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)

Nine-Man Victory Take First Points from Roar

Melbourne Victory 2 – Brisbane Roar 2
Though the 33-game unbeaten streak continues, Brisbane Roar dropped two points for the first time this season in an exciting and bizarre 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory at the Etihad Stadium. Ante Čović was sent off in the first minute for taking out Besart Berisha on a breakaway in the box and Henrique scored the resulting penalty to give the visiting Roar an early advantage on the score sheet and numerically. But Archie Thompson scored a stunning equalizer in the 10th minute to give the Victory hope in a game that seemed lost. Amazingly, Thompson put the home side ahead with a very well taken goal in the 21st minute, providing a glimpse of a formula that might one day be used to defeat Brisbane. Yet Thomas Broich leveled terms just in the 27th with a low, hard free kick, providing the fourth and final goal before the half-hour. The Victory then lost defender Matt Foschini to a red card after a hard tackle on Broich ten minutes before half-time and were forced to continuously defend for the game’s final fifty-five minutes. Putting all nine players behind the ball, Melbourne managed to prevent Brisbane from scoring a third and somehow escaped with a draw and a point under truly strange circumstances. That point moves the Victory into fifth place while the Roar are now just four points clear of Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory atop the ladder.

Newcastle Jets 2 – Perth Glory 0
Indeed, Newcastle Jets moved into second place thanks to a quick first half brace from Jeremy Brockie at Ausgrid Stadium. The Jets got their first win in manager Gary van Egmond’s return as Brockie skillfully beat Perth’s defenders within ninety seconds in the 10th and 11th minutes. The All Whites striker scored both goals in spectacular fashion with the second being an early candidate for goal of the season as he flipped the ball over his marker and volleyed in for a 2-0 lead. Though the Glory did have some chances through Shane Smeltz, Billy Mehmet and Travis Dodd, this game belonged to the Jets. New recruit Frannie Jeffers marked his first game of his second stint with Newcastle with a nice performance as the home side controlled possession and importantly, the midfield. All three points lift the Jets past Perth into second place, though they are equal on nine points through five games. For the Glory, the loss was the second straight after winning their first three.

Round 2 A-League Team of the Week

Manager – Ian Ferguson (Perth Glory)

Goalkeeper – Eugene Galeković (Adelaide United)

Defender – Patrick Zwaanswijk (Central Coast Mariners)

Defender – Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar)

Defender – Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix)

Defender – Milan Šušak (Adelaide United)

Midfielder – Dario Vidošić (Adelaide United)

Midfielder – Daniel (Wellington Phoenix)

Midfielder – Thomas Broich (Brisbane Roar)

Midfielder – James Brown (Gold Coast United)

Forward – David Williams (Melbourne Heart)

Forward – Shane Smeltz (Perth Glory)

Roar Make it 30 Straight in 2-0 Sydney Win

Sydney FC 0 – Brisbane Roar 2
Brisbane Roar recorded their thirtieth consecutive game without a loss in a 2-0 win against Sydney FC at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Sky Blues were again held scoreless, this time at home, as Michael Theoklitos saved Sydney’s best chances. The visitors were the lesser side for most of the first half but got the first goal after the usually sure-handed Liam Reddy could not hold Erik Paartalu’s shot, allowing Besart Berisha (pictured) to score the opener on the rebound in the 40th minute. Sydney fought back and came close to equalizing through Nicky Carle in the second half but in the end, Brisbane’s quality was too great. In the 70th, young Kofi Danning found Thomas Broich for an easy second Roar goal and the 2-0 score line. Brisbane claim the top of the ladder and drop Sydney ignominiously toward the bottom.

Central Coast Mariners 1 – Gold Coast United 1
This week, Gold Coast United were the side stung by a late equalizer as 36-year old Patrick Zwaanswijk headed in for Central Coast Mariners in the 87th minute. Just over 10,000 were at Bluetongue Stadium as the Mariners went behind just after half-time on another wonderful strike from James Brown. Gold Coast, who needed Brown’s stunner earned the first point of the season in Round 1, surely thought they would steal all three points from last season’s runners-up. But Brad Porter’s long cross gave Zwaanswijk enough time to come forward and send a floating header across goal and just beyond the desperate reach of Glen Ross. The point is the first of the season for Central Coast while United pick up their second 1-1 draw.

2010/11 A-League In Review

2010/11 was the A-League’s sixth season and included a second extension in the length of season. After 21 games in the first four years, the A-League jumped to 27 in 2009/10 and then a 30-game season for 2010/11. The additional games allowed Brisbane Roar to accumulate the A-League’s highest ever point total for a regular season champion, amassing 65 points and finishing eight points clear of second place Central Coast Mariners. In fact, the Roar lost just a single game, a 3-0 to Melbourne Victory in Week 6.

Sergio van Dijk won the Golden Boot with 16 goals, including a hat-trick in Adelaide United’s 8-1 destruction of North Queensland Fury in Week 24. Thomas Broich led the league in assists with 12 for Brisbane, contributing to the most prolific offensive output in league history. The league’s best attendance came at Melbourne Victory and the three Melbourne derbies (as Melbourne Heart were introduced in 2010/11) were the three most highly attended matches throughout the regular season. Adelaide’s Marcos Flores won the Johnny Warren Medal as league player of the year as voted on by players, 18-year old Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper Matthew Ryan won Young Player of the Year, while seven of the eleven All-Star Team members came from the Roar.

In the Finals, Brisbane advanced to the Grand Final through a 4-2 aggregate victory over Central Coast. Adelaide and Gold Coast United played in the semi-final round with winning 3-2. From there, Central Coast outlasted Gold Coast in the Preliminary Final to schedule a rematch with the Roar in the Grand Final. Through full-time, neither side scored, yet four goals were scored in extra-time. Central Coast scored the first two from Adam Kwasnik (96′) and Oliver Bozanic (103′), seemingly winning the title. But a 117th minute goal from Henrique gave Brisbane life. In the game’s dying moments, Erik Paartalu headed in for the Roar to stunningly force penalties. From there, Brisbane converted all four of their attempts while Central Coast had two saved by Michael Theoklitos, leaving the Roar as champions of the A-League and holders of the Gold  Medal Trophy.

Despite substantial growth within the Australian and Kiwi sporting markets, the A-League did lose one of its member clubs. North Queensland Fury were wound up at season’s end, reducing the league back to ten teams. Other clubs struggled to attract supporters to their grounds even as 50,000 packed Suncorp Stadium for the Grand Final. The 2011/12 season is an important one and has both positive ground to build from and negatives to overcome.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brisbane Roar	30	18	11	1	58	26	+32	65
2	Central Coast Mariners	30	16	9	5	50	31	+19	57
3	Adelaide United	30	15	5	10	51	36	+15	50
4	Gold Coast United	30	12	10	8	40	32	+8	46
5	Melbourne Victory	30	11	10	9	45	39	+6	43
6	Wellington Phoenix	30	12	5	13	39	41	−2	41
7	Newcastle Jets	30	9	8	13	29	33	−4	35
8	Melbourne Heart	30	8	11	11	32	42	−10	35
9	Sydney FC	30	8	10	12	35	40	−5	34
10	Perth Glory	30	5	8	17	27	54	−27	23
11	North Queensland Fury	30	4	7	19	28	60	−32	19

Rules for classification:1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored.

Teams qualified for finals.