Round 6 A-League Team of the Week

Manager – Ricki Herbert (Wellington Phoenix)

Goalkeeper – Liam Reddy (Sydney FC)

Defender – Jamie Coyne (Sydney FC)

Defender – Andrew Durante (Wellington Phoenix)

Defender – Rodrigo Vargas (Melbourne Victory)

Midfielder – Thomas Broich (Brisbane Roar)

Midfielder – Iain Ramsay (Adelaide United)

Midfielder – Mate Dugandžić (Melbourne Heart)

Midfielder – Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix)

Midfielder – Nicky Carle (Sydney FC)

Midfielder – Aziz Behich (Melbourne Heart)

Forward – Chris Greenacre (Wellington Phoenix)

Mariners Drop Phoenix in Wellington

Wellington Phoenix 1 – Central Coast Mariners 2
Second half goals from Bernie Ibini-Isei and Matt Simon were enough to see Central Coast Mariners to three points against Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium in New Zealand. The Phoenix dropped their second straight at home, usually a place where they are very difficult to overcome, despite Chris Greenacre‘s second goal of the season. All three points for the Mariners see the 2010/11 runners up move into third place after a difficult start to the season. The Phoenix scored on their only shot on target, continuing a frustrating balance of failing to create chances or finish them, depending on the match. Failure to pick up points in Wellington leaves the Phoenix stranded in eighth place with a difficult task ahead, traveling next to Brisbane. As for the Mariners, their scoring duo of Ibini-Isei and Simon was identical to their 2-1 victory in Round 4 against Perth Glory and relieved some of the pressure on young goalkeeper Matt Ryan. Simon’s winner in the 80th minute will give Central Coast a lift ahead of their important match with Melbourne Victory next weekend.

Adelaide United 1 – Melbourne Heart 1
Melbourne Heart picked up their third straight draw as the visitors were again unable to hold a one-goal lead. The only club yet to win this season in the A-League, Heart got a goal from teenaged defender Brendan Hamill just after half-time to silence the 10,294 at Hindmarsh. Yet substitute Spase Dilevski found the net for Adelaide just six minutes after his introduction to produce a 1-1 draw and shared points. Dilevski’s pounce after Clint Bolton could not hold Cassio’s free kick was the result of Simon Colosimo’s second yellow card and subsequent sending off in the 77th minute. The point was an important step back into the world of football after the Reds’ 7-1 loss last weekend in Brisbane, but Heart will be happy to have held on to the draw after finishing with ten men, especially after watching Iain Ramsay’s shot go just over the bar in injury time. Both United and Heart remain rooted to the bottom of the table after five games, sitting ninth and tenth respectively.

Round 1 A-League Team of the Week

Manager – Craig Deans (Newcastle Jets)

Goalkeeper – Ante Čović (Melbourne Victory)

Defender – Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar)

Defender – Matt Jurman (Brisbane Roar)

Defender – Pascal Bosschaart (Sydney FC)

Midfielder – Mate Dugandžić (Melbourne Heart)

Midfielder – James Brown (Gold Coast United)

Midfielder – Andrezinho (Perth Glory)

Midfielder – Fred (Melbourne Heart)

Forward – Ryan Griffiths (Newcastle Jets)

Forward – Chris Greenacre (Wellington Phoenix)

Forward – Billy Mehmet (Perth Glory)

Mehmet Scores on Debut to Lead Glory Past Adelaide

Perth Glory 1 – Adelaide United 0
A 76th minute header from new signing Billy Mehmet saw Perth Glory to a 1-0 win over Adelaide United at nib Stadium. The Glory were the better side throughout as Andrezinho terrorized the Reds’ defense and Travis Dodd, Shane Smeltz and Liam Miller, each player debuting for Perth, coming close to giving the home side a comprehensive victory. In fact, Eugene Galeković, Adelaide’s goalkeeper, was called on to repeatedly repel the Glory. In the end, substitute Tommy Amphelett’s cross found Mehmet’s head and was enough to take all three points from the season opener for the home side. Adelaide weren’t without chances, though, as Andy Slory, Bruce Djite and last season’s Golden Boot winner Sergio van Dijk all had shots saved by new Perth goalkeeper Danny Vukovic. The only down side to the match for Perth was the crowd of just 9452. But if the Glory play as well going forward as they did against Adelaide, especially after such a disastrous season in 2010/11, attendance will surely spike.

Gold Coast United 1 – Wellington Phoenix 1
And on the Gold Coast, a superb strike from James Brown in the 88th minute stole a 1-1 draw for Gold Coast United against Wellington Phoenix at Skilled Park. A 17th minute goal from Chris Greenacre gave the Phoenix a deserved lead as the visitors controlled the first half. Dani Sánchez, in particular, found spaces in the United defense, as Wellington were the better side for good portions of the match. Yet as the second half elapsed, Gold Coast started to create chances, namely through Peter Jungschläger, Dylan Macallister, Robson and finally Brown. Wellington will feel they lost out on two points but will be most disappointed with a trio of injuries as Sánchez, Paul Ifill and Vince Lia all exited during the match. For Gold Coast, the last-gasped equalizer came in stunning fashion but left some questions as to why it took so long to get a home goal against the Phoenix.