Reds shatter Heart's finals hopes

Teetering ... Melbourne Heart look unlikey to make the finals after losing to Adelaide. Source: George Salpigtidis / News Limited

Adelaide United have all but locked in a home A-League final and left Melbourne Heart's top-six chances creaking with a 2-0 win at AAMI Park on Monday night.

Dario Vidosic's first-half penalty and a second-half goal to winger Iain Ramsay snapped the Reds' indifferent form and Heart's good home run.

The victory lifts Adelaide nine points clear of fifth place with three matches remaining, with the third and fourth-placed sides at the end of the A-League regular season guaranteed home finals.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Western Sydney	24	16	2	6	15	50
2	Central Coast	24	13	6	5	22	45
3	Victory	24	12	4	8	3	40
4	Adelaide	24	12	3	9	3	39
5	Sydney	24	9	3	12	-8	30
6	Newcastle	25	8	6	11	-12	30
7	Brisbane	24	8	5	11	1	29
8	Perth	24	8	4	12	-2	28
9	Heart	24	8	3	13	-4	27
10	Wellington	25	6	6	13	-18	24

But Heart now slide to second-bottom after other weekend results went against them, though they are just a win out of the top six in the closely congested battle to make the playoffs.

In front of a crowd of just over 5,000, Heart were left to rue some missed early first-half chances.

Midfielder Nick Kalmar had three good attempts in three minutes and Reds goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was forced into two outstanding saves.

Adelaide United coach Mike Valkanis was thrilled with his side's whole-hearted victory after several weeks of inconsistency.

"We've had our ups and downs in form and we spoke about it during the week that we have to flick the switch on, and keep it on," Valkanis said.

"We can't keep thinking that we've got games in front of us and we'll be playing finals.

"It was a good professional performance."

Heart coach John Aloisi admitted the defeat would make it difficult for his side to make the playoffs, and felt they should have made Adelaide pay early when they had the chances.

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"It's still close. We've still got a chance of making the six. We just have to believe that we can," Aloisi said.

"We've made it hard for ourselves. We should have punished them. Three great chances ... and they weren't causing us problems.

"Then they got the penalty and we struggled. They were better than us after that."

Heart now need maximum points from Saturday's home match against table-topping Western Sydney Wanderers to re-ignite their top-six challenge.

The Reds face a quick turnaround to host Newcastle Jets on Friday night at Hindmarsh Stadium.
 

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Hindy hopes captaincy sparks Hayne

Nathan Hindmarsh ... hopes the Eels captaincy sees Jarryd Hayne return to his brilliant best. Source: Sam Ruttyn / News Limited

Retired Parramatta NRL great Nathan Hindmarsh says Jarryd Hayne will never be able to repeat his 2009 heroics - but hopes the captaincy sparks a resurgence in the enigmatic Eels fullback.

Hayne was last week appointed as one of three Eels co-captains along with Reni Maitua and Tim Mannah - the trio replacing Hindmarsh in the role.

Hindmarsh admitted the leadership position was one Hayne would not have been ready for last year, but was hopeful the extra responsibility would result in a lift in consistency for the NSW State of Origin star.

"Haynesy has matured over the last couple of years, definitely - on and off the field," Hindmarsh said.

"He talks to the boys at training - he knows the game. He's probably the best bloke at knowing and reading the game.

"Hopefully it will give him that responsibility to say 'I've been given this responsibility - now it's time to step up and do it every week."

Often portrayed as being somewhat aloof in his approach to football, Hindmarsh said captaincy had not always been a natural fit for Hayne.

Asked if he would have been ready for the role 12 months ago, Hindmarsh said: "No, not really - I thought he needed a bit more time to have a look see how things are done."

Hayne produced a breathtaking spell of performances over the back half of the 2009 season that propelled the Eels from the bottom of the NRL ladder all the way to the grand final.

Hindmarsh said fans should not expect a repeat of that scintillating run of form, but admitted the pressure was on the 25-year-old to once again be a regular match-winner for last year's wooden spooners.

"I'm sure he (Hayne) won't mind me saying this but he knows he hasn't been playing his best footy for a number of years now," Hindmarsh said.

"What he did in 09 ... it would be bloody hard to replicate what he did in 09. That's some footy no one will ever get to see again.

"There is a lot of pressure. That's what happens.

"You've come out in 09, had a blinder of a year ... people want to see that again, people expect it and sometimes it's hard to deliver."

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Phoenix dent Heart's finals hopes

Flying high ... Wellington Phoenix end a difficult week with victory over Melbourne Heart. Source: Ross Setford / AAP

Wellington Phoenix ended a tumultuous week with a deserved 1-0 A-League win over Melbourne Heart in Dunedin on Sunday.

Jeremy Brockie scored in the first half to give the competition's bottom club their first win since they beat the Perth Glory 1-0 in Auckland on February 2.

They finished with 10 men after striker Stein Huysegems got a second yellow card late in the match for a tackle on Simon Colosimo.

The result left the Heart winless for their 16th consecutive away game stretching back to 2011.

		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	Adelaide	23	11	3	9	1	36
4	Victory	22	11	3	8	-2	36
5	Newcastle	23	8	6	9	-6	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

The Phoenix had much the better of the game at Forsyth Barr Stadium and should have won by more.
They went into the game after a week in which coach Ricki Herbert's resignation was followed by a 2-1 loss to the Newcastle Jets on Wednesday night.

The Phoenix made the early running, Brockie and Huysegems both hitting the bar and Ben Sigmund heading the ball into the ground in front of goal.

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They went in front after 19 minutes when Brockie volleyed home a cross from Paul Ifill for his 14th goal of the season.

The Phoenix had a golden chance to go two up three minutes later but Huysegems hit the left-hand upright after goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne narrowed the angle.

The home side had a clear edge in possession and territory in the first half but were unable to make capital, missing at least six clear-cut chances.

The second spell started in a similar vein to the first, Sigmund and Ifill both heading over the net.

Heart began to threaten midway through the second spell, but the Phoenix defence, backed by a small but noisy crowd of 4000, was equal to the task.

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Tevez keeps City's hopes alive

Too good ... Manchester City account for Aston Villa. Source: Paul Ellis / AFP

Manchester City maintained their slim hopes of retaining the Premier League title with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

But Carlos Tevez's winning goal in first-half stoppage time means Villa remain in the relegation zone and in danger of being relegated for the first time since 1987.

The home side began brightly and dominated the early stages with Christian Benteke seeing a header cleared off the line by Tevez just after the 20-minute mark.

Jack Rodwell had a left-footed effort at the other end that Brad Guzan tipped over but the former Everton midfielder injured himself in shooting and was replaced by Edin Dzeko.

The arrival of the Bosnian striker perked up a sluggish City and the visitors began to take control of the game with Pablo Zabaleta denied by a combination of Guzan and post in the 37th minute.

The impressive Guzan then saved well from both Tevez and Dzeko as Roberto Mancini's men piled on the pressure with Villa's confidence beginning to drain.

And it was a defensive error from Ciaran Clark that brought the opening goal as he attempted to turn past Dzeko despite being the last man.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	28	23	2	3	37	71
2	Man City	28	17	8	3	27	59
3	Tottenham	28	16	6	6	16	54
4	Chelsea	28	15	7	6	26	52
5	Arsenal	28	13	8	7	21	47
6	Everton	28	11	12	5	9	45
7	Liverpool	28	11	9	8	19	42
8	Swansea	28	10	10	8	5	40
9	West Brom	28	12	4	12	1	40
10	Fulham	28	8	9	11	-5	33
11	Stoke	28	7	12	9	-7	33
12	West Ham	28	9	6	13	-9	33
13	Norwich	28	7	11	10	-18	32
14	Sunderland	28	7	9	12	-7	30
15	Newcastle	28	8	6	14	-11	30
16	Southampton	28	6	9	13	-12	27
17	Wigan	28	6	6	16	-22	24
18	Aston Villa	28	5	9	14	-27	24
19	Reading	28	5	8	15	-20	23
20	QPR	28	3	11	14	-23	20

The Villa skipper claimed he had been fouled and while there was contact it seemed that he was already on his way down having lost his footing.

Dzeko was able to run through unchallenged before squaring the ball to Tevez who showed great composure to round Guzan before slotting the ball into the net.

Tevez had the chance to double the lead early in the second half but Matthew Lowton was able to clear his effort off the line as Villa became a little ragged in search of an equaliser.

As Villa battled, City showed the greater incision and the visitors had an effort disallowed for offside when Dzeko tucked the ball home after Guzan had tipped Yaya Toure's shot onto the post.

And Mancini's men were able to negotiate the final stages to reduce the gap on leaders Manchester United to 12 points - while leaving Villa supporters fearing the worst.

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/281851/report

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