In A-League of its Own 16 (2011/12)

 

by Tom Riordan
Melbourne Heart’s first appearance in a finals match has ended in a nightmare, losing 3-0 at the hands of Perth Glory at nib Stadium. After knocking 4 past Melbourne Victory the week before,  Shane Smeltz continued his incredible form, scoring all 3 against the Heart on Sunday. It took 65 minutes for the first goal to come, but when it did, the floodgates opened for the Glory, and Smeltz made the most of limited opportunities. Despite the disappointment of losing, the Heart can look forward to new heights next season under a new manager, with John Van Schip finishing up.

The Wellington Phoenix will meet Perth Glory for the right to play-off for a spot in the grand final after beating Sydney FC at home 3-2 in what was one of the best games of this season. Tim Brown opened the scoring for the home team just after half-time, and it looked to be the winning goal before a crazy period of 10 minutes set the game alight. Ben Sigmund doubled Wellington’s advantage with a powerful header 12 minutes from time, before young player of the season Joel Chianese managed to score. Chianese levelled the score line soon after to have the hosts reeling at 2-2 when he pounced on a goalkeeping error by Mark Paston, but a penalty awarded to Paul Ifill for a foul on Pascal Boschaart was duly converted, sending Wellington into the next round of finals.

Brisbane have made the perfect start to their major semi-final against Central Coast by winning 2-0 at home. Henrique was in the action early on, missing a penalty but then scoring soon after to put the Mariners on the back foot at Suncorp Stadium. It took until the 86th minute for Erik Paartalu to finish off a period of domination for the Roar when he got himself past the Mariner’s defence and slid the ball past Matt Ryan.

About Tom Riordan

Tom Riordan is in his second year of a Bachelor of Journalism at Swinburne University. He loves all sports, and plays for Brunswick Cricket Club. He supports the Western Bulldogs and can be found on weekends among half a dozen others in Q38 on the top level of the MCC.

Comments

  1. Big A-League news today with the announcement of a West Sydney side for next year. Will Kewell be lured?

  2. Tom,
    The Heart were very disappointing, close to their worst performance of the year. The young blokes who have been so impressive during the season – Marrone, Behich, Good, Babalj and Hamill – seemed overawed by the occasion. The play-makers, Fred and Thompson, barely fired a shot.
    It was always going to be a tough assignment, Perth at home, in form, but I felt let down by Heart’s abject display. However, it’s been a good season, and they have given us plenty of fine memories. Van ‘t Schip was an inspired selection as first coach of the team, and the choice of his successor is a real challenge for the administration.

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