Australian A League Round 9 Washup and Stats - The Punters Lounge

Beejayville · 23-10-2006, 11:40

Weekend Wrap

Melbourne Victory extended its lead at the top of the table to eight points after a come-from-behind win over Sydney and Queensland’s upset home loss to a rejuvenated Newcastle Jets. Tom Pondeljak secured the three point for Central Coast Mariners against Perth, while Adelaide United survived a late scare to let home against New Zealand Knights. While the results were a bonus for Melbourne, the race for top four positions is far from a lost cause for all the likes of the Mariner and Jets, who have won two in a row and sitting just off the top four.

Results
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 2 bt Perth Glory 1
Sydney FC 1 lost MELBOURNE VICTORY 2
Queensland Roar 0 lost NEWCASTLE JETS 1
ADELAIDE UNITED 4 beat New Zealand Knights 2

Game Wraps
Tom Pondeljak scored after just 90 seconds and then late in the match to give Central Coast a 2-1 win over a gutsy Perth in Gosford. The match however will be remembered more for the sickening collision, between good mates Jason Petkovic and Damian Mori plus Simon Colosimo, which resulted in the former breaking his leg and the latter also forced off with a leg injury. Mori, who was team mates of the pair at Perth, was playing his final match of a four-game guest stint with Central Coast and was not able to end his stint in the way he dreamt. Instead Pondeljak stepped up, scoring with an audacious shot that stunned Petkovic after just 90 seconds. After Perth scored a deserved equaliser early in the second half through Bobby Despotovski, the match was anyone’s for the taking. The break in play for Petkovic’s injury, saw Perth’s momentum halted and Pondeljak took advantage of defensive mistake near the six yard box to sweep his shot past young Glory substitute keeper Aleks Vrteski.

Melbourne Victory made it eight wins from nine games, after showing it Championship credentials by coming from a 1-0 half-time deficit to win 2-1, thanks to a second half double by Qantas Socceroo striker Archie Thompson. On a rain-soaked night, Sydney fans had reason to be optimistic, when Steve Corica’s surging run ended with a splendid strike from just outside the penalty area after just eight minutes. Sydney continued to dominate the rest of the half, although the loss of both Corica and Milligan before the first half interval was telling in the end. Melbourne took the ascendancy after the break and Thompson was clinical with two finishes to continue its amazing start to the season.

Newcastle Jets made it back-to-back wins with a hit and run raid at Suncorp Stadium. Queensland dominated the opening half hour of the game, with Ante Milicic and Reinaldo wasting good opportunities and it came back to haunt them. Kiwi international Vaughan Coveny won the ball on the edge of the penalty area and in an instant hit a thunderous shot that gave Tom Willis no chance. That seemed to take the wind out of the home teams sails, as the Jets grew in confidence and controlled the rest of the match for a good win.

Adelaide United in the end were forced to do it tough against New Zealand Knights, but came away with a 4-2 win that moves them into second spot on the table. Adelaide looked to be cruising when they led 3-0, but two goals from the Knights midway through the second half gave the home fans some anxious moments, before a perfect counter-attack goal saw off the Knights. Nathan Burns and Carl Veart saw Adelaide go to the break with a 2-0 lead and when Bobby Petta made it three soon after the break, Adelaide looked set for a big score. However Knights substitute Noah Hickey sparked the game to life, when his shot was the first Knights goal since its Round 2 game, ironically against Adelaide. They quickly had a second, when Adam van Dommele headed into his own net from a corner. However with Knights sensing an equaliser, Adelaide quickly countered with Burns first time cross inch perfect for Dodd, who headed powerfully home.

Highlights
Central Coast and Newcastle have put some renewed interest in the race for the top four with their second consecutive wins. At one point it looked like there would be a fairly big distinction between the top four and bottom four, but recent indicate that no team (apart from Melbourne Victory) is guaranteed a top four spot. Return to form of several high profile players, ensured victories for their teams on the weekend.

Goal of the Week
On any other week, Steve Corica’s solo effort or Vaughan Coveny’s strike would have won, but we cannot go past an audacious piece of skill by Tom Pondeljak for Round 9 goal of the week. With the ball from Adam Kwasnik’s cross just ever so slightly behind him, Pondeljak quickly made up his mind and with his right foot back heel shot (or flick), he hit it perfectly, catching Jason Petkovic totally unawares as it travelled past him at the near post. Started a great night for Pondeljak who scored the winner late on for Mariners.

Player of the Week
It has been a tough start to the season for the Mariners and in particular Tom Pondeljak, which saw him dropped to the bench for several weeks, before returning to the starting side last week. Played well against Sydney and this week proved his class with an outstanding performance against Perth, including two goals, which included our goal of the week (see above). With Pondeljak’s return to form, it’s little wonder the Mariners have won their last two games and are now just a point from the top four.

One to Watch
New Zealand is again struggling at the foot of the table, but against Adelaide young Australian Under 23 striker Adam Casey showed if given an extended run in the side he might get the struggling Knights attack a lift. Deserved a goal for his endeavour throughout the match, but wasted his chances when the Knights were a chance to equalise.

Beejayville · 23-10-2006, 11:57

Round10
Friday 27 October 2006
New Zealand Knights	Vs	Melbourne Victory	8.00 PM	NorthHarbour Stadium
Newcastle Jets	Vs	Adelaide United	8.00 PM	EnergyAustralia Stadium
Saturday 28 October 2006
Queensland Roar	Vs	CentralCoast Mariners	7.00 PM	Suncorp Stadium
Sunday 29 October 2006
Sydney FC	Vs	Perth Glory	5.00 PM	Aussie Stadium

Beejayville · 23-10-2006, 12:28

Early Thoughts for Round 10

NZ Knights Vs Melbourne Victory
One would think an easy win for Melbourne easy but they did have a tough game in wet conditions Saturday night against Sydney and this game will be a bit of a come down in class and is an away game over the Tasman sea…The Knights were much improved yesterday with some new players in the team but they should be no match for Melbourne.

Newcastle Jets Vs Adelaide United
The Jets were winless for a while and have now won two in a row and will fancy their chances against Adelaide especially with Griffiths now back and adding some grunt…The Jets were certainly impressive yesterday against Queensland but they will find Adelaide a different proposition as they are starting to fire up and not sure if Romario is playing this week or not but Adelaide will be very hard to beat here.

Queensland Roar Vs Central Coast Mariners
I was pretty disappointed with Queensland’s effort yesterday but can forgive them one bad game as they have won me a bit of money this season with some good efforts…The Mariners are another team starting to find some good form and it was a good win this week against Perth…Not sure at this stage which way this will go, could be a draw, but both sides have claims to win this.

Sydney FC Vs Perth Glory

Not too sure what to make of Sydney lately, they were good against Melbourne in the first half on the weekend but were then run down in the second half…Perth are an honest side and just below the top four teams and they will make a good fist of this…Sydney would be expected to win but they will need to improve to do so…It is a long trip for Perth here, and the second consecutive away game to New South Wales and it may take it’s toll on them as far as weariness goes...Sydney are playing consecutive games at home, so has to be an advantage there.

Hands Solo · 24-10-2006, 03:13

NZ v Victory: Victory win here, maybe take the Centrebet bet with a draw on the Asian Handicap (Victory -1) market is the bet to go with

Jets v Adelaide: I know you don't like this bet, but IMO Over 2.5 looks the better option here with the Jets finding their shooting boots but still prone to bad defending (Adelaide should finish their chances better than the Roar)

Qld Roar v CCM: TOUGH call. If I take a bet, I'd take one of the teams on the Draw - no bet market.

Sydney FC v Perth - Correct Scoreline Sydney 2-1 appeals to me.

Beejayville · 24-10-2006, 03:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oscar the Crouch

NZ v Victory: Victory win here, maybe take the Centrebet bet with a draw on the Asian Handicap (Victory -1) market is the bet to go with

Jets v Adelaide: I know you don't like this bet, but IMO Over 2.5 looks the better option here with the Jets finding their shooting boots but still prone to bad defending (Adelaide should finish their chances better than the Roar)

Qld Roar v CCM: TOUGH call. If I take a bet, I'd take one of the teams on the Draw - no bet market.

Sydney FC v Perth - Correct Scoreline Sydney 2-1 appeals to me.

Tend to agree with everything you said Oscar

I find the Over/Unders hard to pick sometimes, only take it now and then, like earlier in the season when Mariners played the Knights, looked an unders for sure...The Jets/Adelaide game does appeal as an over though due to the attacking nature of both teams and their ability to score goals.

Beejayville · 24-10-2006, 04:27

Team Summary after Round 10

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1. Melbourne Victory	9	8	0	1	19	6	13	24
2. Adelaide United	9	5	1	3	17	11	6	16
3. Queensland Roar	9	4	3	2	15	9	6	15
4. Sydney FC	9	3	3	3	14	13	1	12
5. C'tral Coast Mariners	9	3	2	4	8	10	-2	11
6. Perth Glory	9	3	1	5	10	13	-3	10
7. Newcastle Jets	9	2	3	4	10	16	-6	9
8. NZ Knights	9	1	1	7	3	18	-15	4

Melbourne – Only the one loss so far and traveling nicely with no injuries

Adelaide – Lost first two gmes they have now won five of last seven, gaining momentum

Queensland – Hiccup on the weekend but been solid all season, win more than they lose.

Sydney – Enigma of a team who can look like champs one minute then chumps the next

CC Mariners – Working there way back into form nicely and might pay to follow from here

Perth Glory – Hhonest team who always give their best, loss of 2 key players for season

Newcastle Jets – Starting to show what they are capable of and improving every game

NZ Knights – Only barely competitive and not good enough yet for the A league

Beejayville · 24-10-2006, 05:11

A League Goalscorers after Round 10

	Player	Team	Total
1	Muscat Kevin	Melbourne Vict	7
2	Allsopp Daniel	Melbourne Vict	5
3	Young Stuart	Perth Glory	5
4	Thompson Archie	Melbourne Vict	4
5	Burns Nathan	Adelaide Utd	3
6	Rech Fernando	Adelaide Utd	3
7	Mori Damian	CC Mariners	3
8	Rodriguez Milton	Newcastle Jets	3
9	Lynch Simon	Queensland Roar	3
10	Milicic Ante	Queensland Roar	3
11	Dodd Travis	Adelaide Utd	2
12	Veart Carl	Adelaide Utd	2
13	Pondeljak Tom	CC Mariners	2
14	Bridge Mark	Newcastle Jets	2
15	McKay Matt	Queensland Roar	2
16	Reinaldo	Queensland Roar	2
17	Vidosic Dario	Queensland Roar	2
18	Carbone Benito	Sydney FC	2
19	Corica Steve	Sydney FC	2
20	Fyfe Iain	Sydney FC	2
21	Petrovski Sasho	Sydney FC	2
22	Cornthwaite Robert	Adelaide Utd	1
23	Owens Greg	Adelaide Utd	1
24	Petta Bobby	Adelaide Utd	1
25	Qu Shengqing	Adelaide Utd	1
26	Rees Kristian	Adelaide Utd	1
27	Hutchinson John	CC Mariners	1
28	Kwasnik Adam	CC Mariners	1
29	OGrady Paul	CC Mariners

23-10-2006, 11:40	#1 (permalink)
Beejayville Statistical Punter Join Date: 11 Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 4,306	Australian A League Round 9 Washup and Stats Weekend Wrap Melbourne Victory extended its lead at the top of the table to eight points after a come-from-behind win over Sydney and Queensland’s upset home loss to a rejuvenated Newcastle Jets. Tom Pondeljak secured the three point for Central Coast Mariners against Perth, while Adelaide United survived a late scare to let home against New Zealand Knights. While the results were a bonus for Melbourne, the race for top four positions is far from a lost cause for all the likes of the Mariner and Jets, who have won two in a row and sitting just off the top four. Results CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 2 bt Perth Glory 1 Sydney FC 1 lost MELBOURNE VICTORY 2 Queensland Roar 0 lost NEWCASTLE JETS 1 ADELAIDE UNITED 4 beat New Zealand Knights 2 Game Wraps Tom Pondeljak scored after just 90 seconds and then late in the match to give Central Coast a 2-1 win over a gutsy Perth in Gosford. The match however will be remembered more for the sickening collision, between good mates Jason Petkovic and Damian Mori plus Simon Colosimo, which resulted in the former breaking his leg and the latter also forced off with a leg injury. Mori, who was team mates of the pair at Perth, was playing his final match of a four-game guest stint with Central Coast and was not able to end his stint in the way he dreamt. Instead Pondeljak stepped up, scoring with an audacious shot that stunned Petkovic after just 90 seconds. After Perth scored a deserved equaliser early in the second half through Bobby Despotovski, the match was anyone’s for the taking. The break in play for Petkovic’s injury, saw Perth’s momentum halted and Pondeljak took advantage of defensive mistake near the six yard box to sweep his shot past young Glory substitute keeper Aleks Vrteski. Melbourne Victory made it eight wins from nine games, after showing it Championship credentials by coming from a 1-0 half-time deficit to win 2-1, thanks to a second half double by Qantas Socceroo striker Archie Thompson. On a rain-soaked night, Sydney fans had reason to be optimistic, when Steve Corica’s surging run ended with a splendid strike from just outside the penalty area after just eight minutes. Sydney continued to dominate the rest of the half, although the loss of both Corica and Milligan before the first half interval was telling in the end. Melbourne took the ascendancy after the break and Thompson was clinical with two finishes to continue its amazing start to the season. Newcastle Jets made it back-to-back wins with a hit and run raid at Suncorp Stadium. Queensland dominated the opening half hour of the game, with Ante Milicic and Reinaldo wasting good opportunities and it came back to haunt them. Kiwi international Vaughan Coveny won the ball on the edge of the penalty area and in an instant hit a thunderous shot that gave Tom Willis no chance. That seemed to take the wind out of the home teams sails, as the Jets grew in confidence and controlled the rest of the match for a good win. Adelaide United in the end were forced to do it tough against New Zealand Knights, but came away with a 4-2 win that moves them into second spot on the table. Adelaide looked to be cruising when they led 3-0, but two goals from the Knights midway through the second half gave the home fans some anxious moments, before a perfect counter-attack goal saw off the Knights. Nathan Burns and Carl Veart saw Adelaide go to the break with a 2-0 lead and when Bobby Petta made it three soon after the break, Adelaide looked set for a big score. However Knights substitute Noah Hickey sparked the game to life, when his shot was the first Knights goal since its Round 2 game, ironically against Adelaide. They quickly had a second, when Adam van Dommele headed into his own net from a corner. However with Knights sensing an equaliser, Adelaide quickly countered with Burns first time cross inch perfect for Dodd, who headed powerfully home. Highlights Central Coast and Newcastle have put some renewed interest in the race for the top four with their second consecutive wins. At one point it looked like there would be a fairly big distinction between the top four and bottom four, but recent indicate that no team (apart from Melbourne Victory) is guaranteed a top four spot. Return to form of several high profile players, ensured victories for their teams on the weekend. Goal of the Week On any other week, Steve Corica’s solo effort or Vaughan Coveny’s strike would have won, but we cannot go past an audacious piece of skill by Tom Pondeljak for Round 9 goal of the week. With the ball from Adam Kwasnik’s cross just ever so slightly behind him, Pondeljak quickly made up his mind and with his right foot back heel shot (or flick), he hit it perfectly, catching Jason Petkovic totally unawares as it travelled past him at the near post. Started a great night for Pondeljak who scored the winner late on for Mariners. Player of the Week It has been a tough start to the season for the Mariners and in particular Tom Pondeljak, which saw him dropped to the bench for several weeks, before returning to the starting side last week. Played well against Sydney and this week proved his class with an outstanding performance against Perth, including two goals, which included our goal of the week (see above). With Pondeljak’s return to form, it’s little wonder the Mariners have won their last two games and are now just a point from the top four. One to Watch New Zealand is again struggling at the foot of the table, but against Adelaide young Australian Under 23 striker Adam Casey showed if given an extended run in the side he might get the struggling Knights attack a lift. Deserved a goal for his endeavour throughout the match, but wasted his chances when the Knights were a chance to equalise. Last edited by Beejayville; 23-10-2006 at 11:52.

23-10-2006, 12:28	#3 (permalink)
Beejayville Statistical Punter Join Date: 11 Aug 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 4,306	Re: Australian A League Round 9 Washup and Stats Early Thoughts for Round 10 NZ Knights Vs Melbourne Victory One would think an easy win for Melbourne easy but they did have a tough game in wet conditions Saturday night against Sydney and this game will be a bit of a come down in class and is an away game over the Tasman sea…The Knights were much improved yesterday with some new players in the team but they should be no match for Melbourne. Newcastle Jets Vs Adelaide United The Jets were winless for a while and have now won two in a row and will fancy their chances against Adelaide especially with Griffiths now back and adding some grunt…The Jets were certainly impressive yesterday against Queensland but they will find Adelaide a different proposition as they are starting to fire up and not sure if Romario is playing this week or not but Adelaide will be very hard to beat here. Queensland Roar Vs Central Coast Mariners I was pretty disappointed with Queensland’s effort yesterday but can forgive them one bad game as they have won me a bit of money this season with some good efforts…The Mariners are another team starting to find some good form and it was a good win this week against Perth…Not sure at this stage which way this will go, could be a draw, but both sides have claims to win this. Sydney FC Vs Perth Glory Not too sure what to make of Sydney lately, they were good against Melbourne in the first half on the weekend but were then run down in the second half…Perth are an honest side and just below the top four teams and they will make a good fist of this…Sydney would be expected to win but they will need to improve to do so…It is a long trip for Perth here, and the second consecutive away game to New South Wales and it may take it’s toll on them as far as weariness goes...Sydney are playing consecutive games at home, so has to be an advantage there.

24-10-2006, 03:13	#4 (permalink)
Hands Solo 99.9% Intelligence Free Join Date: 07 Oct 2006 Location: Australia Age: 22 Posts: 3,049	Re: Australian A League Round 9 Washup and Stats NZ v Victory: Victory win here, maybe take the Centrebet bet with a draw on the Asian Handicap (Victory -1) market is the bet to go with Jets v Adelaide: I know you don't like this bet, but IMO Over 2.5 looks the better option here with the Jets finding their shooting boots but still prone to bad defending (Adelaide should finish their chances better than the Roar) Qld Roar v CCM: TOUGH call. If I take a bet, I'd take one of the teams on the Draw - no bet market. Sydney FC v Perth - Correct Scoreline Sydney 2-1 appeals to me. Last edited by Hands Solo; 24-10-2006 at 03:14.