Australian A League Round 1 Wrap

[Beejayville]

Round 1 Wrap The opening round of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 season has given a good indication that this season is going to be the most closely fought of the three seasons. Football fans have a lot to look forward to, if the season plays out like it did for the opening round, with close matches, high drama, a bit controversy and good crowds (this despite three matches being affected by bad weather). The season’s new motto ‘90 Minutes 90 Emotions’ was certainly in evidence, especially at Suncorp Stadium, which had a bit of everything. So at the end of the weekend, one team sits atop the table, after Central Coast Mariners opened with a 1-0 over Sydney FC on Friday night. The remaining three games finished in draws, a clear sign this is going to be a tough, closely fought and highly entertaining season ahead. Bring it on. Sydney FC 0 - 1 Central Coast Mariners Sasho Petrovski made the trip to Aussie Stadium, as he had done so many times before in the first two seasons. However this time it was as a Central Coast Mariners player and he made it a successful return, scoring the only goal of the game, to cut a dagger into the hearts of his former team-mates and supporters. The Mariners set up their win with a dominant first half performance that also saw Nik Mrdja hit the post. Sydney FC came back strongly in the second half and should have had an equaliser, but could find no way past a confident Danny Vukovic in the Mariners goal. Sydney fans will have been heartened by the performance of Brazilian Juninho, who despite not being 100% fit, showed enough nice touches that will make him a feared player as the season rolls on. Queensland Roar 2 - 2 Adelaide United What a game! It had everything and the 2-2 scoreline was a fitting result in the end. It looked like it might be more of the same for Queensland’s fans, as they created chance after chance in front of goal, but kept butchering them, especially in the first half. Adelaide opened the scoring early with a terrific strike from the impressive Nathan Burns, but it was the Roar who dominated from there. Sash Ognenovski hit the post and Reinaldo missed the rebound from in front, but Matt McKay, with the aid of a deflection, gave Roar fans much to talk about at the half time break. The Roar fans though were silent two minutes after the break, when Djite stole in to head deftly past Reddy and when Roar captain Craig Moore received his second yellow card in a matter of minutes for a silly tackle on Burns, it looked all over for the home team. But Roar were resilient and Ognenovski squared it all up to power a header from a corner past Robert Bajic. Wellington Phoenix 2 - 2 Melbourne Victory Wellington Phoenix could not have scripted the events at Westpac Stadium, much better than what transpired against Melbourne Victory. Down 2-0 from a penalty goal by Kevin Muscat (19’ minute) and Danny Allsopp (60’), it was looking pretty bleak for Phoenix and the 14,000+ fans that were in the stadium. But livewire Brazilian, who had missed a first half penalty, popped up to give Phoenix hope and when Shane Smeltz popped up to head home a cross five minutes later, the crowd went ballistic. The fairytale would have been complete if firstly, Royce Brownlie had not hit the post and Smeltz not headed over from close range in injury time, but the Phoenix fans appetite for the Hyundai A-League would have firmly whet after this game. Perth Glory 0 - 0 Newcastle Jets The final match of the weekend, saw Perth Glory host Newcastle Jets at a wet and very windy Members Equity Stadium. The conditions certainly didn’t help either side in this game and it finished goalless, despite both teams having some good chances to score. Perth should have scored in the first half, but Ante Covic was proving hard to beat in the Jets goal, denying Croatian striker Mate Dragicevic, who also headed wide with the goal at his mercy. The Jets were clearly not at their best, but in Joel Griffiths they had one player that was creating headaches for the opposition and he set up several good chances for Denni and Mark Bridge, which neither was able to take. Highlights Plenty of highlights on the opening weekend; Petrovski’s winner against his old club; the city of Wellington embracing their new football team; and a 10-men Roar climbing back to draw with Adelaide. Goal of the Week Hard one this weekend, there was a number to choose from. Hard to go past Nathan Burns strike however, as it was a pure hit from just outside the edge of the area that flew along the ground and never gave Liam Reddy a chance. His technique in striking the ball was a great example for any young player to watch. Player of the Week Again a tough one, but a bit hard to go past a player that in his first match for his new club, is playing against his old club and grabs the only goal of the game. Sasho Petrovski with his clinical finish showed that he could be a big loss for Sydney FC, who lacked the cutting edge inside the penalty box. Petrovski and Mrdja could form one of the best strike partnerships in this season. One to Watch Nigel Boogaard has not endured a good time in the first two seasons of the Hyundai A-League, with injuries and illness limiting him to just one appearance in that time for the Mariners. But he is rated highly by coach Lawrie McKinna and he was outstanding in defence on Friday night against Sydney FC.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Perth Glory's Stan Lazaridis handed 12 month suspension!!! Football Federation Australia today confirmed that a decision had been handed down by FFA’s Anti-Doping Tribunal in the matter of the Stan Lazaridis Anti-Doping hearing. The Tribunal held that an Anti-Doping violation had occurred and ordered the player ineligible to play for 12 months, backdated to the date of his positive test on 27 November 2006. The decision was handed down on 6 August 2007 but in accordance with the FFA Anti-Doping By-law could not be made public until the period for lodgement of any appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had expired. That period had now passed with no appeal being lodged by any of the parties with appeal rights (including the player, FIFA, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the World Anti-Doping Authority). FFA also confirmed that the Professional Footballers’ Association is pursuing another legal avenue on behalf of Mr Lazaridis. This involves an application for a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). In fact the FFA’s Tribunal had, at the request of the PFA, stood over earlier delivery of its judgment pending the decision of Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee (ASDMAC) on this retroactive TUE application. ASDMAC had denied the application and the PFA is appealing this decision. Mr Lazaridis’ suspension stands while this process continues. FFA Chief Executive Officer, Ben Buckley, noted that there were particular circumstances in Mr Lazaridis’ case and encouraged interested parties to read a copy of the judgment to gain a full appreciation of the case. Buckley commented that the case illustrated the critical importance of athletes complying strictly with the regulations and procedures governing anti-doping. “The Tribunal made certain express findings regarding Stan’s good character which FFA welcomes. In particular it found that Stan had not taken the prohibited substance to mask a performance enhancing drug but for legitimate therapeutic purposes as prescribed by his doctor. The problem related to the processes which is why it is so important for all athletes to be vigilant” said Mr Buckley. FFA acknowledged that the process had been a lengthy one but this reflects not only the complexity of the issues raised but certain requests of Mr Lazaridis’ legal representatives throughout the process to enable them to explore various legal options on his behalf. In any event, the commencement of the suspension has been back-dated. “Whatever happens with the appeal relating to the retroactive TUE, we are looking forward to Stan resuming his playing duties for Perth Glory in due course,” concluded Buckley. “He has an illustrious playing record and we look forward to him continuing to make a strong contribution to the Hyundai A-League.”

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Perth Glory's Tarka expected to miss six weeks Former Glory skipper Jamie Harnwell could make a return to the centre of Perth's defence after David Tarka tore his hamstring during the club's 0-0 draw with Newcastle on Sunday. Tarka, whose career has been plagued by debilitating hamstring injuries, clutched at his right hamstring in the 16th minute after chasing ball carrier Jobe Wheelhouse for a short distance. The 24-year-old was in obvious pain as he left the field and Smith said he expected Tarka to miss at least six weeks with the injury. With star recruit Hayden Foxe (knee) not expected back until round nine at the earliest and Nikolai Topor-Stanley set to be called up for Qantas Under 23s duties in coming weeks, the Glory are running out of options down back.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap A League Table after Round 1

#	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast Mariners	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	3
2	Adelaide United	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
3	Melbourne Victory	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
4	Queensland Roar	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
5	Wellington Phoenix	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
6	Newcastle Jets	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
7	Perth Glory	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
8	Sydney FC	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Shots per goal stats from Round 1

	Team	Shots	Goals	Shots per Goal
1	Adelaide Utd	10	2	5
2	Melbourne Vict	11	2	5.5
3	Sydney FC	14	0
4	Wellington Ph	18	2	9
5	Queensland Roar	27	2	13.5
6	CC Mariners	17	1	17
7	Perth Glory	14	0
8	Newcastle Jets	10	0

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Round 2 matches

Fri, 31 August 2007	Central Coast Mariners	vs	Wellington Phoenix
Sat, 1 September 2007	Sydney FC	vs	Adelaide United
Sat, 1 September 2007	Melbourne Victory	vs	Perth Glory
Sun, 2 September 2007	Newcastle United Jets	vs	Queensland Roar

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Early Thoughts... Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix Mariners were pretty good last week against Sydney and with that game under their belt and playing at home I would expect them to get away with this against newcomers Wellington. The away side rallied in the last twenty minutes to put 2 goals past the Victory defence, so that will give them confidence going into this game. Sydney FC vs Adelaide United This should be a cracking match and Sydney beat Adelaide twice last season including a 4-1 thumping in Adelaide courtesy of Benito Carbone. Adelaide looked sensational at times on the weekend and Sydney will be put to the test, but they are a solid unit. Juninho also looked fairly handy with his skills in the wet, so if it is dry one would expect him to be hard to stop for Sydney. Tough to pick the winner of this game so early in the week. Melbourne Victory vs Perth Glory Perth have some injury concerns and will be facing the Victory at Telstra Dome in front of a huge crowd and that will be enough to get Melbourne over the line. The Glory were disappointing yesterday while Melbourne although they drew, they played some great football at times. Home win for me. Newcastle Jets vs Queensland Roar Queensland had a massive 27 shots against the good defence of Adelaide this weekend and if they could have converted more efficiently they would have won easily. The Roar should be able to get away with a win here against the Jets. The home side had a respectable draw in Perth yesterday and as always they will be competitive, but the Roar should be too strong on Round 1 form

[coolcricket]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Fantastic write-up Beejayville. Very much appreaciated. :clap I look forward to discussing the coming weekends matches later in the week. :)

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Thanx Cool and hopefully we can get a winner or two :cheers

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Times Goals Scored For and Against

Team	0-15	16-30	31-45	46-60	61-75	76-90
Adelaide Utd	1 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 1	1 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 1
CC Mariners	1 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Melbourne Vict	0 - 0	1 - 0	0 - 0	1 - 0	0 - 1	0 - 1
Newcastle Jets	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Perth Glory	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Queensland Roar	0 - 1	0 - 0	1 - 0	0 - 1	0 - 0	1 - 0
Sydney FC	0 - 1	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0	0 - 0
Wellington Ph	0 - 0	0 - 1	0 - 0	0 - 1	1 - 0	1 - 0

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Scoring times

Minutes	Goals	%
0-15	2	22.2 %
16-30	1	11.1 %
31-45	1	11.1 %
46-60	2	22.2 %
61-75	1	11.1 %
76-90	2	22.2 %

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Roar's Danny Tiatto to face hearing Following the decision today by Football Federation Australia (FFA) to cite Danny Tiatto for an incident in the Queensland Roar v Adelaide United game last Saturday night, the club’s CEO Lawrence Oudendyk has issued the following statement. “The incident in question was not an ‘off the ball’ incident that happened behind play, quite the opposite in fact. The incident took place ‘on the ball’ as both players challenged for possession. “Whether the decision of the officials was right or wrong, we have to accept it because the referee’s decision is final.” Tiatto will appear at the FFA headquarters in Sydney on Thursday 30 August at 3.00pm to answer the charge.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Sydney's McFlynn to face disciplinary hearing Football Federation Australia has charged Sydney FC midfielder Terry McFlynn with violent conduct and cited him to appear before a disciplinary hearing.McFlynn's charge relates to an incident in the 71st minute of Sydney FC's 1-0 loss to Central Coast Mariners at Sydney Football Stadium in the opening match of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 Season. The former Northern Ireland representative will answer the charge at FFA headquarters at 4.00pm on August 30. FFA has also cited Queensland Roar defender Danny Tiatto, charging him with serious foul play relating to an incident in the seventh minute of his club's 2-2 home draw against Adelaide United.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Glory star out for season The Hyundai A-League season of Perth's reigning joint best-and-fairest winner David Tarka appears over.Tarka, 24, will undergo surgery on his right hamstring after scans revealed he ruptured the tendon in his side's opening round clash on Sunday against Newcastle. Surgeons are confident the tendon can be fully repaired and alleviate any on-going problems, but it is unlikely Tarka will play again this year. “I’m extremely disappointed that I won’t be able to be out there with my team-mates," Tarka said on Tuesday. "I was looking forward to playing a big role for the club this season; unfortunately it’s not to be." “The positive thing for me is that once the surgery is complete it’ll give me a clean slate to start from and my hamstring problems will be in the past." Tarka played 20 matches for Perth in the 2006/07 Hyundai A-League season sharing the club's top award, the 'Most Glorious Player'. Coach Ron Smith was supportive of the reliable Tarka. "It's a bitter blow to lose someone of David’s quality from our side and his absence will leave a big gap to fill,” Smith said. “We’ll give David every opportunity to get back on the field but won’t rush him. It’s a chance for him to finally put this injury problem behind him." Tarka will have surgery on Friday in Perth and spend several weeks on crutches.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Roar Coach Farina confident despite suspensions With marquee defender Craig Moore set to miss Queensland’s second round clash against Newcastle on Sunday through suspension and fellow star-signing Danny Tiatto currently in question following a citing by the FFA, Roar Coach Frank Farina says he has little doubt his squad can handle the blow. While Moore will serve a mandatory suspension following a red card against Adelaide United on Saturday night, Tiatto was cited for a separate incident with a decision set to be made as early as tomorrow.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Sydney's Patrick available for Round Two game Brazilian striker Patrick is available for Sydney FC's Hyundai A-League 2007/08 game against Adelaide United on Saturday after receiving clearance. Patrick's paperwork did not go through in time for Sydney FC's Hyundai A-League 2007/08 Season opener against Central Coast Mariners at Sydney Football Stadium last Friday but he is free to participate in Round Two, which sees Branko Culina's team host the 2007 Pre-Season Cup winner. Sydney FC has a superb record in Hyundai A-League home matches against Adelaide United, winning all four games between the sides in the harbour city.

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap Tiatto banned for two games with one suspended QUEENSLAND Roar defender Danny Tiatto has been handed a two-game ban, with one suspended, following his disciplinary hearing at Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) headquarters in Sydney this afternoon. The ban means that Tiatto will miss Sunday’s game against the Newcastle Jets but will be eligible to return against the Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday 6 August. However, should Tiatto receive as much as a yellow card in that game, the suspended ban of one week will be implemented. Roar CEO Lawrence Oudendyk said the club contested a point of principle surrounding the laws of the game, but had at no time argued that the tackle by Tiatto was anything other than “crude”. “We wish to make it clear that we do not, and never have, condoned the nature of the tackle in question and that is a matter we will deal with internally. “However, we felt very strongly that we should contest this charge on the principle that the officials made a determination on the challenge during the game. Whether that determination was correct or incorrect is not the issue as the referee’s decision, as we are always told, is final. “Whilst we are disappointed with the outcome, we accept the decision of the panel and now wish to turn our attention our upcoming game against the Newcastle Jets on Sunday.”

[Beejayville]

Re: Australian A League Round 1 Wrap McFlynn free to face Adelaide United Terry McFlynn is free to face Adelaide United after Football Federation Australia handed a two-match suspended sentence to the Sydney FC star. A Football Federation Australia disciplinary hearing found McFlynn guilty of violent conduct relating to an incident in the 71st minute of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 Season opener between Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners at Sydney Football Stadium. But the sanction will only be activated if McFlynn receives a yellow or red card in either of his next two Hyundai A-League appearances for Sydney FC.