Australian A League Round 14 Wash Up & Stats - The Punters Lounge

Beejayville · 27-11-2006, 11:55

Weekend Wrap
Round 14 saw just the third World Cup winning player grace an Australian field, when Brazilian legend Romario began his four-game guest stint with Adelaide United in the Central Coast on Saturday night. He had his moments, but he was unable to score as Central Coast showed they are definitely a finals contender with a 2-0 win. Newcastle shocked Melbourne with a 1-0 at Telstra Dome, Sydney took full advantage of the early send off of Queensland’s Chad Gibson to win 3-0, while a Jamie Harnwell hat-trick secured a terrific 4-1 win for Perth over the hapless New Zealand Knights.

Game Wraps
SYDNEY FC 3 bt Queensland Roar 0
Sydney FC climbed into second spot on the ladder after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Queensland Roar at Aussie Stadium. After a fairly even first half, the game turned on its head in the 21st minute, when Queensland captain Gibson was sent off for a dangerous tackle, just minutes after getting a yellow card. Minutes later Liam Reddy upended Robbie Middleby in the penalty box and Ufuk Talay made no mistake from the penalty spot for the second week running. Sydney continued to dominate and added second half goals to Steve Corica and Robbie Middleby that continues Queensland slide down the table from fourth to seventh.

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 2 bt Adelaide United 0
Romario was the main attraction at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, but he was overshadowed by the home side who finals charge continued with a 2-0 win. Two quick goals in succession in the second half from Adam Kwasnik and Stewart Petrie lifted the Mariners into fourth spot and with six home games remaining and a host of stars returning to full fitness, the signs are good. As for Romario, he had three sights on goal, including one glorious chance, which impressive young keeper Danny Vukovic managed to save and overall it was relatively quiet night for the Brazilian legend. Fans in Adelaide can expect more from him though in his final three games.

Melbourne Victory 0 lost NEWCASTLE JETS 1
Newcastle Jets bounced back from an upset loss in Perth last week to beat runaway league leaders Melbourne Victory 1-0 at the Telstra Dome in front of just under 28,000 fans. Colombian Milton Rodriguez scored the only goal, brilliantly set up by a sublime pass from Nick Carle, on the hour mark. The Jets were forced to replace starting keeper Ben Kennedy after just 10 minutes with a suspected broken collarbone after a collision with Danny Allsopp with replacement Ivan Necevski proving more than capable with two good stops. The win keeps Newcastle level on points with Central Coast, while Melbourne’s lead at the top of the table has only been cut by one point to 11.

PERTH GLORY 4 bt New Zealand Knights 1
Defender-come-striker Jamie Harnwell scored the first hat-trick of the season, as Perth Glory continued the misery for the New Zealand Knights with a 4-1 win. The Knights stunned the home crowd when Noah Hickey scored in just the 3rd minute, but Harnwell levelled the scores after 10 minutes. The match then turned in Perth’s favour when Jonas Salley received a second yellow card in the 31st minute, with the Knights down to 10-men. Harnwell then added a second before the break after pouncing on a rebound from a Sekulovski shot and completed his hat-trick in the 61st minute, when he was left open at the back post. Returning Bobby Despotovski added a fourth and final goal in the 83rd minute with a clinical header.

Highlights
For the second week in a row, its features Perth, with Jamie Harnwell making easy work of his new striking role with an outstanding display and a terrific hat-trick. That makes four goals in two games as a striker and five in total to have him in the top ten goalscorers.

Goal of the Week
Tough choice as they were a number of equally well taken goals, but Milton Rodriguez gets the nod for his winner against Melbourne, because in the end it was significant as well. The ball by from Carle was something he is only capable of, falling perfectly for the Colombian who from an acute angle kept his composure and placed inch perfect between the legs of a falling Eugene Galekovic. It proved to be the winner and inflicted just the second loss on Melbourne this season and kept the Jets in the finals hunt.

Player of the Week
For the second week in a row the award goes to Perth captain Jamie Harnwell. Not too many defenders can say they have scored a hat-trick in their professional career and although he was playing as a striker, to actually achieve the feat is a magnificent effort on his behalf. He is a passionate Glory man and his performances over the last couple of weeks, will have lifted confidence for a difficult road-trip ahead that will decide their finals destiny.

One to Watch
Jets keeper Ivan Necevski got his first taste of Hyundai A-League action in the intimidating atmosphere of Melbourne’s Telstra Dome and came through with flying colours. Coming on early for the injured Ben Kennedy, Necevski had to make several crucial stops and deny the home side the lead. His saves proved even more valuable after Rodriguez scored what was the only goal of the game on the hour.

Beejayville · 27-11-2006, 12:23

Ladder after Round 14

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Melbourne Victory	14	11	1	2	29	10	19	34
2	Sydney	14	6	5	3	25	16	9	23
3	Adelaide United	14	7	1	6	23	19	4	22
4	Central Coast Mariners	14	5	4	5	17	17	0	19
5	Newcastle Jets	14	5	4	5	18	21	-3	19
6	Perth Glory	14	5	2	7	19	20	-1	17
7	Queensland Roar	14	4	4	6	16	17	-1	16
8	New Zealand Knights	14	2	1	11	5	32	-27	7

Round 15 Next Week

Friday 1 Dec
Adelaide United FC	Vs	Melbourne Victory FC	7.30 PM	Hindmarsh Stadium
Saturday 2 Dec
Queensland Roar FC	Vs	Perth Glory FC	7.00 PM	Suncorp Stadium
Sunday 3 Dec
New Zealand Knights FC	Vs	Newcastle Jets FC	5.00 PM	North Harbour Stadium
Central Coast Mariners FC	Vs	Sydney FC	5.00 PM	Bluetongue Stadium

Beejayville · 27-11-2006, 12:47

We are two thirds through the season and I thought I would compare the first seven rounds with the second seven rounds to see who has improved and who has slipped.

	Rounds 1 to 7	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Melbourne Victory	7	7	0	0	17	4	13	21
2	Queensland Roar	7	3	3	1	13	7	6	12
3	Sydney	7	3	3	1	12	8	4	12
4	Adelaide United	7	3	1	3	12	9	3	10
5	Perth Glory	7	3	1	3	8	9	-1	10
6	Central Coast Mariners	7	1	2	4	3	8	-5	5
7	New Zealand Knights	7	1	1	5	1	11	-10	4
8	Newcastle Jets	7	0	3	4	6	16	-10	3

Dominant team here was Melbourne who scored 21 points from their 7 games. Queensland Roar were scoring goals easily back then and Sydney and Adelaide were also performing well along with Perth

Central Coast Mariners had only the one win and the Jets were yet to win a game.

	Rounds 8 to 14	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Newcastle Jets	7	5	1	1	12	5	7	16
2	Central Coast Mariners	7	4	2	1	14	9	5	14
3	Melbourne Victory	7	4	1	2	12	6	6	13
4	Adelaide United	7	4	0	3	11	10	-1	12
5

27-11-2006, 11:55	#1 (permalink)
Beejayville Statistical Punter Join Date: 11 Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 4,306	Australian A League Round 14 Wash Up & Stats Weekend Wrap Round 14 saw just the third World Cup winning player grace an Australian field, when Brazilian legend Romario began his four-game guest stint with Adelaide United in the Central Coast on Saturday night. He had his moments, but he was unable to score as Central Coast showed they are definitely a finals contender with a 2-0 win. Newcastle shocked Melbourne with a 1-0 at Telstra Dome, Sydney took full advantage of the early send off of Queensland’s Chad Gibson to win 3-0, while a Jamie Harnwell hat-trick secured a terrific 4-1 win for Perth over the hapless New Zealand Knights. Game Wraps SYDNEY FC 3 bt Queensland Roar 0 Sydney FC climbed into second spot on the ladder after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Queensland Roar at Aussie Stadium. After a fairly even first half, the game turned on its head in the 21st minute, when Queensland captain Gibson was sent off for a dangerous tackle, just minutes after getting a yellow card. Minutes later Liam Reddy upended Robbie Middleby in the penalty box and Ufuk Talay made no mistake from the penalty spot for the second week running. Sydney continued to dominate and added second half goals to Steve Corica and Robbie Middleby that continues Queensland slide down the table from fourth to seventh. CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 2 bt Adelaide United 0 Romario was the main attraction at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, but he was overshadowed by the home side who finals charge continued with a 2-0 win. Two quick goals in succession in the second half from Adam Kwasnik and Stewart Petrie lifted the Mariners into fourth spot and with six home games remaining and a host of stars returning to full fitness, the signs are good. As for Romario, he had three sights on goal, including one glorious chance, which impressive young keeper Danny Vukovic managed to save and overall it was relatively quiet night for the Brazilian legend. Fans in Adelaide can expect more from him though in his final three games. Melbourne Victory 0 lost NEWCASTLE JETS 1 Newcastle Jets bounced back from an upset loss in Perth last week to beat runaway league leaders Melbourne Victory 1-0 at the Telstra Dome in front of just under 28,000 fans. Colombian Milton Rodriguez scored the only goal, brilliantly set up by a sublime pass from Nick Carle, on the hour mark. The Jets were forced to replace starting keeper Ben Kennedy after just 10 minutes with a suspected broken collarbone after a collision with Danny Allsopp with replacement Ivan Necevski proving more than capable with two good stops. The win keeps Newcastle level on points with Central Coast, while Melbourne’s lead at the top of the table has only been cut by one point to 11. PERTH GLORY 4 bt New Zealand Knights 1 Defender-come-striker Jamie Harnwell scored the first hat-trick of the season, as Perth Glory continued the misery for the New Zealand Knights with a 4-1 win. The Knights stunned the home crowd when Noah Hickey scored in just the 3rd minute, but Harnwell levelled the scores after 10 minutes. The match then turned in Perth’s favour when Jonas Salley received a second yellow card in the 31st minute, with the Knights down to 10-men. Harnwell then added a second before the break after pouncing on a rebound from a Sekulovski shot and completed his hat-trick in the 61st minute, when he was left open at the back post. Returning Bobby Despotovski added a fourth and final goal in the 83rd minute with a clinical header. Highlights For the second week in a row, its features Perth, with Jamie Harnwell making easy work of his new striking role with an outstanding display and a terrific hat-trick. That makes four goals in two games as a striker and five in total to have him in the top ten goalscorers. Goal of the Week Tough choice as they were a number of equally well taken goals, but Milton Rodriguez gets the nod for his winner against Melbourne, because in the end it was significant as well. The ball by from Carle was something he is only capable of, falling perfectly for the Colombian who from an acute angle kept his composure and placed inch perfect between the legs of a falling Eugene Galekovic. It proved to be the winner and inflicted just the second loss on Melbourne this season and kept the Jets in the finals hunt. Player of the Week For the second week in a row the award goes to Perth captain Jamie Harnwell. Not too many defenders can say they have scored a hat-trick in their professional career and although he was playing as a striker, to actually achieve the feat is a magnificent effort on his behalf. He is a passionate Glory man and his performances over the last couple of weeks, will have lifted confidence for a difficult road-trip ahead that will decide their finals destiny. One to Watch Jets keeper Ivan Necevski got his first taste of Hyundai A-League action in the intimidating atmosphere of Melbourne’s Telstra Dome and came through with flying colours. Coming on early for the injured Ben Kennedy, Necevski had to make several crucial stops and deny the home side the lead. His saves proved even more valuable after Rodriguez scored what was the only goal of the game on the hour.