Summary
So a terrific end to a weekend of football that amid the farce of the VAR-ruined Sydney derby threatened to collapse under the weight of its own self-inflicted stupidities.
Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory played out a game of high quality, a contrast of styles, formations and tactics, with big name players making star contributions in a game that would have delighted neutrals.
It was a cagier affair in Brisbane as Wellington Phoenix continued their tentative rebuild under new coach Mark Rudan, with home side the Roar also showing glimpse of promise – most notably through mercurial Frenchman Eric Bautheauc – but they could have ended up empty handed were it not for a howling miss from star import Steven Taylor who inexplicably missed a tap in from about 3m out.
In the W-League, Canberra United pulled off an impressive opening round upset over league favourites Melbourne City, marring Rado Vidosic’s first game in charge as coach. Adelaide and Victory played out a well-contested 0-0 draw, with Brisbane Roar and a Sam Kerr-less Perth also having to settle for a share of the points in a high-quality draw.
A bumper day of football therefore with twists and turns in the NBL and WNBL as well. Thanks for your company – see you again next weekend for Sportwatch!
Full-time: Melbourne Victory 2-3 Perth Glory
90 + 7 min: A late throw in for Glory, and they’ve done it!
It’s a first win for Popovic as Perth coach, and what a statement! The notoriously poor travellers have come coast to coast, and they’ve taken all three points in Melbourne.
A tough one to take for home fans, their side were coming home stronger and stronger, but right at the death, they’ve snatched it.
What a game of football – it’s A-League action as it should be, where football is the talking point and fans go home knowing they’ve earned their money’s worth.
Goal! Melbourne Victory 2-3 Perth Glory (Ikonomidis)
90 +4 min: Ay, ay, ay! They were down and nearly out, and they’ve needed only the slightest of sniffs at the death to reclaim the three points!
It’s a fast break with Victory pushing upfield, and it’s that pace we mentioned – Chianese breaks one-on-one, before jinking inside. Thomas with a good save with the legs to deny the flyer, but it falls unfortunately (for home fans) straight to Ikonomidis, who calmly fires a sharp shot home.
Can you believe this – Perth are back in front!
90 + 2 min: There’s six minutes added on for that lengthy stoppage involving the Niedermeier injury.
The home fans look to cheer their side home, terrific atmosphere inside AAMI Park, and it’s been a game befitting that.
Davidson tries to fire a volley from the far post, but fluffs his lines.
89 min: Another set-piece, and another perfect delivery from Honda – but Troisi scuffs his shot! It bended and whipped perfectly, but he’s gone with the left foot when perhaps the right was better suited, and he’s not got a clean connection.
Barbarouses then drives on the counter, and the crowd roars, but he’s forced wide and Reddy claims well.
Goal! Melbourne Victory 2-2 Perth Glory (Roux)
87 min: It’s a perfect set-piece delivery from Honda who picks out the diminutive fullback at the near post, and he powers a header past Reddy!
Roux was the assist provider for Honda’s first ever A-League goal last week, now the Japanese has returned the favour!
And what a finish we have to this one.
84 min: Honda looks to feed Roux, but it’s a rare overhit pass from the Victory marquee.
Perth ready their third and final substitute as Brandon Wilson prepares to come on.
Antonis now drives forward, Honda switches wide and Barbarouses tries a spectacular first-time volley, but it’s saved by Reddy!
They earn the corner.
81 min: Some frustration from home fans as Ansell gives the ball away cheaply. He’s turned it over twice in quick succession, the returning centre back.
Victory look to play direct and Reddy does well to come and clear with the head.
Jai Ingham is then penalised for offside, but it’s a marginal one at best, to the chagrin of the home fans.
78 min: Ikonomidis looks for the pace of Ferreira straight away – plenty of toe up front in this Perth attack now, with Chianese still on the pitch.
They’ll be eyeing any over-extension from the Victory backline as they look to make this one safe on the counterattack.
Antonis tries an ambitious shot from distance, but it sails harmlessly wide.
Carl Valeri now enters the fray, at the expense of Raul Baena.
75 min: Popovic looking for fresh legs, as he elects to inject Fabio Ferreira into the contest. The goalscorer and captain, Keogh makes way.
They need to pick up momentum again, Victory, after that lengthy pause. What can they muster over these last fifteen minutes?
71 min: They’re starting to enjoy prolonged spells of possession here, Victory, and it’s Juande who goes into the book after a tough tackle from behind on Troisi. Nasty one, let’s hope the Victory playmaker comes through unscathed.
Ach. A nasty clash – Reddy comes with a strong punch and he’s knocked Niedermeier out cold with a double-fisted punch that took ball and then player.
Credit to the Glory custodian who instantly went to the prone Victory players aid. A sickening moment, and that could be the end of the night for the German.
It was a fierce ball in from Honda, and he showed tremendous bravery to attack that one, the former Stuttgart man. He’s back on his feet, thankfully, but looking pretty groggy.
68 min: Wowee! Whether the team is working hard to find their marquee, or the star has lifted on his own accord this second half, but it’s a thumping drive from Honda from just outside the box, and it’s a terrific save from Reddy to keep his side ahead.
Stinging drive from Honda, and the crowd sounds their appreciation.
65 min: A freekick to Perth, and the crowd are baying. It seemed light contact on Franjic, who went down reasonably easily, but Ikonomidis’ set piece is thumped into the wall.
62 min: Troisi fires a ball across the face, but it’s just beyond Ingham.
It whizzes in from the other side and Honda curls a terrific ball in for Barbarouses who just can’t get a definite touch on it.
There’s a shout for VAR as Lowry does appear to tug slightly on the attackers’ trailing arm.
It’s left alone, in the way that invariably after a VAR howler a big fat memo comes from head office and the button men go quiet for a few games.
58 min: An early first time cross from Antonis gets hearts fluttering inside the Glory defence as Shane Lowry clears over his own bar at the cost of a corner.
Honda fires in the delivery, and from the resulting passage Barbarouses skins his defender after a backheeled one-two with Ansell.
The crowd are very much in this game now, cheering on their team.
54 min: Chris Ikonomidis makes a sharp run and looks to spark the Glory, but he blazes his effort well over the bar.
A concern as Athiu drops to the ground with a possible hamstring concern. Not a good sign for home fans.
He does make way, the rangy striker, as Jai Ingham comes into the action.
Updated
50 min: Another fine ball from Honda, this time out to Roux who fires in a wicked ball for Barbarouses but he’s met in the air well by the Glory backline. Impressive response after the break from the Victory.
Goal! Melbourne Victory 1-2 Perth Glory (Antonis)
47 min: Ooph!! Eat my goal.
You can’t fault anyone in a Perth shirt for that, that was just slick, fine football from the hosts! Honda with time to turn, he picks out Antonis just outside the box, but it’s a perfect touch to set and then a fine drilled shot, low and across Reddy, off the inside of the far post and in!
Millimetre perfect stuff, they tried to shut him down, the Perth defenders, but that was flawless stuff from the former Sydney FC man. Great goal!
Updated
Second half!
45 min: And we’re back underway! What can Melbourne Victory fashion in this second stanza. And how can they get their marquee man Keisuke Honda on the ball more often?
Half-time: Melbourne Victory 0-2 Perth Glory
45 +3 min: So a frustrating half for home fans, as a disciplined Perth pressed and harried well, capitalising on an early slice of fortune, before capitalising on a Victory error to give rise to an unlikely half-time scoreline.
The reigning champions with much to ponder at the break, as they leave to a chorus of boos from the home fans – whether that’s directed at them, the referee, or the Perth players.
Updated
44 min: They need a lift here, Victory, can they fashion anything ahead of the break?
It’s looked okay in the middle of the park, but the final third options have been either lacking, or on occasion poor. Troisi then fouls Neil Kilkenny, and the experienced former Socceroo also slows the play once again.
41 min: And we didn’t even see out the half, before Liam Reddy finally incurs the wrath of the ref; a yellow card for time wasting!
The home crowd have been on the Perth custodian’s back after at least five or six very tardy restarts. The man with the whistle finally has had enough.
Both ‘keepers on a yellow therefore.
38 min: Fine feet from Honda, who plays out from a tight area to help spark an attacking move for Victory.
It finishes with a corner, which the Japanese superstar heads over to take.
It evades Athiu’s leap, but isn’t cleared by the Glory! A small hearts-in-mouth moment, but it’s eventually cleared.
35 min: Perth working hard and pressing well, as Georg Niedermeier hits an errand pass, to the frustration of his coach, Kevin Muscat.
Barbarouses then shows terrific pace once again in the final third, but can’t fashion the final knockout shot, not for the first time already.
32 min: Barbarouses looks to spark the counter from a defensive corner, but Franjic is across well to sweep and clear the danger.
Now down the other flank it’s Corey Brown with a chance to cross, but he can’t find Athiu centrally.
27 min: Crikey! It’s all happening. Kosta Barbarouses is almost through one-on-one, but fails to make strong contact with his shot under the attentions of a Perth defender.
Thomas then comes to clear but is stranded outside his box, Keogh looks to round the ‘keeper who handles. It’s a freekick outside the box, the Perth captain is livid – he wants a red card, but referee Jonathan Barrero elects for just the yellow.
From the resulting freekick Tomislav Mrcela almost gets a headed effort on target, but it’s swept clear by Kenny Athiu. A wild few moments!
Goal! Melbourne Victory 0-2 Perth Glory (Keogh)
23 min: Ooph. Disastrous stuff at the back from the Victory, and they’ve been punished; again! If the first was unfortunate, then the second has been almost entirely self-inflicted.
It’s a fine finish from Keogh, who anticipates a header back into the box. The defender Nick Ansell appeared to just leave it for his ‘keeper Lawrence Thomas, but he’s left him stranded!
It was a needless backpass into the box by Troisi that saw a hurried clearance to start the whole move, and the experienced striker only needed half a sniff. Lethal!
20 min: Perth are happy enough to defend and counterattack at this stage, with the onus put on Victory to make the running after that early goal. As you’d expect under Popovic they’ll look to resolute defensively, the Glory, similar to the back five we’ve just seen from Wellington Phoenix against the Roar.
14 min: A tough one for Victory after a bright start to the game perhaps. The home fans booing Liam Reddy between the Perth sticks, as the ‘keeper takes an inordinately long time to take a goal kick. Could be a long evening if that’s how the Glory are looking to play this one out.
Goal! Melbourne Victory 0-1 Perth Glory (Chianese)
8 min: Well, it’s a bit ugly in the end, but Joel Chianese has bundled home an opener for the visitors!
Victory guilty of being a bit too casual, allowing Jason Davidson to advance well from left wing back. The Socceroo’s cross eventually finding the path of Ivan Franjic before being toed back to Chianese who swivelled to tuck home from close range.
Kick-off!
1 min: And we’re off and running at AAMI Park with a very vocal home active support looking to fire the Victory to, erm, victory.
So, no time to dwell – we’ve got back-to-back A-League action today, and we’re down to Melbourne where a Keisuke Honda-led Victory play host to Tony Popovic’s Perth Glory.
Kick-off not far away!
Full-time: Brisbane Roar 0-0 Wellington Phoenix
90 + 4 min: They were baying for more at the death, the home fans, but ultimately neither side can fashion a cast-iron clear chance.
Nix fans would be rueing that huge early miss from Taylor, but in fairness Roar offered more than enough to deserve a point, on the balance of play.
Ross Aloisi continues the aggro on the sideline, this time up in the face of Mark Rudan, we’ll watch this space, it appeared to be something started between the Roar assistant and the Phoenix goalkeeping coach, Paul Gothard.
Updated
90 min: Big save! It’s a mazy run from the holding midfielder, Lopez, and as it opens up ahead of him he drives on a hits a driven effort from outside the box. Strong hands from Kurto who knocks the effort beyond the attention of the striker Taggart who follows in with intent. Great stuff from the Roar midfielder.
Updated
88 min: Doyle with an impressive headed clearance, he’s looked comfortable the former left back who’s morphed more into a left-sided centre defender, originally under previous coach Darije Kalezic, which he’s continued under Rudan.
And a final change for Roar, as Nick D’Agostino comes on for Bautheauc.
No 250th appearance for Matt McKay tonight it seems, with the skipper left on the pine.
84 min: Bautheauc skins Doyle with a sublime piece of skill, and almost picks out a teammate in the middle, before Sarpreet Singh tries a long-range effort. But he doesn’t get the connection, the youngster.
Mark Rudan plays his final change, and it’s Nathan Burns who comes on for Krishna.
81 min: The crowd increasingly coming into this contest as they, well, for want of a better way of saying it, try to Roar their side ahead in this one.
It’s one of those matches that’s just hovering on the precipice, but plenty of touchline antics as surprise, surprise, it’s Ross Aloisi involved in a bit of niggle between the two benches.
And the boo-boys in the crowd fire up as former Roar player Mitch Nichols comes on for the Phoenix, replacing Rufer.
77 min: And the man they call ‘the slippery fish’, Henrique, tries the flying fish as he launches headlong to try and nod one home; but like Taggart in the first half it evades the diminutive striker.
A corner for Phoenix, and Taylor falls the ground after contact from Papadopoulos, but the referee (and VAR) want none of it.
His centre half partner Pepper now goes in the book for a block on Krishna, there’s plenty of late yellow cards in this one. Will we end with 22 on the pitch?
73 min: And a bit of bad feeling creeping into this one, with Phoenix players remonstrating with referee Alex King over various indiscretions, before Bautheauc goes into the book for petulantly kicking the ball away after a foul goes against him.
And now Fenton goes in the book too for attempting to slow the play from a restart.
Updated
WNBL: Perth Lynx sink Dandenong to go top
And here’s an on-the-whistle report from Australian Associated Press again from the WNBL where it’s been a good day in the West.
Perth Lynx have powered to the top of the standings with a 90-65 trouncing of Dandenong, propelled by dynamic American forwards Asia Taylor and Brittany McPhee.
The Rangers had no answer on their home court on Sunday as Taylor mixed 23 points and eight rebounds while McPhee nearly matched those figures with 21 and seven.
It makes it three straight wins for Perth, who lose their opener to Adelaide but thundered back with a win over defending champions Townsville and another over Bendigo this week, when Taylor sunk a game-high 26.
Early-season leaders University of Canberra Capitals (3-1) lost their unbeaten record with 84-78 loss at home to Melbourne on Friday. Canadian Kia Nurse scored 29 for UC but the visitors had five players in double figures for scoring.
Competition leading scorer Suzy Batkovic tallied 30 as Townsville pipped Sydney Uni Flames 79-76.
Adelaide Lightning secured the biggest win of the season so far, hammering Bendigo 91-63.
Adelaide, Melbourne, Bendigo, Townsville and Dandenong are each 2-2 after three rounds, while Sydney Uni are winless.
68 min: Mauk goes through Cacace and gives the prone youngster a bit of chat. He’s right in front of the Phoenix bench, so might have to watch his step a little.
Singh now looks to release Burgess, but Papadopoulos again anticipates well to snuff out the danger.
A bit of a scratchy old pitch in Brisbane, both sides kicking up plenty of sand, as the dry pitch does seem to take a bit of pace out of the play.
64 min: And a first change for the afternoon as John Aloisi calls on Henrique to replace Mikkelsen. We didn’t see too much from the Dane, but for that late curling effort.
Bautheauc now with a decent shot that rolls agonisingly past the post.
Youngster Max Burgess now comes on to replace David Williams for the Phoenix.
NBL: Sydney Kings edge Cairns Taipans in a thriller
And another cracking encounter in the NBL, here’s what the Australian Associated Press had to say about a thriller in which the lead just continued to change.
Two-time MVP Kevin Lisch has nailed two clutch three-point shots in over-time to help lift the Sydney Kings to a nail-biting 98-90 home win over the Cairns Taipans.
Scores were tied at 84-all at the end of regulation before Lisch (24 points) answered in crunch time, as the Kings claimed their second win to move off the bottom of the ladder.
American guard Jerome Randle tallied 22 points, while former NBA star Andrew Bogut added several crucial rebounds in the extra period to finish with eight points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
Daniel Kickert was also instrumental with 19 points for Sydney.
Cairns import Melo Trimble was the best player on the floor, notching 30 points, eight assists and three steals, while teammate DJ Newbill had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
After starting the season with back to back losses to the Adelaide 36ers, Sydney boosted their record to 2-2 with a second successive win, while the Taipans are now alone at the bottom of the ladder with one win from four games.
59 min: Krishna now tries to stand up Hingert, one-on-one inside the box, but the Roar skipper does well enough before Papadopoulos anticipates the cutback.
At the other end a turnover from Alex Rufer sees Mikkelsen fire a curling shot – but it’s well held by Kurto, who gets his body behind the shot comfortably.
55 min: And some quality defending from both sides, with Doyle recovering well to block the shot of Bautheauc, before Papadopoulos stretches to deny a one-on-one chance for Roy Krishna.
As suspected this one’s starting to open up.
50 min: A big talking to from referee Alex King to Roar defender Papadopoulos who, you’ll remember picked up a very early caution, and he’s nearly bobsledded a Phoenix player once again! He pulled the tackle at the end which saved a second yellow, you’d imagine, but tight-rope stuff from the no-nonsense centre half.
Full-time: Melbourne Victory 0-0 Adelaide United
And it finishes a stalemate in Melbourne, but not for want of trying as the Lady Reds have soaked up a fair bit of pressure to hold on for a decent point.
Natasha Dowie and Emily Gielnik huffed and puffed up front for Jeff Hopkins’ Victory, but they couldn’t quite knock down the door.
Both sides with chances to snatch the win, but they’ll settle for a share.
Updated
Second half: Brisbane Roar 0-0 Wellington Phoenix
45 min: And we’re back at Suncorp, with both sides already looking slightly more patient in their approach after a reasonably frenetic opening stanza, as the Roar look to shuttle their opponents and take advantage of the inclement Brisbane humidity.
Updated
Full-time: Canberra United 2-0 Melbourne City
So, a uuuuge result from the opening round of the W-League, with the defending champions going down on the road in Canberra.
No Kyah Simon, Steph Catley, Elise Kellond-Knight or Japanese star Yukari Kinga available for City, but if anyone has the depth to play out a result it’s this star-studded squad.
The South African Mulaudzi turning provider after her opening strike to play a fine one-two with Carpenter to send the Matilda through on goal, and she took it nicely.
Great result for Heather Garriock’s side, who join Sydney FC atop the table.
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Half-time: Brisbane Roar 0-0 Wellington Phoenix
45 min: And there’s the whistle to end that first half. A see-sawing encounter in which Phoenix started very brightly, missed that big chance through Taylor and then saw the Roar come back into the contest through the trickery and guile of Bautheauc. The Nix with some late chances to close out the half.
Plenty more to come in this one, you’d imagine, which feels like the type of game that increasingly opens up the longer it runs.
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Goal! Canberra United 2-0 Melbourne City (Carpenter 85’)
And a big result coming through from the W-League, and its the youngster Ellie Carpenter who’s added a second for Canberra United, for them to almost certainly secure the points against Melbourne City!
Former Phoenix (and Roar) assistant coach Rado Vidosic looks set to mark his W-League debut with a loss, but it’s a terrific result for United. I saw a W-League prediction that suggested they might finish last this season, Canberra – an outrageously bold call given their pedigree, and perhaps one that might be revised after this result.
41 min: And a let off at the other end! Brilliant work from Roy Krishna, who then fires a drilled ball across the face of the goal, but Singh hesitates at the far post, and doesn’t read the ball across. Could have been the opener, but tired legs perhaps to blame as the youngster doesn’t gamble and attack the goalline!
37 min: Pepper now defends a Roar corner, rising well to head clear. He’s been a utility player over his A-League career but he’s come into his own as a centre half as part of the Papa-Pepper access in the Roar defence.
Terrific ball in now from Connor O’Toole that invites the attack, and a diving Taggart flies headlong to try and connect, but it just evades him! An almost certain goal there, from just about 3-5m out.
34 min: Adam Taggart now earns his side a freekick in front of the home fans. Bautheauc with a lofted effort that drops tantalisingly at the far post, but Jacob Pepper can’t get on the end of it, with Andrew Durante in close attendance.
30 min: Terrific work from Bautheauc who bamboozles the youngster Liberato Cacace to fire in a wicked curling cross, but the ‘keeper Filip Kurto anticipates well to punch clear ahead of a Brisbane attacker.
Definitely danger signs for the visitors; a big 10-15 minutes here if they’re to go in level as the Frenchman in particular begins to pull the strings for the Roar.
26 min: Back at the A-League and momentum has definitely swung back the way of the hosts. A freekick opportunity for the Roar but Bautheac’s lofted ball in is just overhit and escapes the attention of the on-rushing Papadopoulos at the far post.
Updated
And an update from the W-League – we’ve got about 20 minutes to play in Canberra where it’s the home side protecting a 1-0 lead, thanks to Rhoda Mulaudzi’s 57th minute opener.
City are enjoying the lion’s share of the possession but it’s Canberra that have been more effective with it so far. It’s a terrific chipped effort from the South African combining with her compatriot Refiloe Jane to catch Matildas ‘keeper Lydia Williams off her line!
Can they hold on to the lead, United?
20 min: Clever work from the man with the armband for Roar, Jack Hingert who picks out Stefan Mauk well, but the former City man is forced wide.
Eric Bautheac then almost connects with a teammate with a clever one-two around the box, and he now picks out a terrific ball to spark another Roar attack.
This is better stuff from Brisbane, as Mauk almost bursts into free space inside the box.
Updated
16 min: It’s been a bright start by the visitors, and it breaks for Singh just on the edge of the box, but the teenage attacking midfielder drags his shot harmlessly wide.
Several warning shots fired here already, John Aloisi will be hoping to see a lift from his chargers already, with the Roar on the back foot early on.
12 min: Wellington with a set-piece opportunity after a frankly agriculture challenge from Papadopoulos who slides in late on Mandi, and sparks a little bit of a minor melee.
Singh looks to fire goalwards, but his curling effort only strikes the wall. Half-hearted cries for handball, but replays suggest that would have be harsh on the Roar.
9 min: Miss! A series of corners again for the visitors – and oh my, what an unbelievable let off!!
Phoenix do well as Tom Doyle fires a recycled cross across the front. It finds fellow defender Steven Taylor at the far post but the former Premier League star can only side-foot onto the outside of the post from about 3m out!
Remarkable miss, his coach, Mark Rudan, has his head in his hands!
5 min: An early corner for the Phoenix, who work short between Singh and Fenton, but it’s easily cleared. Some lively early touches from Spanish import Lopez for the Roar – he keeps club captain Matt McKay on the bench today for what will be his 250th appearance for Brisbane.
Remarkable achievement – a real one-club man and passionate Queenslander.
Kickoff! Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix
1 min: And we’re underway back in Suncorp for the second of our double header matches, and our opening A-League fixture of the day.
We’ll try and follow this one reasonably closely for you, as I try to go Mr Universe with the TV screens to keep tabs on all the football going on this sunny Sunday.
Half-time: Melbourne Victory 0-0 Adelaide United
And no goals in our third W-League fixture, so expect two lively second halves to come in Canberra and Melbourne respectively.
A battle of two quality strikers in this one as Matildas sharp-shooter Michelle Heyman faces off again England’s Natasha Dowie, with a smattering of top international talent, including two Icelandic stars for the Reds, in action for both sides.
Half-time: Canberra United 0-0 Melbourne City
A tight tussle happening down in Canberra, where it’s defences on top. Former Jet Rhali Dobson came closer than any, rattling a header off the crossbar with about 25’ gone for the visitors.
They’ve shared plenty of silverware these two sides, and while Canberra aren’t perhaps as strong as they’ve been on paper in the past they’d very much love to ruffle the feathers of their high-flying opponents who will of course be looking to win their fourth straight championship.
So no goals from our other two W-League features currently underway.
Some team news from our first A-League game for the afternoon, with both Brisbane and Wellington naming unchanged line ups.
LINE-UP | Head Coach Mark Rudan names an unchanged side from last weekend's victory. Could it be another 3 points this weekend against @brisbaneroar? Tune in to @skysportnz to find out!#StandUpWithYourNix #CreateHistory #BRIvWEL pic.twitter.com/XveD4VW3C2
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) October 28, 2018
The only talking points there are the continued absences of Dylan Fox and Polish visa player Michal Kopczynski, neither of whom make the travelling squad despite no apparent news of injury.
And for the Roar:
TEAM NEWS | An unchanged @ALeague Starting XI as @hingert19 wears the captains armband against @WgtnPhoenixFC #RoarAsOne #BRIvWEL pic.twitter.com/zagyOjK4qx
— Brisbane Roar (@brisbaneroar) October 28, 2018
Brisbane-born David Williams might be one to watch, returning to face the club that launched his overseas career at Brondby and also his time in a Socceroos jersey.
Full-time: Brisbane Roar 1-1 Perth Glory
It’s 1-1 fever in Australian football, as for about the 5th time over the past ten days two sides are forced to settle for a share of the points.
Roar were finishing fast, and the visitors held despite a late, late scare in added time.
They won 9 of their 12 games last season, the Roar, so a point in Brisbane is certainly a strong outcome for the Glory, especially with the knowledge that league marquee Sam Kerr will be back in action next week.
A strong showing from two sides expected to feature prominently come finals time.
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Goal! Brisbane Roar 1-1 Perth Glory (Pickett)
It was perhaps coming, and this time Ubogagu turns provider, and it’s a terrific cross to pick out her Orlando Pride teammate and compatriot Carson Pickett, who volleys home at the far post ahead of the out-rushing Campbell!
A fair reward you’d say on the balance of play, and now we’ve about 5 minutes of added time to see if either side can go and win this. Late excitement!
And, we’re also underway down in Melbourne, where the Victory play host to Adelaide United. Two sides desperate to make a bright start after some lean recent seasons.
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We’re in for a frenetic last 10-15 in the Roar-Glory W-League clash as the hosts look to press for the equaliser; all the while exposing themselves defensively to a second Glory counter attack.
Squeals of excitement from the home crowd as the lively Ubogagu broke forth then, but she was well-defended and her strike was safely gathered by the Perth ‘keeper Campbell.
And we’re also underway in Canberra, where Canberra United host Melbourne City. We’ll try and bring you the news from that one as well.
Some awful news from overnight in the UK, if you missed it, with no confirmation yet of who was on board a helicopter that crashed near Leicester City’s home stadium, believed to be carrying the club’s Thai owner and chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
We’ll update that story for you if we hear any more.
Goal! Brisbane Roar 0-1 Perth Glory (Mautz)
Football eh? They’ve been on top for large portions of this one, last season’s premiers, but it’s the visitors Perth that have opened the scoring.
A fast transition and some excellent work by Caitlin Doeglas to spark the move – she rolled a well-weighted ball across the face of the goal, and it was an easy tap in by the import Mautz who made a fine late run to get there. We’ve just over 30 min to play in this one – game on!
NBL: NZ Breakers defeat Adelaide 36ers by 20 points
And the latest from the NBL, where the Breakers have got off the bottom of the ladder thanks to a tidy win over Adelaide in Auckland; here’s Australian Associated Press’ full-time wrap of that one:
A breakout performance from Finn Delany has led the New Zealand Breakers to a 114-94 NBL victory over the flagging Adelaide 36ers.
Sunday’s game was the Breakers’ first home win of the season.
Unheralded Kiwi forward Delany came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points, helping his team overcome a 14-point deficit midway through the opening quarter.
Usually a role player in the Breaker’s rotation, Delany was irresistible when he drove to the basket, bringing the crowd to life at Spark Arena.
The Breakers had suffered heavy losses to Brisbane and Sydney in their two previous home games in Auckland.
Centre Shawn Long came alive in the second half to finish with 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Another American, Armani Moore, silenced critics who have questioned his quality with 17 points.
W-League: Brisbane Roar 0-0 Perth Glory – half-time
We open with the double header from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where the Roar take on firstly the Glory in the W-League and the Phoenix in the A-League.
No goals in this one but plenty of goalmouth drama, with UK-born, US striker Chioma Ubogagu especially lively, only to be denied a scoring chance by Matildas ‘keeper Eliza Campbell, on debut for Perth. A thunderous strike from Perth’s Alyssa Mautz also cannoning off the crossbar, to the relief of the home side.
No marquee Sam Kerr alas, as she sits out due to a suspension tying over from last season – something to look forward for round two, no doubt she’s itching to go.
Preamble
It’s Sunday Sportwatch, where too much sport is never enough, and it’s a strong football flavour today with three games from the opening round of the W-League and two from round two of the A-League.
For connoisseurs of VAR-related content a public service announcement – with no VAR in the W-League, we run the chance of only 40% outrage today, alas.
There’s also plenty happening in basketball, some motorsports action and big news out of the NRL. We’ll bring whatever we can to you, the people, because we know you’re clamouring for it.
As always please do fire us a tweet or email if you’d like to join the coverage. We’d love your Sunday best – so put on a nice collared shirt, the in-laws are cooking a lamb roast, and fire us your finest reflections, insights and quips.
