The Hyundai A-League nears the halfway point and heads into Christmas with a short sharp round, all five round 12 games will happen over 2 nights, Friday and Saturday.
Friday night kicks off in Sydney as the Wanderers host Adelaide United. The locals are jubilant after their win last weekend in the local derby, while the visitors travel up to Sydney on the back of the 3-1 win over the Nix. The Wanderers have to be satisfied with their current 4th position on the table, which from memory is one of the best 1st season efforts of all expansion clubs, but they will be looking for another 3 points to take them outright third behind Adelaide. The visitors will also be looking to take the 3 points which would give them top place on the ladder. I’m looking for this to be a draw.
Friday nights second game sees the introduction of the Mulvey era to Suncorp Stadium, with the Roar hosting arch nemesis Perth Glory for the first time since the grand final. Look for fireworks in this one, and expect near riots if Berisha gets fouled anywhere near the area. This is of course all subject to proving his fitness after a shoulder injury sustained last week in Melbourne. If he does play it will be a great night, but even if he doesn’t there are still a lot of tensions between the two teams, so I’m expecting it to be a feisty affair. Of course Brisbane’s fortunes this season have been well documented and with new head coach Mike Mulvey only having been in the job three days it will be interesting to see how the players react to the changes. I would like to think that against the arch whingers at home on the ‘eve’ of Christmas the Roar will be able to score a decisive victory and deliver the home fans some much needed Christmas cheer.
There are three games on Saturday, but there is no point previewing them here as the Mayans have already informed us there wont be a Saturday.
Which is interestingly enough how the Roar
have been marketing their Friday match against Perth
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| Brisbane Roar FC advertising for the BRFC v PGFC R12 Hyundai A-League match |
But on the off chance that the Mayan’s were actually wrong
or the more likely scenario that modern idiots have misinterpreted the meaning of
the end of the Mayan calendar, here is a look at those three games.
Saturday kicks off in Wellington with the Phoenix hosting
table topping Central Coast Mariners.
The Phoenix have been having a few dramas of their own in recent weeks
with big talent on the field and talking the talk, but failing to walk the walk
and to actually get results and points.
The Phoenix currently sit in seventh but could find themselves stone
cold motherless last if they loose and other results go the way of the teams
below them. Ricki Herbert will be
looking to his side to put their talents into action and has already put the
team on notice that failure could result in the loss of positions for underperforming
players. The Mariners travel over the
ditch looking to cement their spot at the top of the table and will be a strong
challenge for the locals with several players looking dangerous at the
moment. I suspect this match will end in
a draw as the locals just don’t have that killer punch at the moment, and the
Ring of Fire will level out the Mariners.
The second game of the day sees us heading to Newcastle as
the Jets host Sydney FC. The locals are
coming out of a period of turmoil where the ATO have applied to the courts to
have owners Hunter Sports Group wound up over unpaid taxes, which also stems
from the financial trouble Nathan Tinkler who owns the Hunter groups is
experiencing. Sydney FC are still rooted
to the bottom of the table but new coach Frank Farina has stated that he wants
results fast, so I am in no doubt that this will be a match he is targeting for
a large Sydney win. The jets have failed
to capitalise on their depth and marquee man, and are stagnating in mid
table. I’m looking for the Farina factor
to give the visitors the edge in this one.
The final game of the round and Saturday, is the second instalment
of the Melbourne Derby. A lot has
changed since the first instalment in round one when the Heart took a decisive
win casting a shadow over the new Postecoglou era at the Victory. Since that night the Heart have fallen off
the pace while the Postecoglou factor has started to take effect at the
Victory, with the Heart now sitting third from last while the Victory are
sitting third. The result on Saturday should
be more reflective of how the two sides are performing this season. Im looking for the Victory to share in the
Christmas spoils as Santa Postecoglou gives the Victory fans the gifts.
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