Adelaide United and Perth Glory remain equal top of the A-League ladder on 11 points after both sides recorded impressive wins in round five. The reds came away from the harbour city with all three points, thanks largely to a double from Sergio Van Dijk in their 3-1 victory over Sydney FC last night.
Adelaide United vs Sydney FC Video:
While the Glory were by far the better side in their home match against Wellington Phoenix this afternoon, despite the narrow 2-1 scoreline.
Perth Glory vs Wellington Phoenix Video:
Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners sit on eight points and are equal third, three points clear of North Queensland Fury, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart, who celebrated their maiden A-League win after defeating the Fury 1-0 at AAMI Park last night. Wellington are in eighth place with four points from as many matches, while Newcastle Jets are a point behind in ninth. Gold Coast United are anchored to the bottom of the table with Sydney on two points, however – courtesy of two weekend breaks – they have played just three matches compared to the reigning champions’ five.
The sky blues are in need of some soul searching after their disappointing loss to Adelaide and coach Vitezslav Lavicka has a tough job ahead of him as he hopes to rally his troops for next Saturday’s trip to Wellington. Lavicka will be sweating on the fitness of key striker Alex Brosque and captain Terry McFlynn for the clash with the Phoenix, who have not lost at home for two years.
The return of Mile Sterjovski after a one-week absence due to an ankle injury was a timely one for Perth as the former Socceroo was instrumental in his side’s victory against Wellington. Sterjovski opened the scoring after five minutes and then set up marquee man Robbie Fowler for the Glory’s second goal not long after half time. Perth will be looking for more of the same at nib Stadium next Sunday afternoon when they host Gold Coast.
In today’s other match, Newcastle and Brisbane fought out a tough 0-0 draw at Energy Australia Stadium in front of just over 7,000 fans. Both teams had chances to win the match in the closing stages, but the Jets would have been happy to finish with a point following Ruben Zadkovich’s 81st minute exit thanks to a second yellow card. Next Saturday the Jets make their second trip to Adelaide this season to take on the reds, while the Roar travel to Melbourne to battle the Victory next Sunday afternoon.
On Friday night Central Coast- spurred on by the controversial mid-week suspension of midfielder Patricio Perez – cruised to a 2-0 win at home against the Victory. Goals to Rostyn Griffiths and Daniel McBreen were enough to give new coach Graham Arnold his first win at Bluetongue Stadium. The Mariners are at home again next Friday night when they take on Melbourne Heart and will be confident of replicating their 1-0 win over the A-League new boys in round one.
North Queensland have the bye in round six, while Melbourne Victory and Wellington will back up for the mid-week match on the following Wednesday night at AAMI Park.