Perth’s lead on the line
No one has a tougher start to the new year than competition pace-setters Perth Glory — and that will dovetail nicely with their motivational us-against-the-world mindset. On Friday night in Geelong, to complete Round 13, Perth face an almost full-strength Melbourne Victory (the injured Daniel Georgievski and Mark Milligan, both on Socceroos’ duty, are the most notable absentees), who’ll be looking both to close the four-point gap between them and to make a point. The point being? To hazard a guess — and this despite Kevin Muscat’s efforts to exert pressure on Perth by declaring them the league’s best team — it would be this: “We don’t just play prettier football, we’re better too.” Then, on Monday night, back at home, Perth take on Adelaide in Round 14. Given the Reds’ bout of inconsistency that has seen them lose four of their past six matches, Victory would appear to be the tougher match, but then Glory haven’t beaten Josep Gombau’s team in four matches this season (including two pre-season friendlies, one league match and that FFA Cup decider). Indeed, Adelaide are the only side to defeat the Glory this campaign; registering a 2-0 win at Coopers Stadium back in Round 3. Kenny Lowe told the Guardian that losses aren’t as bad as all that “because there’s things in that experience that you can actually analyse and understand to help make yourself become even better.” Well, Monday night will show how well Perth have been paying attention.
One last hurrah before the break (or possibly ‘brake’)
Momentum is a wonderful thing in sport, the way any given match ebbs and flows and has periods when even an outgunned team enjoys moments of dominance. It’s fascinating, too, when a good result can spark a striving but hitherto struggling team into a run of them, confidence and belief jumping between team members like an electrical charge. Because of that, more so than any tactical changes, results start going your way. Luck joins the party, too, and the sky turns a vivid shade of blue you haven’t seen in a while. What a pity, then, for Wellington (and you can throw Melbourne City into the mix) that the A-league is about to go on ice for the duration of the Asian Cup. Heading into their home match against Brisbane on Sunday Wellington have won five and drawn one of their past six games — a run which includes their stunning 3-1 win over Adelaide on New Year’s Eve; a win picked up away from home without the league’s top scorer Nathan Burns. Prior to those six matches — in which they’ve scored 15 goals to four — they’d lost four of seven. But sparked by their 5-1 thrashing of City in Round 8 they’ve mostly been in sparkling form, and when they’ve haven’t they’ve eked out a result (that 1-1 draw with the Mariners) or found luck on their side (that dubious penalty that gifted them the win against the Wanderers earlier this week). People like Newcastle coach Phil Stubbins can’t wait for the Asian Cup break, but Ernie Merrick must be wishing there was no break at all, lest it puts the brakes on Wellington’s stirring run of form.
Sydney’s best chance to stop the slide or a new nadir
Graham Arnold’s Sky Blues must have almost forgotten what it feels like to win; it’s been long enough — seven matches ago on 22 November. Injuries, ennui and what Arnold may call some good old fashioned shirking have seen Sydney in freefall, and the air is still whistling around their ears ahead of Saturday’s match against Newcastle in Wollongong (where, by the by, the FFA will be keenly counting heads as part of their long-term desire to expand the competition with due consideration for a South Coast-based team). Things are so dire Arnold must be wondering where he last saw his shin pads and boots. But as a late Christmas present, Sydney get to face Newcastle, a team who, apart from that one upset win over Adelaide two rounds ago, have been obliging losers. Of course Newcastle may be thinking exactly the same thing, but Sydney won’t get a better opportunity to stop the rot.
City lights
Ten points from an available 12 in their past four games has put Melbourne City in a position where they could leapfrog Sydney into fifth. You scarcely would have predicted that a month ago. But from the low of their 5-1 spanking in Wellington, City have turned things around — and the big improvement has come at the back where (barring a couple of soft goals conceded to Newcastle last week when the game was safe) they’ve run the Polyfilla along their defensive line. If you don’t concede a goal you only have to score one to win. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s a mathematical reality bearing fruit for City at the moment. And boosting the mood at City is a fit Robert Koren, City’s marquee man. You wait so long for someone to arrive there’s a danger your expectations will get the better of you, and you’ll build him up to be a combination of Andrea Pirlo and Beethoven and not a 34-year-old who played mostly off the bench in his previous season with Hull. But then he goes and bangs in a hat-trick against Newcastle in his first full game. He won’t do that every week, of course. But he should improve City’s distribution and organisation in the middle. After such a month City are favourites to beat Central Coast on Sunday, but it’s a banana skin of a game if there ever was one. If City win they’ll enjoy the Asian Cup break better than most. If they don’t, it might feel like all their recent good work has been undone.
The long road home
Measured against the world’s biggest leagues, a 27-round season is short — but when you’ve only ten sides and no relegation there comes a time every season when it can be hard to avoid the feeling that we’ve entered the doldrums. Though three points are still on offer every match, the excitement of the new season has worn off and the finals are still far enough away, even though the majority of the finalists seem to have announced themselves already. We hold on for twists and turns yet, but it would take some collapse — and unexpected rises in form from others — for Perth, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide and Wellington to miss the six. So with 14 rounds still to play what are we left with? Well, there is the race for the premiership but to many, if not most, the main prize is the championship which comes with grand final victory. If you’re inclined to think along those lines the main point of interest may be the not-quite-so-heady race for finals berths five and six; a race that at the moment appears to be between three teams; Sydney, Melbourne City and Brisbane. The Central Coast and Newcastle appear shot, playing for pride already, an entirely dispiriting scenario. Meanwhile, the Wanderers have parked the bus, it’s now flooded and on blocks and their own fans are banging on the windows, angry and utterly confused.
Fixtures
Friday
Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory, Simonds Stadium, Geelong, 7.40pm
Saturday
Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets, WIN Stadium, Wollongong, 7.30pm
Sunday
Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar, Westpac Stadium, 3pm
Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne City, Central Coast Stadium, 5pm
Monday
Perth Glory v Adelaide United, nib Stadium, 8pm
Tuesday
Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne Victory, Pirtek Stadium, 7.30pm
