary van Egmond said “There’s good character in this team and they’ve pretty much got a never-die attitude.” In even more good news for Jets fans, they could still progress to the next round even if they lose, if Beijing lose at home to the already qualified Nagoya Grampus, which is a definite possibility.

Central Coast Mariners 2-3 Pohang Steelers
A hat-trick from Brazilian striker Denilson has put the Central Coast Mariners out of the Asian Champions League. The scoring started early with a 7th minute spot kick converted by Denilson, but then a second half brace within 6 minutes by Adam Kwasnik made it appear as if the Mariners might still have a chance of ACL progression. But two more late goals from the Brazilian striker left the Mariners disappointed. After the game Mariners manager Lawrie McKinna said “It’s another game where we’ve been so close but yet so far and against the good Asian teams, they punish you.” So unlucky for Adelaide, but there’s still the chance of another shot in two years time.

New’s in Short

The Roar have changed their name

Striker Lloyd Owusu tempted by Adelaide

Fulham heading Down Under, for three games

Well sorry guys, but unfortunately I have to go, have homework to finish off before the weekend finishes, but I promise I’ll be doing another article tomorrow, which will cover the FFA taking over Adelaide, and the Perth Glory signing of Nathan Burns.