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Date/Time: 2012:10:12 12:34:45 Source:FOX SPORTS
Fox Sports football commentator Mel McLaughlin previews round 25 of the A-League season and gives you her tips for every game.
Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets, Hindmarsh Stadium, Friday 7.30pm (EDT).
RUN HOME:
Adelaide - 4th, 39 points: Newcastle (H), Central Coast (H), Perth (A)
Newcastle - 6th, 30 points: Adelaide (A), Western Sydney (H)
Two very different situations - Adelaide are back home with the three points against Melbourne Heart, an emphatic performance just weeks out from the finals. Newcastle were also the better side in their match, but a combination of lacking the killer instinct in the final third coupled with an outstanding performance from Danny Vukovic cost them, with all three points snatched in the final seconds of added time. A cruel game, this.
So, the Jets are sitting ducks. Still in the six but a game less than the others in the mix for finals, they have no choice but to win at Hindmarsh and then hope to still be alive on the final weekend – even then they'll have to beat the Wanderers. I said last week that without the injured Emile Heskey the side would need to look to the experienced Michael Bridges and Ruben Zadkovich and that's exactly what they did, and the two led by example. The conversation regarding why exactly Bridges hasn't been utilised until now is for another day ... Adam Taggart scored his first goal in front of his home crowd and the signs were good – so what now?
Michael Valkanis will be a far happier man after the Reds' first away win since November - Dario Vidosic was at his best, Iain Ramsay scored a screamer and promising youngster Jake Barker-Daish impressed in his run-on debut. Marcelo Carrusca looked as dangerous as ever.
So they're home, but should be wary of a desperate opposition. 0-0 in their last encounter, Newcastle will have to work just as hard but simply be better in front of goal. They have to go for it, they must score goals, but an at times suspect defence will have to cope with the numerous attacking options Adelaide possesses. It's an exciting prospect, things may be a little cautious at first, but the Jets must throw everything at United. I think they might ultimately get beaten though, narrowly.
Tip: Adelaide
| 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 |
Melbourne Heart v Western Sydney Wanderers, AAMI Park, Saturday 5.30pm (EDT)
RUN HOME:
Melbourne Heart - 9th, 27 points: Western Sydney (H) Brisbane (A) Mariners (A)
Western Sydney Wanderers - 1st, 50 points: Heart (A) Sydney FC (H) Jets (A)
Melbourne Heart's season is over. I'm calling it. A golden opportunity to stay in touch with the six and they blew it – barely turned up against Adelaide, in fact. How did it go so horribly wrong?
Congratulations to Western Sydney, another milestone with an A-League record nine straight victories after beating a very good Wellington side, and perhaps with a bit of luck to help them along the way. Regardless, this side has won emphatically, and it has won less convincingly, but they now travel to Melbourne aiming to break the all-time Australian football record by taking their streak to 10, and with a five-point buffer on the Mariners at the top of the ladder.
The pressure is clearly on the home side after Monday night, but the way Heart's season has gone they'll probably get back to their best and be the team that beats the Wanderers. I won't be the one to tip that though. John Aloisi made a number of changes and it was surprising to see Eli Babalj on the bench, and Patrick Gerhardt and Jonatan Germano left out all together. Strange decisions.
Tip: Wanderers
Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory, Allianz Stadium, Saturday 7.45pm (EDT)
RUN HOME:
Sydney FC - 5th, 30 pts: Victory (H) Wanderers (A) Brisbane (A)
Melbourne Victory - 3rd, 40 pts: Sydney (A) Perth (H) Wellington (A)
Sydney's final home game of the season plays host to the enormous fixture that is the final installment of the Big Blue (for the regular season anyway). After a terrible two-week road trip, the Sky Blues' finals hopes were hanging by a thread, but they returned to that fortress they've created at Allianz Stadium and beat Central Coast – again – in front of over 16,000 fans. The defence had taken quite a beating, five goals leaked, so a clean sheet would have been welcomed. Fabio was suspended and Lucas Neill injured, so with both potentially available, does Frank Farina alter the backline? I'd be surprised if he did. Still, a nice problem to have for the coach.
Victory came away from Suncorp Stadium with a point, a cracking game played out in Brisbane, one the Roar could have won had they finished better.
Tip: Sydney FC
Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix, nib Stadium, Sunday 7pm (EDT)
RUN HOME:
Perth - 8th, 28pts: Wellington (h), Victory (a), Adelaide (h)
Wellington - 10th, 24pts: Perth (a), Victory (h)
Perth are coming off just their second victory away from home all season and are back in the hunt. They face a team that, although their campaign is over, finally showed what they're capable of – the Phoenix of old. They were unlucky not to come away from Parramatta Stadium with at least a point. The Glory have now won three games from four under new coach Alistair Edwards – but even he'll admit the most recent one, at Hunter Stadium, was as close to theft as you can get. Second best for much of the night, Perth snatched the win only in the dying stages of added time through Michael Thwaite (who came in for criticism for a woeful goal celebration – but give him a break – it was just his second ever A-League goal!)
Much like their opposition on Saturday, Wellington are also typically terrible travelers so it's remarkable to think they have taken more points on the road than home to date, and as such they've stayed in the country.
Jeremy Brockie is well and truly locked in a battle with Daniel McBreen for the golden boot, scoring his 15th at Wanderland to ensure someone in his team is still in the mix for a major award. But motivation to finish off the season strongly is high, across the squad, with many off contract shortly or vying for spots in their national squads. Even interim coach Chris Greenacre is on show, as he is no certainty to be given the position full-time for next season. With the coach sending the message to his team to forget about the ladder and have fun the players have responded. They are such a better side with Paul Ifill at his best and he's not far off it judging on the past few weeks.
Tip: Perth Glory
Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar, Bluetongue Stadium, Sunday 5pm (EDT)
RUN HOME:
Central Coast - 2nd, 45 pts: Brisbane (h), Adelaide (a), Heart (h)
Brisbane - 7th, 29 pts: Central Coast (a), Heart (h), Sydney (h)
Are Brisbane back? Can the Mariners get back on track? Some big questions ahead of this showdown on Sunday.
Central Coast are looking more than a little wobbly and returned home empty-handed from a grueling mid-week trip to Japan, the hectic Asian Champions League schedule making life more than a little difficult. Graham Arnold again rang the changes in a bid to manage players' workloads and as a result their regular right and left fullbacks didn't travel, Pedj Bojic dealing with a back problem picked up in their loss to Sydney. Daniel McBreen will want to get back in the goals if he's to take out the Golden Boot, he's now tied on 15 goals with Wellington's Jeremy Brockie and hasn't scored in over a month.
For their lofty standards, the Mariners are in a little rut and won't want to slide much further off the pace with the finals just weeks away. The Premiers' Plate is also not 100% stitched up, so although a very distant, unlikely prospect. Unbelievably another missed penalty in Kashiwa, another sign of dented confidence? They've got the firepower, but Graham Arnold has to get this team believing again.
It would do wonders for them to beat fierce rival from recent years in Brisbane Roar – they've only beaten the Roar once at Bluetongue, and that was this season. Brisbane are starting to play like the Brisbane of old, but suffer the same problem of not converting dominance and shots into goals. If Mike Mulvey finds a solution to this his team will make the finals, and could be a dark horse. Ivan Franjic's move further up the park seems to be working, he's looking harder to contain than ever and was rewarded with a cracking goal to level the scores last week.
Tip: Draw
Watch every game of round 25 of the A-League, Live and Exclusive, and in stunning High Definition, on Fox Sports.
