In A-League of its Own 8 (2011/12)

 


Tom’s weekly outlook on the A-League

A lot can happen in three weeks. The Brisbane Roar has fallen not only from their unbeaten status of Australia’s greatest sports team, but to 2nd on the A-League table with 4 straight losses. Their 2-1 loss to ladder leaders Central Coast puts the reigning champions in a difficult position coming into the Christmas period. Their losses to Sydney, Heart, Wellington and the Mariners have all been games which previously the Roar would have been tipped heavily to win and win comfortably. Now though, the wheels have become very wobbly indeed.

Melbourne Victory is beginning to bang in the goals. Harry Kewell may not be the one finding the onion bag, but the familiar names of Carlos Hernandez and Archie Thompson have been the ones continuing to score for the Victory. In their convincing 3-1 win over Wellington at AAMI Park at the weekend, the Victory looked the best they have all season. Their attacking play was by far the most fluent it has been for months, but still lacked the finishing touch on many occasions. And for probably the first time this season, Adrian Leijer was getting himself into good positions and was able to set up attacks as well. It was a good win to have before this week’s derby, which will be hotly contested against an in form Heart.

Perth Glory have dipped even further down the table to 8th following their 3rd loss consecutively to Melbourne Heart at home on Friday night. The Heart was able to continue their journey up the table with their 2-1 win. Goals to skipper Matt Thompson and Mate Duganzic either side of Billy Mehmet’s goal was enough to see the visitors to victory. The Derby this Friday night will no doubt be an absolute ripper, and tickets are already sold out. My tip is another derby draw, the result 2-2. The game could easily go either way though. Victory could blow the game open and win comfortably, or the Heart could break a fragile Victory defence.

Elsewhere, Adelaide United has finally given Rini Coolen the flick after a very disappointing start to the season. The 3-0 loss at home to Central Coast at the weekend was the last straw for the Adelaide United board, who have installed John Kosmina as the replacement. All eyes now turn to the next Adelaide-Victory match on the 13th of January. And Sydney FC has moved into 4th on the a-League table after a 2-1 win over an inconsistent Newcastle outfit.

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. John Butler says

    Tom, the psychology of the streak continues to fascinate, regardless of the sport.

    All sorts of theories abound on the pressures involved, and what happens when they’re released. Answers remain less obvious, as Mr Postecoglou will now no doubt attest.

    Cheers, and have a great Christmas.

  2. Victory need to look at the 5 mins after Archie’s great opener.,..asserting an authority is different to showboating.

  3. btw Tom, Mehm seems a nice bloke and totally out of his depth. Time to flick him and Muscat who remains a destaibiliser. Start again.

  4. jj honeysett says

    agree about muscat . . . still waiting for the derby report ;-)

  5. Sacha Pisani says

    The absence of Broich & Henriques has obviously hurt the Roar. You take Thompson & Hernandez out of the Victory and what do you have? Most teams would suffer.
    Brisbane will be back and Roaring in no time.

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