Roar set phasers for finals push
Mark Twain may have famously quipped that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated, but it seems our declaration of the Mariners’ revival were similarly skewiff. It was an unchanged lineup from Tony Walmsley, but the XI that excelled against the Victory last week got simply hammered in Queensland.
Maybe rumours of a possible points penalty for Perth had set the Orangemen marching; the return from injury of Thomas Broich probably didn’t hurt either. He only lasted a half but by that stage two absolute tracer bullets from Steven Lustica had put Brisbane beyond cooee.
Don’t be fooled by a receding hairline fit for a thirty-seven year old journeyman, Lustica, just twenty three, is starting to deliver the goods his talents warrant, in this already his fourth A-League stint. If eyeballs were raised when the Roar let Liam Miller go, it was in the knowledge that they had a pocket dynamo whose technical skills and passing were pound-for-pound as impressive.
Mathematically, the Roar are still in with a sniff at finals action, so even if FFA show mercy on the Glory, Abu Dhabi’s Melbourne franchise still has grounds to be nervous.
Wanderers winning woes continue
They’re an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, and then stuffed in one of those Humpty Dumpty Easter eggs, that rattle when you shake them. Western Sydney Wanderers once went 26 games losing only twice between December 2012 and November 2013; but now in 2014/15 boast 15 losses in 24 outings. FIFTEEN.
In the knowledge that Tony Popovic presumably goes home and methodically smashes antique teapots with a hammer after every defeat, there must be no crockery left in stores from Werrington to Westmead.
Granted, the Wanderers didn’t lose on this occasion, but equally importantly, they once again contrived to not win. If the hallmark of champion sides is grinding out results when not playing well, then this Western Sydney team have the unenviable distinction of grinding out loses and draws from games they’ve apparently dominated.
John Van ‘t Schip won’t be too aggrieved with a point, although Wellington (H), Perth (A) and Adelaide (A) isn’t exactly a finals cakewalk with the Roar ready to pounce.
Arnold aggrieved as Reds hoodoo strikes again
Is there anything more amusing than a grumpy Graham Arnold?
Like an overbred internet cat that’s sick of you coddling him, the Sydney FC coach was back to his best during the post-game presser, bemoaning Adelaide’s spoiling tactics.
“It’s not great for the spectacle of football”, he seethed, “when you keep giving away those cheap fouls, breaking the game down and time-wasting, but that’s their style, and that’s what they do – they’re obviously happy with the way they do things”.
In Arnold’s defence, having prevented the Reds from fashioning a single shot on goal in the first half, only to see Eugene Galekovic produce nine saves, and then Awer Mabil poke home a late winner – Sydney FC’s head honcho had grounds to be upset.
The Sky Blues chances of snatching the Premiership may have taken a resounding hit, but they’re still the competition’s form team post-Asian Cup, scoring three or more goals in seven of their past ten outings. Having struggled badly against Gombau’s Adelaide this season, watch now for added spice should these two sides cross paths again in the finals.
Victory in sight for the Premier’s plate
What a week to be Wellington. Often regarded as the bastard child of the A-League, Ernie Merrick’s merry men seemed all set to crash Australian football’s grandest party - wearing just stubbies and jandals, and clutching a six of Speight’s.
Fast forward eight days and they’ve suffered back to back 3-nil home defeats at the hands of Premiership rivals, and lost a key player to a potentially season-ending injury. Now, unlike Pavlova or Pharlap it seems New Zealand can keep you again.
With the title on the line it took Melbourne Victory’s Gui Finkler just twenty-three seconds to breach the Phoenix’s defence. What could have been had the ruddy-red cheeks of Ben Sigmund been puffing after him.
For the Victory it seems that Kevin Muscat has just too many match winners at his disposal not to now go on and grab the Premier’s plate. Leave aside the phenomenal form of Gui Finkler, the twinkling feet of Fahid Ben Khalfallah - then there’s the fact that Archie Thompson is just one goal short of equaling his best ever regulation season return.
Much to the chagrin of those who dislike Muscat, you can’t begrudge this Victory side its first shot at silverware in five seasons, and nor can you argue on the balance of things, that they wouldn’t be worthy winners.
Glorious headache for FFA
It’s a lousy position for the players and fans to be in but with the sword of Damocles hanging over them, Perth refuse to simply roll over. The club’s hierarchy is expected to respond to salary cap allegations on Wednesday, with a possible verdict coming from FFA on Friday.
Had the Glory continued their dismal run (nine games without a win) it might have been easier for the suits at head office to hand them a points punishment and watch them slip gently down the ladder. But with back to back wins under their belt suddenly the West’s best are right back in the mix for the Premiership.
Wait for the conspiracy theories to fly if Perth come down to the final games neck and neck with big town darlings Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC, only to have it pinched from them.
It’s Dick Johnson getting beaten by a crashed car all over again. Hashtag #wewasrobbed.
