Beejayville Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 The second game of the finals series is between Adelaide and Melbourne. It is over 2 legs and the first leg is at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide. This ground will be packed for this event and expect a high quality match. 2nd Semi Final ADELAIDE UNITED VS MELBOURNE VICTORY Sunday January 28th 5:30pm Loser of this 2 Leg Tie plays the winner of the 2 Leg Tie Sydney Vs Newcastle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) I don't mean to nit-pick, though I probably am, but I thought I should make it clear to everyone that this isn't actually an elimination final and that the loser of this match will stay alive in the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Yeh but it is probably worth pointing it out Crouch. Preliminary Final - Sunday 11 February 2007 Loser 2nd Semi Final plays the Winner of the 1st Semi Final Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) I think it is better that you nit-pick and let us know how that works Crouch :loon Unless I'm mistaken: Melbourne play Adelaide: Winner to host grand final. Loser to Game C Sydney play Jets: Winner to Game C. Loser Eliminated. Game C: Winner to play winner of Melbourne v Adelaide Melbourne finished first, Adelaide 2nd. If they were both knockout semi finals it'd be 1v4 and 2v3. That is my understanding. I am often wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Unless I'm mistaken: Melbourne play Adelaide: Winner to host grand final. Loser to Game C Sydney play Jets: Winner to Game C. Loser Eliminated. Game C: Winner to play winner of Melbourne v Adelaide Melbourne finished first, Adelaide 2nd. If they were both knockout semi finals it'd be 1v4 and 2v3. That is my understanding. I am often wrong though. Not this time, you are spot on :dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Not this time :dude Looking at the A-League site as well that's the format I gather :$:\ I'm probably wrong though. What is it this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads25 Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Unless I'm mistaken: Melbourne play Adelaide: Winner to host grand final. Loser to Game C Sydney play Jets: Winner to Game C. Loser Eliminated. Game C: Winner to play winner of Melbourne v Adelaide Melbourne finished first, Adelaide 2nd. If they were both knockout semi finals it'd be 1v4 and 2v3. That is my understanding. I am often wrong though. Thats exactly how i imagined the format would work too mate. I think your on the money :ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Victory primed for finals Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has dismissed his side's poor end to the regular season promising a premier's performance in the Hyundai A-League finals. After cruising to the minor premiership weeks ago, Melbourne seemed to switch off in the final month of the preliminary rounds, managing just four points from their last four games, as well as falling to their biggest defeat ever, a 4-0 shellacking at the hands of the Newcastle Jets last Friday night. But Merrick insists that his side's recent performances, especially the one against the Jets, isn't a measure of how the team will perform in the finals. "It was one of those days where nothing went right for us," Merrick told ABC Sport of the loss to Newcastle. "I'm sure the boys will mean business this weekend." "Knowing that you've only lost four games out of 21 and been the most consistent performer and scored more than anyone and conceded less … I think that's an ideal way to go into the finals." After winning the minor premiership and securing a place in the major semi-final, Merrick took the opportunity to rest some of his squad and to offer some bench players a chance to impress on the field during the last four rounds, a tactic he stoutly defends. "If we had won the last four games and looked good but started the first game of the finals with two players suspended, two injured and a couple of others fatigued, that momentum counts for nothing," Merrick said. "The key games are the ones coming up and that's what we're about." Victory skipper Kevin Muscat echoed the sentiments of his coach and indicated that the team had enough self-belief and talent to take out the title of 2006-07 Hyundai A-League champions. "We've been relatively disappointed with our form over the past couple of weeks but overall, over 21 games we're more than happy," Muscat said. "We've got enough confidence and belief that we can beat every team that we come up against in the finals, and time will tell." Melbourne travels to Adelaide to take on John Kosmina's side in the first leg of the major semi-final this Sunday at Hindmarsh Stadium, before the teams meet in the return leg at Telstra Dome next weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 23, 2007 Author Share Posted January 23, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Reds riding wave Despite finishing second on the table compared with being the minor premier last year, Adelaide United skipper Ross Aloisi believes his side is in a better position heading into this season's finals. The Reds finished this season with strong wins over Sydney FC and the Central Coast Mariners and will head into this Sunday's major semi-final first leg against the Melbourne Victory with good momentum, something the side didn't have last year heading in the finals. "Last season when we wrapped up the premiership, we then played the last three games and didn't win a game at all and went into the finals series not feeling that hot," said Aloisi. "This time we have won the last two games and won well, so we are a lot more confident this time around than last." After being the form team last year during the regular season and then being knocked out the week before the grand final, Aloisi admitted that there was some unfinished business for the Reds this finals campaign. "We finished top last year and unfortunately we didn't go to the grand final," Aloisi stated. "This year we finished second and when we knew this year that we couldn't get first our objective was to get second spot and get the second chance. "But like you said - it is unfinished business - we want to get to the grand final and we want to win." Adelaide coach John Kosmina also believes his team is playing a better style of football than it was heading into the finals last year. "We have had an up and down season - we played a lot better in terms of football than we did last year, obviously without the same results, but second was the best we could get and we are glad we got second," said Kosmina. "This season we have had a lot of momentum and we had a bit of rhythm and things fell for us and we need that, especially coming into finals. "Our last four or five games - if you look at when we played Newcastle before Christmas, Perth, Queensland, Sydney and the Mariners we have been playing some good stuff - more consistently than we have all year - so it is not a bad time to be finding some form." Kosmina said it was premature to suggest Melbourne was out of form following a poor end to the season, culminating in the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Newcastle Jets last Friday night. "They copped a bit of a hiding the other night and conceded some goals but they are a quality side and they have some good leaders in their team, guys like Musci (Kevin Muscat) and (Grant) Brebner, - Danny Allsopp has had a great season and you wouldn't expect them to do the same this weekend - its finals football now," said Kosmina. Kosmina expects his squad to be bolstered by the return of Carl Veart and possibly Jason Spagnuolo, but admitted the loss of Greg Owens through suspension isn't ideal. Owens picked up a yellow card (his fourth) during the second-half of the match against the Mariners after being brought on as a substitute and will be relegated to sidelines for this Sunday's semi. "But Carl (Veart) will come back refreshed next week and we might get Jason (Spagnuolo) back as well - so we have got some options - some good options." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Fred limps off ground at Victory training today Breaking news here in Melbourne that Fred is carrying an injury and may be in doubt for Sunday's Semi Final clash with Adelaide. Fred is expected to play but there must be some concern when he was unable to complete the training session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Merrick names full strength squad for Semi-Final Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick has named a full-strength 16-man squad for the first leg of the Hyundai A-League Major Semi Final against Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium this Sunday (kick-off 6:00pm AEDT). Steve Pantelidis and Simon Storey will take their place in defence for the first match in Melbourne’s inaugural Finals Series campaign, with Alessandro the only omission from last week’s loss to the Newcastle Jets. Fresh from his selection in the Australian Qantas under 23 squad for the upcoming Olympic Games qualifiers, Leigh Broxham has retained his spot in the Victory side and will make his fourth appearance for the club if he is used on Sunday evening. The on-going battle between the only two teams to win the Hyundai A-League Premiership has seen the sporting rivalry between Victoria and South Australia reignited. This Sunday evening will be the fourth time this season that these sides have met in a series of hard-fought contests. Victory defender and Australian Qantas under 23 Adrian Leijer said the side will continue to play the same way that saw it secure the Hyundai A-League 2006/07 Premiership before Christmas last year. “It’s been a while since we’ve really had a game which has meant something and the boys are really looking forward to it now,†Leijer said. “We’ve been waiting and training hard, so now that it’s finally here we’re very excited.†Leijer also responded to criticism of the Melbourne defence in the Round 21 loss to Newcastle and made a note that the side is focused on winning every match. “We’ve won the league by 12-points and I think a few people have forgotten that. There’s no point to prove, we’ve had a fantastic defence all season and that’s going to continue. “If people are going to judge us on one game then that’s a bit unfair because we’re just focused on Finals, so people can judge our defence after the Finals. “If you look at our away record this season we’ve had eight wins, one draw and one loss, so obviously we’re going to go out and try to win. If we get a draw I’d say we’d be happy with that and we can come back to Telstra Dome in front of a packed house and put some pressure on Adelaide.†Over 1000 Victory supporters are expected to make the journey to the South Australian capital with Football Federation Australia officials expecting a crowd in excess of 16,000 at Hindmarsh Stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 26, 2007 Author Share Posted January 26, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Melbourne Victory overall record vs. Adelaide United Played 10 – 2 wins, 2 draws, 6 losses 07/05/2005… L 0-0 (1-4 pen)… FIFA Club World Championship (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 25/06/2005… D 0-0… Friendly (LaTrobe University Athletics Complex, Bendigo) 06/08/2005… D 0-0… Pre-Season Cup (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 09/09/2005… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 28/10/2005… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 05/01/2006… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 19/07/2006… L 1-0… Pre-Season Cup (Aurora Stadium, Launceston) 25/08/2006… W 2-0… Hyundai A-League (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 15/10/2006… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Telstra Dome, Melbourne) 01/12/2006… W 3-1… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) Last time they met Round 15 – 2006/07 Hyundai A-League season Adelaide United 1 (Fernando 42’) Melbourne Victory 3 (Muscat 16’ pen, Allsopp 61’, Fred 86’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Hyundai A-League 2007 2nd Semi-Final (1st Leg) Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory Sunday 28th January 2007 Kick-Off 5:30pm ACDT (6:00pm AEDT, 5:00pm AEST, 4:00pm AWDT) Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide Radio: LIFE FM (Adelaide) 107.9FM www.life.on.net SEN1116 (Melbourne) 1116am - www.sen.com.au Adelaide United Squad: 1.Daniel BELTRAME (gk) 2.Richie ALAGICH 4.Angelo COSTANZO 5.Michael VALKANIS 6.Ross ALOISI (Captain) 8.Carl VEART 9.Matthew KEMP 10.FERNANDO 13 Travis DODD 15.Nathan BURNS 16.Bobby PETTA Subs: 3 Kristian REES 20.Robert BAJIC (gk) 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO 25.Bruce DJITE 26.DIEGO. In: Jason Spagnuolo (returns from injury), Carl Veart (promoted) Out: Greg Owens (suspended – 1 week) Unavailable: Dez Giraldi (Ankle – season), Shengqing Qu (Ankle – season) Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk) 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain) 4.Mark BYRNES 6.Steve PANTELIDIS 8.FRED 9.Danny ALLSOPP 10.Archie THOMPSON 12.Rodrigo VARGAS 15.Adrian LEIJER 16.Simon STOREY 17.Grant BREBNER Subs: 13.Kristian SARKIES 14.Adrian CACERES 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) 21.James ROBINSON 22.Leigh BROXHAM In: Steve Pantelidis (promoted), Michael Ferrante (promoted), Simon Storey (promoted), James Robinson (promoted), Antun Kovacic (promoted) Out: Nil Unavailable: Daniel Piorkowski (hamstring – season) Stats, Facts & Milestones In terms of most experience of playing in previous finals matches, Adelaide United's squad has a clearly superior record. 15 of Adelaide United's squad have already tasted finals action at national league level (including Hyundai A-League and NSL), while only 9 Melbourne Victory players have been there before; while the combined finals experience of the Adelaide United squad tallies up to 187 appearances, compared to just 55 finals matches for Melbourne players. Carl Veart - a seasoned campaigner of finals matches having played in 39 play-off matches in the past, Michael Valkanis (24 finals appearances) and Travis Dodd (22) are Adelaide United's most experienced finals campaigners. For Melbourne, Mark Byrnes (14 finals appearances) and Adrian Caceres (12 finals appearances) are the only players to have played in more than 10 finals matches. The Victory are the only side in this year's Hyundai A-League finals series that did not play in last year's finals series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Adelaide ready to fire in Semi Final Adelaide United FC will go into Sunday’s first Semi-Final leg against Melbourne Victory full of confidence after coming off of two big wins against last season’s finalists Sydney FC and the Central Coast. The Reds finished second 12 points behind the Victory on the Hyundai A-League table but United have the better form going into the game with Melbourne winless since Round 18. Coach John Kosmina has kept things unchanged at training leading up to the game, and believes his team has been gathering momentum at the right time. “We’re just ticking over at the moment. We will just do what we did at training last week and the week before, we’ve been playing some good football,†Kosmina said. With virtually a full squad at his disposal, Kosmina will have a tough task of deciding on the best combination to dismantle the Victory. Carl Veart returns after being rested and Jason Spagnuolo may also be considered as he recovers from a calf injury. Greg Owens will miss the game as he serves a one game suspension. United’s defence will have to be on its game to stop Melbourne’s attacking options, the Victory containing the Hyundai A-League’s two top goal scorers Daniel Allsopp (11 goals) and Archie Thompson (10 goals). Melbourne Victory has only beaten Adelaide United twice in their previous eight meetings, both coming this season. The winner over the two semi-final legs goes straight into the grand final while the loser will play the winner of the Newcastle Jets vs. Sydney FC semi-final. With a lot of distractions coming from across the border this week with billboards and Melbourne media talk, Kosmina’s men will hopefully be the ones doing the talking on the field on Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jablosnky Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Melbourne Victory overall record vs. Adelaide United Played 10 – 2 wins, 2 draws, 6 losses 07/05/2005… L 0-0 (1-4 pen)… FIFA Club World Championship (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 25/06/2005… D 0-0… Friendly (LaTrobe University Athletics Complex, Bendigo) 06/08/2005… D 0-0… Pre-Season Cup (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 09/09/2005… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 28/10/2005… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 05/01/2006… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) 19/07/2006… L 1-0… Pre-Season Cup (Aurora Stadium, Launceston) 25/08/2006… W 2-0… Hyundai A-League (Olympic Park, Melbourne) 15/10/2006… L 1-0… Hyundai A-League (Telstra Dome, Melbourne) 01/12/2006… W 3-1… Hyundai A-League (Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide) Last time they met Round 15 – 2006/07 Hyundai A-League season Adelaide United 1 (Fernando 42’) Melbourne Victory 3 (Muscat 16’ pen, Allsopp 61’, Fred 86’ stats show a nice % of under 2.5 goals. but I'm affraid that this is a seminfinal and we could see more goals than usual what do you think ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koi_saisei Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Dont think so. Normally finals prove to be tight affairs, with predominantly defencive play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads25 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Adelaide Utd vs Melbourne Victory Huge game tonight and ive been waiting for this for a while now and so have Melbourne. The Victory had wrapped up top spot before Christmas and have been playing with little motiviation the past month or so as there was no way they could drop from top spot, and they have been playing like that accordingly. Manager Ernie Merrick has been rotating his team to keep it fresh the last few rounds with every single squad member having at least 1 games rest, but their form leading into this match isnt fantastic. Adelaides form isnt terriffic either as they just scraped into the finals on the back of some solid early season form. Adelaides record at home is very strong and they are actually ranked the top home side this season with 7 wins from 11 matches. Melbourne are ranked the top away team though with 8 wins from 10 matches and they actually beat Adelaide 3-1 when the two teams met at this venue only a month or so back. However overall head to head, Adelaide has the wood over Melbourne with a 4-0-2 record against them. As for team news, Adelaide will field a fairly strong lineup. They will miss Greg Owens from the lineup as he serves a 1 game suspension, while Shen Qu is out for the season, but he has been on the long term injury list for months and they have coped without him. Carl Veart & Jason Spagnuolo return to the team and these two are big inclusions. Vearts attacking presence is very important to this Adelaide side while Spagnuolo is a teriffic defender and has been a rock for them this season. Team news is great for Melbourne too as they have a fully fit team. Apart from Daniel Piorkowski who has been out long term and wouldnt get a game anyway, every single player on their roster is available to play tonight so that will leave a tough task for coch Ernie Merrick to decide who to play. Its hard to decide a winner here, you look at Adelaides home form and how good their record is against Melbourne, yet you look at Melbournes away form and the fact they have a 100% team to choose from and its very tough to look past them. Adelaide will look to play down the wings and play their attacking game with Bobby Petta getting his dangerous balls inmto the box as he so often does. Melbourne on the other hand have a solid defence but dont play an attacking sort of game. They dont have too many shots each game, but when they do have shots they are usually lethal. With the likes of Archie Thompson & Danny Allsopp playing together in the same team they are always going to be very good when going forward. Thats why i think i favour Melbourne here, they have beaten Adelaide 3-1 here already this season and beat them 2-0 earlier in the year and i cant see why it wont happen again here tonight. Plus you cant forget the fact Adelaide are big game chokers. Pick Melbourne WIN at $2.55 - (4/10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) a little bit off topic, but what a dreaful system. a two legged semi final, to determine who hosts the grand final ? The loser of this "semi" plays the winner of the other semi, in a third semi for a place in the final ? Utterly appaling They didn't do this last year did they ? Much prefer the super 14 play off system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) a little bit off topic, but what a dreaful system. a two legged semi final, to determine who hosts the grand final ? The loser of this "semi" plays the winner of the other semi, in a third semi for a place in the final ? Utterly appaling They didn't do this last year did they ? Much prefer the super 14 play off system. Not sure if they did this last year, but it was something similar if I recall. (For some reason I think it was a bit like the SPL, with the league being reduced and 1st and 2nd get to start off with more points?) As for playoffs, this is a Football league - we shouldn't even be having finals. At least that's what I think. Save finals for the oval ball codes where they belong and keep the round ball game the way it's traditionally played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loz Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Not sure if they did this last year' date=' but it was something similar if I recall. (For some reason I think it was a bit like the SPL, with the league being reduced and 1st and 2nd get to start off with more points?) As for playoffs, this is a Football league - we shouldn't even be having finals. At least that's what I think. Save finals for the oval ball codes where they belong and keep the round ball game the way it's traditionally played.[/quote'] Whether you like it or not, the reality is, football is a business like any other business and they want the fans to keep interested in the competition. If we didnt have a finals system like this fans would lose interest half way through the season when their team has no chance of winning the trophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Finals 2006 Finals Week 1 Minor Semi Final Newcastle Jets 0-1 CC Mariners Major Semi Final Adelaide Utd 2-2 Sydney FC Finals Week 2 Minor Semi Final CC Mariners 1-1 Newcastle Jets CC Mariners Won 2-1 On Agg Major Semi Final Sydney FC 2-1 Adelaide United Sydney FC Won 4-3 On Agg Finals Week 3 Preliminary Final Adelaide Utd 0-1 CC Mariners Finals Week 4 Grand Final Sydney FC 1-0 CC Mariners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Again Ads has provided an excellent preview and I don't really need to add anything else. Adelaide has the finals experience and that will count, but melbourne have been performing in front of large crowds all season and it will not be a problem. Get on the Victory as they have been the best team all season and they only need to prove they are the best team now :ok BET Melbourne Victory Straight Out to Win @ $2-55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Pre game Discussion on Sport SEN1116 in Melbourne http://www.sen.com.au/index.php Click on the little Radio on top right where it says 'Listen Live' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) LIVE WEB RADIO BROADCAST OF TONIGHT'S GAME Sport SEN1116 in Melbourne http://www.sen.com.au/index.php Click on the little Radio on top right where it says 'Listen Live' 107.9FM LIFE FM (Adelaide) Open Winamp or Media Player and choose "File" - "Open URL" and copy and paste the following into the dialogue box. http://radio.internode.on.net:8040 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Whether you like it or not' date=' the reality is, football is a business like any other business and they want the fans to keep interested in the competition. If we didnt have a finals system like this fans would lose interest half way through the season when their team has no chance of winning the trophy.[/quote'] Good point Loz :ok We do not have relegation and promotion like overseas leagues and imagine if there were no finals, Melbourne Victory were so far ahead on the ladder that crowds would have stayed away. Australian's are used to this type of finals system as it was used in VFL Football for years, except for the home and away return matches in first two weeks. It is a strange concept for Soccer, but it does give one of four teams in the Finals a chance to win a premiership. Another thing is that Australia only has so many states, and three states are currently represented in the finals, and that creates a big interest for each state when they have a team in the finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Whether you like it or not' date=' the reality is, football is a business like any other business and they want the fans to keep interested in the competition. If we didnt have a finals system like this fans would lose interest half way through the season when their team has no chance of winning the trophy.[/quote'] That's quite true, and from a business sense it is better. Personally though, I consider finals a way to reward inferior teams and generally speaking I'm not a fan. That's just me though :ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) That's quite true' date=' and from a business sense it is better. Personally though, I consider finals a way to reward inferior teams and generally speaking I'm not a fan. That's just me though :ok[/quote'] I know exactly what you mean Crouch, and what you are trying to say. The AFL rewards crap teams who finish below 4th on the Ladder, and realistically they have no chance of winning the Grand Final. The finals hype has been good though...next week in Melbourne the place will be abuzz with Finals Fever cos we love our sport. I am going to try and tickets to the game if possible. Should be a great day in Melbourne. Ads25 will probably go too. We should try and meet up somewhere before the game.The Llocker Room be a good place :beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) As much as anything I hate the way the finals seems to disadvantage the best team. It happened this year with the Victory as they had to effectively wait a month or so just for their proper season to resume, in the process they've lost a bit of form. I feel the same thing happened to the Melbourne Storm in the NRL last season as well, where they had the minor premiership wrapped up early and went through the next month struggling a bit, highlighted by their lost to NZ. It just seems a bit unfair to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) 30m Adelaide 0 - 0 Melbourne Think you might be right about Melbourne Crouch, they look very ordinary. Adelaide are looking much more likely to score from where I sit. They are pressing forward at every opportunity. The Victory look like a shadow of the team that was on fire through the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beejayville Posted January 28, 2007 Author Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Australian A League 2nd Semi-Final - Adelaide Vs Melbourne (Sun 28th Jan) Half time 0-0 Adelaide are dominating this game and should be in front but they havn't been able to take any of their chances. The Victory are always dangerous on the counter attack and Adelaide can thank Ange Costanzo for a couple of great tackles that could have been Melbourne goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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