Date/Time: 2012:10:12 12:34:45 Source:FOX SPORTS
Fox Sports football commentator Mel McLaughlin previews round 24 of the A-League season and gives you her tips for every game.
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory, Hunter Stadium, Friday 7.30pm (EDT) FS1HD
After bagging the points in Wellington, Gary van Egmond clearly signaled his intentions to target the home games as the must-wins by resting two of his best in English duo Michael Bridges and Emile Heskey against Melbourne Victory. Regardless of the controversial decision, the 5-0 thrashing was a worrying sign. The same weekend they got destroyed, their opposition this round enjoyed a big win over the Sky Blues – to keep them in touching distance.
It’s all about the ins and outs this week and the news that Heskey – after resting him in order to keep him fresh for this home fixture – suffered a minor tear to his calf, will not have been welcomed. Zenon Caravella and Sam Gallaway remain injured while Taylor Regan is suspended. 18-year-old Connor Chapman returns as does Bridges and James Brown – but will it be enough?
The Jets are up against a side that haven’t been good travellers but are under a new coach who has, at home at least, got the results so far. Add to that Perth’s returning players in skipper Jacob Burns, as well as Travis Dodd, Dean Heffernan and Nick Ward, the task gets even harder.
The Jets coach has called on the fans to come and be the 12th man for a team that has just three games to do the business. Confidence at this stage is vital, particularly after what happened against the Victory, and experienced heads such as Bridges and captain Ruben Zadkovich must lead by example with so many young players in this team.
The Glory have a miserable A-League record away from home – just a solitary win this season, but things are looking different, players seem rejuvenated, playing with more purpose and if they can get a win here I think, remarkably, they become finals prospects. Four weeks to go and we have no idea who’ll fill those final two spots. Crazy!
Saying that, I think it will be Perth’s night on Friday.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Sydney | 23 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 47 |
| 2 | Central Coast | 23 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 45 |
| 3 | Victory | 23 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 39 |
| 4 | Adelaide | 23 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 36 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | -11 | 30 |
| 6 | Brisbane | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 28 |
| 7 | Heart | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | -2 | 27 |
| 8 | Sydney | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | -10 | 27 |
| 9 | Perth | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | -3 | 25 |
| 10 | Wellington | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | -17 | 24 |
Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners, Allianz Stadium, Saturday 5.30pm (EDT), FS1HD
Home sweet home, Sydney FC will be relieved to say the least. They were flying, a record number of home wins strung together, but put them on the road for two weeks – and at full strength and the biggest collection of "high profile" names together.. and no joy. Has all their hard work been undone? With only two home games remaining, the odds of the finals are now not in Sydney’s favour. It’s not just a matter of returning home either, they’re up against old foes Central Coast who will be wounded and hungry after losing to the Wanderers, ending their 10-game unbeaten run at home and crucially, top spot.
The Sky Blues pulled out their biggest performance of the season the last time these two played, stunning almost everyone with a convincing win. The Mariners may not have been at their best but were rattled and frustrated by full-time – by the final whistle John Hutchinson and Tom Rogic had been sent off – in fact this was the last time we were to see Rogic in the A-League. The Mariners will have no intentions of giving up on the Premiers’ Plate, and it’s do or die for Sydney – so who will stand up?
Sydney’s biggest absentee is Socceroos’ captain Lucas Neill, after just two games for his new club he’s picked up a calf injury. On top of that Fabio serves another suspension and again Sydney’s defensive woes – and discipline problems are highlighted. Tiago should return alongside Adam Griffiths while jack-of-all-trades Rhyan Grant may slot in for Fabio at left back. There’s a reason why most of the best defences are built on stability. But, they’ve got Alessandro del Piero, and his impact can never be underestimated – so often he has been the difference.
The Mariners are still dealing with their busy Asian Champions League schedule, requiring careful management of the squad, and judging on Graham Arnold’s previous actions, it should mean Patrick Zwaanswijk will feature in one of the next two matches and Zac Anderson the other, with perhaps a few other tweaks up front or in the midfield. There’s quality and depth in these areas and I just can’t see them rolling over – again – at Allianz Stadium. Maybe a bit of practice taking penalties wouldn’t hurt though.
Central Coast.
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory, Suncorp Stadium, Saturday 7.45pm (EDT), FS1HD
Both teams enjoyed very good wins last weekend, the Roar they went away to Hindmarsh and outplayed Adelaide, deservedly taking all the points, while Victory absolutely thrashed an understrength Newcastle.
The Victory appear to be back on track with the most lethal attacking partnership of Archie Thompson and Marco Rojas once again firing. Outstanding and clinical, but they’ll know they were up against a youthful and depleted opposition. Perfect preparation for a big trip to Suncorp Stadium, but Brisbane Roar will always be a different proposition for the Victory – their third encounter of the season, the ledger squared 1-1, and the Ange Postecoglou subplot always a factor.
They say timing is everything, and what better time for the Mitch Nichols link to Victory – or at least a move away from the club - to once again rear its head? It’s a simple question, who will be at their best on the day? Both have the quality, but both have capitulated at times this season.
The only major squad issue is in Melbourne Victory’s camp, whether Marcos Flores has fully recovered from injury for this one, and the reports sound good. But we still haven’t seen the best of Flores and he’s a work in progress under a coach famous for his ability to get the best out of his players – look at the young Kiwi star he has in his ranks as an example.
If Rojas and Thompson are back on track as last week would suggest, the resilient Roar defence will be seriously tested. Brisbane are in the six, a finals spot is theirs to lose with four games left. It’s a massive occasion and a huge test for both coaches. Postecoglou returns to the scene where he was treated disrespectfully from the home fans, but Brisbane fans have also been guilty of the same treatment of Mike Mulvey.
Looking forward to a big night at Suncorp, I think Victory will edge this one.
Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix, Parramatta Stadium, 5.00pm (EDT) Sunday, (EDT), FS1HD
Congratulations to the Wanderers, in outright top spot with four weeks to go following their first win against the might of Central Coast AT Bluetongue. They finally scored a goal against them and now, having beaten every side in the competition, are a win away from a record nine straight victories. Ridiculous really.
The fairytale that has been their season has already been spoken about to death but the one question that remained was could they beat the competition’s best? The answer was yes, in the pouring rain and in an atmosphere that would have felt like home.
Tony Popovic has developed an outstanding defence. Nikolai Topor-Stanley continues to have the season of his career to date, while in attack not only do the likes of Yousouf Hersi and Shinji Ono continue to star, but having perhaps the competition’s most prolific goal scoring substitute in Labinot Haliti hasn’t hurt either.
Wellington travel to Parramatta Stadium after enjoying their first win in over a month, but ruing missed opportunities to get their season back on track. Three games in New Zealand in a week yielded just four points. Three games to go and still bottom, there’s motivation and mathematical possibilities, but it must be about finishing as strongly as possibly under Chris Greenacre. They will have to be at their best on Sunday, there is pace, and there is quality all over the park, but it has not come together in a single area this season.
The interim coach has given his team license to express themselves, and simply enjoy – in a bid to take the pressure off, with virtually nothing to lose at this point. No Stein Huysegems through suspension, but Greenacre has a number of options to help out Jeremy Brockie.
Could the bottom of the table beat the top? Possibly. We saw it just a few weeks ago when Perth beat Central Coast – but I can’t see it happening again. Not even close actually.
Western Sydney to break the A-League’s record winning streak.
Melbourne Heart v Adelaide United, AAMI Park, Monday 7.30pm (EDT), FS1HD
Another tip I got wrong last week – I did not expect Melbourne Heart to come away from Wellington with nothing. These teams locked in the battle for the finals spots have shown glimpses of brilliance (some more than others) but this frustrating inability to remain consistent continues to plague these two.
Again we’re talking about Melbourne Heart, Adelaide United and inconsistency. Both come off hugely disappointing results in fixtures they would have been largely favoured to win and it’s costing them.
It’s unlikely the Reds’ top 4 spot will be in jeopardy but for the Heart, it’s still all must-win, sitting a point out of the top 6 (albeit with a game in hand over Newcastle). Jon McKain returns from suspension but Dario Vidosic is in doubt with a rolled ankle. The extra days to kick off could help him get back on the park in time, while Osama Malik is suspended.
Bruce Djite is still out and despite Jeronimo Neumann’s immediate impact on the side on his return, United has missed Djite’s influence up front. John Aloisi seemingly has the full complement to choose from, but who will get the nod? Fred has continued to start from the bench, he’s got some decisions to make and must be beyond frustrated at his team’s inability to build some momentum.
A big milestone for one of their foundation players with Matthew Thompson set to become the first player to reach 200 games in the A-League, congratulations to one of the game’s most consistent. I think last week will have served as a wake-up call for both and this should be a cracker.
Given the inconsistent theme it’s a hard one to predict, but I say Heart at home – where they’ve won their last 5.
Watch every game of round 24 of the A-League, Live and Exclusive, and in stunning High Definition, on Fox Sports.
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