Victory belt poor Mariners 4-1 in A-League
From AAP:
Melbourne Victory have delivered a stunning statement of A-League intent, thrashing Central Coast 4-1 at AAMI Park.
The champions were ruthless from the kickoff on Sunday night, with Keisuke Honda, James Troisi and Corey Brown scoring in a vintage first-half display.
Mario Shabow’s first professional goal gave the Mariners something on an otherwise sorry night, before Josh Hope rounded out the scoring.
Mike Mulvey’s team were reduced to an amateur outfit in front of 16,508 fans, who also cheered Ola Toivonen’s debut from the bench.
The Swedish marquee emerged with the game already won, but played in Hope in second-half stoppage time to leave a late mark.
Kevin Muscat’s side played like the Harlem Globetrotters, streaming forward with style only to miss a hatful of chances.
Honda’s opener came as a result of Victory’s relentless press.
The Japanese star was on hand to hassle Antony Golec out of possession, running away to score on the half-hour mark.
Five minutes later, Troisi scored with a dinked finish after being played in by Terry Antonis.
Even Leigh Broxham had chances to score in Victory’s rampant opening half which ended when Brown volleyed home a loose ball in the box.
Jacob Melling and Golec had woeful nights, compounded by a late clash between the pair that appeared to injure the centre-back.
Even Central Coast’s consolation appeared fortunate, with Shabow guiding home the ball from close range with his first touch.
Georg Niedermeier might have joined Brown in scoring his first Victory goal, only for the German to volley Honda’s flicked free kick onto the post.
Instead, it was Victory’s young Tasmanian midfielder who grabbed his first A-League strike from Toivonen’s centre just before fulltime.
Victory’s second-straight win lifts them to fourth on the table, while Central Coast stay bottom, looking every inch the wooden spooners in waiting.
Well, that’s it for this evening, thank you for your company on a big day of sport in football and basketball.
New Zealand beat Brisbane in the NBL with last second score
What a finish, with New Zealand literally winning in the last second. Brisbane Bullets 84-85 New Zealand Breakers.
15 seconds to go and after two free throws after a ridiculous foul, it’s Brisbane Bullets 84-83 New Zealand Breakers.
30 seconds left, Brisbane Bullets 82-83 New Zealand Breakers.
It’s into the final minute in the NBL and it’s Brisbane Bullets 82-82 New Zealand Breakers.
Updated
Two minutes left and there is still time for either side to win. Brisbane Bullets 77-80 New Zealand Breakers.
Four minutes to go in the basketball and it’s still all to play for. Brisbane Bullets 74-7 New Zealand Breakers.
In the NBL, there are six minutes to go and it’s Brisbane Bullets 66-72 New Zealand Breakers.
The goal that brought Josh Hope, and his teammates and the Victory fans, so much joy.
هدف الرابع والأخير نادي ملبورن فيكتوري على سنترال كوست عند دقيقة 93#الدوري_الاسترالي #MVCvCCM pic.twitter.com/lxnwFrxIhq
— الدوري الاسترالي الممتاز (@League_Australi) November 11, 2018
Back to the NBL and it’s Brisbane Bullets 62-63 New Zealand Breakers, with one minute played in the 4th quarter.
EMPHATIC VICTORY FOR VICTORY!
It’s all over in Melbourne. Full-time at AAMI Park: Melbourne Victory 4-1 Central Coast Mariners. It was a great game and Melbourne have found their rhythm.
Updated
FOURTH GOAL FOR VICTORY!
90+4 mins: Toivonen squares it to Hope and he slides it under the legs of Ben Kennedy. This is fantastic stuff from Melbourne Victory.
There will be four minutes of stoppage time. That’s really just prolonging the misery for the Mariners and their fans.
Victory are about to go from 8th on the ladder to 4th. A mighty leap after a couple of stutters from them in the early days of this season.
89 mins: Rahmat Akbari is on for James Troisi as Victory wind down the clock to an inevitable win.
16,508 is the crowd in Melbourne. Pretty good for a sunset game on a Sunday night. And they were well entertained. Well, the home fans anyway.
84 mins: Georg Niedermier missed a sitter. He hit the post from a couple of metres out, when he really should have scored. It should have been 4-1 to Victory there, but it’s still 3-1.
83 mins: Hoole booked for a nasty tackle on Barbarouses. Deservedly so.
Quick trip back to the basketball and it’s Brisbane 45-56 New Zealand, with seven minutes to go in the third quarter.
80 mins: Terry Antonis makes way for Ola Toivonen, the Swedish international. He’s the first Swede to play in the A-League.
I’m showing my age here, but this is a great 80s track by A Flock Of Seagulls. (If this seems very random, go down two posts.)
Updated
75 mins: Josh Hope comes on for Leigh Broxham – Victory’s first substitution of the game – and Jordan Murray comes on for Conor Paine, which is the Mariners’ third substitution.
71 mins: I’m sure I’ve mentioned this is a previous live blog, but I’m always amazed that at any game in any sport held in Melbourne, the pitch is always invaded by seagulls. I think it’s lovely. (Yes, the actual game has gone a bit quiet.)
MARINERS PULL ONE BACK!
61 mins: Oh, wow. Mario Shabow, making his Mariners’ debut, has just scored with his first touch of the ball. What a feeling that must be for him. Finally some good news for Mariners’ coach Mike Mulvey. The goal was no classic, he basically poked it in, but CCM won’t care.
59 mins: Oar went back on but is now leaving the game. Michael McGlinchy has also been substituted by the Mariners. They’ve been replace by Mario Shabow and Andrew Hoole.
57 mins: Tommy Oar is carrying a heavy knock after a challenge from Brown, whom he played with at Brisbane Roar. Oar is off the pitch at the moment. This is not good for the Mariners.
55 mins: still Melbourne Victory 3-0 Central Coast Mariners. The Mariners have a mountain to climb if they are going to get anything out of this game. And so far they haven’t even reached base camp.
In the last NBL match of the weekend, they are two minutes into the second quarter and it’s Brisbane Bullets 21-34 New Zealand Breakers.
Injury-hit Wildcats savage Hawks in NBL
From AAP:
American import Bryce Cotton and former Australian Boomers guard Clint Steindl combined for 37 points to carry the injury-hit Perth Wildcats to Sunday’s 90-81 defeat of the Illawarra Hawks at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Despite the absence of regular starters Damian Martin and Angus Brandt through injury, the Wildcats got the early jump on the Hawks and never trailed.
Cotton, who drained a buzzer-beating three-point bomb to beat Brisbane on Friday night, finished with 19 points, while Steindl poured in 18 off the bench, making his first five three-point shots.
Nick Kay had 18 points against his former team and Jesse Wagstaff added a valuable 15 off the bench.
Todd Blanchfield and Cedric Jackson led Illawarra with 16 points each, while David Andersen had 12. The Wildcats’ win boosted their record to 7-1 and kept them alone atop the NBL ladder.
Illawarra claimed Melbourne United’s scalp on Thursday but were unable to complete a perfect week and dropped to 3-5 for the season.
Cotton was sublime with 10 points in the first period, helping the Cats to a 24-16 lead.
Streaky shooter Steindl has his eye in, nailing four from four three-pointers as the visitors powered into the second quarter with a 36-21 lead.
They were ahead by as many as 17 and answered every Hawks challenge from the first two periods.
Steindl was the standout with 15 points and the Wildcats enjoyed a 54-42 half-time lead.
The margin was cut to five with 28 seconds remaining but the Wildcats held on for an impressive victory.
THIRD GOAL FOR VICTORY!
45 mins + 2: Corey Brown scores a fine poacher’s goal, waiting in the box and hoping for the ball to fall to him, which it did and he made no mistake. At half-time it’s Melbourne Victory 3-0 Central Coast Mariners.
45 mins: Honda to Troisi, but the angle wasn’t great for him and it went well over. There are two minutes of stoppage time.
Honda’s wonderful goal.
本田圭佑、今シーズン2点目のゴール。#MVCvCCM pic.twitter.com/ElnyNPP7ZL
— ブリスベン住民(MTK) (@Brisbane00) November 11, 2018
Quick flick to the NBL and it’s Brisbane Bullets 11-16 New Zealand Breakers, with five minutes played in the first quarter.
That was Troisi’s first goal of the season. Victory are all over the Mariners and playing like champions. Barbarouses could have made it three but the final shot was a poor one.
SECOND GOAL FOR VICTORY!
And on the counter attack after Ross McCormack’s misguided glory seeing, the capital g Glory score. Terry Antonis passed to James Troisi and he calmly slotted it home. 2-0 to the home side.
Updated
34 mins: Ross McCormack should have passed to Aiden O’Neill who was in a better position, but he didn’t. Waste of a good opportunity for the Mariners.
GOAL FOR VICTORY!
Fantastic individual goal from marquee man Keisuke Honda in the 30th minute. What a signing he is for Victory. Melbourne Victory 1-0 Central Coast Mariners.
Kosta Barbarouses has just put the ball in the net for Melbourne Victory, but it didn’t count as he was well offside. I’ve seen people booked for playing on and scoring when the whistle has blown for offside. I think he’s lucky not to have got a yellow card for that.
Perth beat Reds to top A-League ladder
From AAP:
Perth strikers Andy Keogh and Chris Ikonomidis have scored in a precious 2-0 away win against Adelaide United to give Glory top spot on the A-League ladder.
Both scored tap-ins on Sunday at Coopers Stadium, extending Perth’s unbeaten start to the season to three wins and a draw.
Irishman Keogh helped to deliver the Reds’ first defeat of the season after finding his customary spot: right place, right time.
In the 73rd minute, United goalkeeper Paul Izzo produced a superb diving save to halt a fierce Alex Grant header, only for the rebound to fall to Keogh almost standing on the goal-line.
Keogh duly tapped in for his fourth goal in four games of the campaign.
And teammate Ikonomidis iced the win in the 90th minute after a neat combination, slotting into an unmarked goal after rounding Izzo.
The Glory take top billing with 10 points, two ahead of the only other unbeaten outfit, Sydney FC (two wins, two draws).
Perth largely made the running against Adelaide and could have won by more, with Joel Chianese and Keogh unable to convert early golden chances.
Chianese, in the 12 minute, was played in by Keogh but, after turning on his left foot, shot into the crossbar from inside 10 metres.
Keogh missed a swinging right-footer from five metres, 10 minutes later, as the visitors found early attacking fluency.
Twice in the opening half, the video assistant referee examined incidents in the Reds’ attack.
Initially, video checked that Ben Halloran wasn’t brought down in the box in collision with Glory gloveman Liam Reddy.
And in the 39th minute, VAR - after a two-minute ruling - adjudged a shot which struck Perth defender Shane Lowry on an arm was outside the box.
Both interventions deservedly rejected penalty claims and Adelaide’s loss was further soured by an injury to German midfielder Mirko Boland, who left the field in the second half clutching his left hamstring.
In Melbourne, it’s 10 minutes into the final A-League game of the weekend and it’s Melbourne Victory 0-0 Central Coast Mariners.
United win NBL thriller against Cairns
From AAP:
NBL champions Melbourne United have pulled off a thrilling second-half comeback to defeat Cairns 87-80.
Backing up from Thursday night’s defeat to Illawarra in Wollongong, United scored the final eight points on Sunday afternoon at Melbourne Arena to come out on top in a see-sawing battle.
Casper Ware (34 points, six assists) gave Melbourne an 81-80 lead with 32 seconds to play and DJ Kennedy stole the ball on the Taipans’ next possession, extending the lead to three from the foul line.
Kennedy grabbed a defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the court to slam home, Mitch McCarron (16 points, nine rebounds) adding a pair of free throws to cap the win.
United were slow out of the blocks, shooting one-of-14 from long range in the first half, while being outscored 21-5 in bench points, but pulled off a 17-6 run after falling behind by 12 in the second half.
Melbourne coach Dean Vickerman was pleased with the way his side responded after some poor shooting and sloppy errors in the first half.
“We went in [at halftime] and talked about how it’s not who we are - we were going to make some shots in the second half,” Vickerman said.
“Just make sure to stay consistent, keep doing some very simple things ... and give yourself a chance.”
Looking to snap a five-match losing streak, Cairns led 55-43 in the third quarter but could not close out the match in the final minutes.
“It hurts,” Taipans coach Mike Kelly said after his side came close to pulling off the upset win.
“I thought we played 35 good minutes ... built a good lead and they made some nice plays, they’re a really tough team.”
Melo Trimble led the Taipans with 19 points and Nathan Jawai finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Veteran forward David Barlow was carried from the court after twisting his knee in the third quarter but returned to help United’s second-half charge.
Chris Goulding made his return from a knee injury, finishing with four points in 26 minutes.
PERTH GLORY BEAT ADELAIDE UNITED!
Final score at Coopers Stadium: Adelaide United 0-2 Perth Glory. Perth are now top of the A-League, having had an unbeaten start to the season.
PERTH BEAT ILLAWARRA!
Full time in the NBL and the final score is Illawarra Hawks 81-90 Perth Wildcats.
In the NBL, it’s Illawarra Hawks 76-84 Perth Wildcats with 40 seconds to go.
SECOND GOAL FOR PERTH!
Fábio Ferreira could have shot himself, but unselfishly passed to Chris Ikonomidis to tap it in. Adelaide 0-2 Perth in the 89th minute.
Updated
Perth are just minutes away from a rare win in Adelaide. If they can hold on for another five minutes or so they will be on top of the ladder. Adelaide 0-1 Perth.
Back briefly to the NBL, where it’s Illawarra Hawks 73-79 Perth Wildcats with 2.49 to go in the fourth quarter.
Another free for Adelaide as Halloran is bundled over. Not much time left for them to equalise.
Updated
Ten minutes plus stoppage time to go in Adelaide and Andy Keogh made a bit of meal of a tackle and ended on the floor. To no avail. Free for the home side.
With just over five minutes to go in the NBL, it’s Illawarra Hawks 71-77 Perth Wildcats.
GOAL FOR PERTH!
Andy Keogh has scored for Perth in the 73rd minute, then missed a very good chance to put it beyond Adelaide about a minute later. Adelaide 0-1 Perth.
Back to the NBL, and it’s Illawarra Hawks 63-73 Perth Wildcats, three minutes into the fourth quarter.
Adelaide’s Mirko Boland has gone off injured and has been replaced by Ken Ilso and his little manbun.
Updated
In the NBL, it’s three-quarter time and the score is Illawarra Hawks 59-71 Perth Wildcats.
Great, smart ball from Scott Galloway of Adelaide there, but Ben Halloran wasn’t able to get to it before it crossed the line. He might have read better what Galloway was intending to do. Still, it’s good, positive stuff from United.
The home fans are making their voices heard far more in Coopers Stadium in the second half as, presumably, the weather cools down.
Updated
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos couldn’t get high enough from a Craig Goodwin cross in a counter attack from Adelaide United. It was actually a counter attack from a Perth counter attack. Bright start to the second half from both sides. After 57 minutes, it’s still Adelaide 0-0 Perth.
Some WNBL news from AAP.
Perth survive Griffin masterclass in WNBL
Bendigo won a Sunday thriller to move up to second behind WNBL leaders Perth, who survived a Kelsey Griffin masterclass to stay on top.
Nadeem Payne made a lay-up with four seconds to go at Bendigo Stadium as Spirit won 66-64, after hapless Sydney couldn’t capitalise on a 10-point second-quarter lead.
The win moved Bendigo to 5-2 and second spot behind Perth, who eked out a 71-65 home win over Canberra on Saturday to notch a sixth-straight victory.
Opals squad member Griffin was the runaway match leader in points and rebounds with 30 and 18 respectively, but Perth had a bigger spread of contributors.
“What I’m happy about is that she had 30 and 18, and we still got the win,” Lynx coach Andy Stewart said.
Perth’s American guard, Brittany McPhee, scored 17 of her team-leading 19 in the second half as Lynx improved to 6-1.
The Flames’ latest fruitless round started with a 96-79 loss to the Melbourne Boomers, who scored their first home win of the campaign.
Sydney, who are 0-8, had led by five points early in the second quarter, but couldn’t contain Opals Cayla George and Steph Tabot, who scored 27 and 20 respectively.
Adelaide had six double-digit scorers in their 99-74 home win over Dandenong, who crashed to a fourth-consecutive loss.
The Rangers were too reliant on Rebecca Cole, whose match-high 27 was 17 more than any of her teammates could muster.
The second half is under way again at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide and it’s still United 0-0 Glory.
Jazz pianist Geoff Lemon has taken over the cricket blog now.
The third quarter has just started in the NBL and it’s Illawarra Hawks 42-56 Perth Wildcats.
Strong finish to an eventful first half from the home side, but at half-time it’s Adelaide 0-0 Perth. United’s Ben Halloran says it has been a good first half, and it has been. He has been involved in most of Adelaide’s best moments.
There are four minutes of added time in the first half, mainly due to the VAR review.
Craig Goodwin kicked it straight into the wall. A very bad free kick. Liam Reddy was using some colourful language at his wall just before. Maybe that affected Goodwin.
Beath is explaining his decision to the two captains, and he sticks to his original decision, a free just outside the box. I think he’s made the wrong call there.
Ref Chris Beath is looking at the VAR to check if it is a penalty or free kick.
It’s a free kick for Adelaide just outside the box for a handball. It actually looks like it should be a penalty to me.
Back to the football and Adelaide United are clawing their way back into the game. The home side are having their best period of the match and holding the ball well. I haven’t heard a temperature check, but it looks very hot in Adelaide. The players already had a drinks break on the half hour mark. Seven minutes left in the first half and it’s still 0-0.
Back to the basketball, and it’s Illawarra Hawks 26-39 Perth Wildcats with 8.35 left in the first quarter.
Adelaide’s few chances have come from mistakes by Perth defenders or goalkeeper Liam Reddy.
Perth have definitely had the best of the first half so far, creating chances, but not converting them.
Another miss from Perth. The final pass was slightly behind Andy Keogh and he couldn’t control it. Perth could live to regret these misses, but 28 minutes into the first half it’s still 0-0.
Back to basketball, and its Illawarra Hawks 18-24 Perth Wildcats with 2.44 left in the first quarter.
Perth’s Andy Keogh has had a bright start to the game, getting stuck in. He has scored in his last three games and score five in his last six games against Adelaide.
Oh, that was close. Joel Chianese really should have scored there for Perth.
Adelaide have won their last two games against Perth, and Glory have won just one of their last nine games at Coopers Stadium. So the stats favour the home side, but 12 minutes into the game, it’s still 0-0.
Back to the hurling, and Galway have won the Wild Geese trophy on frees after a drawn game in regular time.
And we are under way in Adelaide. Both United and Perth are so far unbeaten after three games, with Adelaide having had a win and two draws and Perth having had two wins and one draw. A home win would see Adelaide leapfrog Perth into second place, while a Glory win would see them leapfrog Sydney FC into first.
After a spine-tingling rendition of The Last Post and the raising of the Australian flag, Annabel Weston is now singing the national anthem. Beautifully so. A wonderful little ceremony for remembrance round.
There is now a minute’s silence in Adelaide for the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day.
The Adelaide versus Perth A-League game has been slightly delayed. I’m not sure why, but the players just making their way to the pitch now.
Some more on Alex de Minaur, again from AAP.
De Minaur a gift to Aust tennis: Rod Laver
Alex de Minaur has been hailed as a gift to Australian tennis by Rod Laver after signing off his breakout season with the ATP Tour Newcomer of the Year title.
Nineteen-year-old De Minaur was just pipped by world No15 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a thrilling title decider of the Next Gen ATP finals in Milan on Saturday night, succumbing 2-4 4-1 4-3 (7-3) 4-3 (7-3).
It was a typically full-blooded performance from the youngster who has soared from world No208 to No31 in 2019.
All-time great Laver was among those excited by what’s in store with de Minaur set to enter the home summer as Australia’s No1 player and on course to be seeded at the Australian Open.
“Great match and congratulations @StefTsitsipas on your @nextgenfinals victory. Top of the class,” said Laver on Twitter.
“As for @alexdeminaur - I am looking forward to seeing you play in Australia this summer. What a gift to Australian tennis.”
De Minaur, the only teenager in the elite season-ending event for the best 21-and-under players, saved two match points at 3-2 down in the fourth set in the shortened format but his resistance ran out in the tiebreaker.
And big Walter Walsh has just scored for Kilkenny. With 17 minutes to go, it’s Galway 3-20, trailing Kilkenny 3-23. I saw some of the Galways lads walking around Sydney the other day.
I’m not sure how many hurling fans are reading this blog, but if anyone other than me is interested (and let me know if you are), Galway have just had Joe Canning sent off in their game against Kilkenny in Sydney. With 15 minutes left, it’s Galway 2-17 to Kilkenny 2-22.
NBL: Melbourne beat Cairns
Final score at Melbourne Arena: Melbourne United 87-80 Cairns Taipans. Cairns had a sizeable lead at one point, so well done United.
More tennis. This from AAP.
Tsitsipas downs De Minaur to win Next Gen
Australian young gun Alex de Minaur has been beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match of the Next Gen ATP finals in Milan.
The second-seeded de Minaur lost his first match of the tournament, succumbing 2-4 4-1 4-3 (7-3) 4-3 (7-3) in one hour and 40 minutes to the Greek world No15.
Tsitsipas, 20, capped a stellar season by winning the second title of 2018, a day after he was named most improved player on tour.
The pair, neither of whom qualified for the inaugural event last year, have been the most exciting breakthrough talents of 2018 so it was fitting the final pitted one against the other.
World No31 De Minaur, the only teenager in the elite season-ending event for the best 21-and-under players, saved two match points at 3-2 down in the fourth set in the shortened format but his resistance ran out in the tiebreaker.
In the absence of Alexander Zverev, who skipped the event for the second year after qualifying for the ATP finals, Tsitsipas was the top seed and he made no secret of how much he wanted to come out on top.
“It feels great. I’ve been playing some great tennis this week here in Milan,” Tsitsipas said “It was a fantastic match.
“I stayed calm although I had a chance twice to win the match but remained calm. I was aiming to win that match. I was mentally very strong and that was proven in the tie-break in the last set.”
Last year’s runner-up Andrey Rublev required five sets to defeat Spaniard Jaume Munar in the playoff for third with the Russian prevailing 1-4 4-3 (7-4) 2-4 4-2 4-3 (7-3).
And David Squires has worked his cartooning magic on the race for the FFA board with his trademark offbeat, and hilarious, humour.
For the tennis fans among you, this feature on Ash Barty is well worth a read:
In case you didn’t see it earlier, the match report for that Matildas loss is here:
You will know by now that Australia lost to Wales in rugby overnight. If you want to torture yourself with the match report and leave a comment, do so here:
My colleague Martin Farrer has written a great piece on the Maltidas’ shock and how it’s far from the end of the world.
Preamble
First things first, if you’ve come here looking for the cricket live blog, it’s actually here:
