This week in A-league pre-season

It was another interesting week in the domestic scene, with several teams lining up to face local sides or other A-league clubs. There have also been some notable player and staff movements.




Central Coast player Pedj Bojic. Photo courtesy John Dewberry

Brisbane Roar tonight defeated Melbourne Heart 2-0, with goals to Mitch Nichols and Matt McKay. The match, played out in Toowoomba, follows Indian international Gouramangi Singh's arrival on a two week trial.

Head Coach John van ‘t Schip will assess his potential over the coming weeks, and determine whether Singh is suited to Australian football.

“Despite his age, Gouramangi is very experienced at international level, which is a credit to his maturity and ability to rise to a challenge,” he said.

“While Indian football is very much unknown outside of the sub-continent, we are hopeful Gouramangi will be able to make an impression.

“However, the Hyundai A-League is a very unique competition, requiring a certain set of qualities to succeed, while as a Club, we look for players who are adaptable and possess strong technical ability.”


Elsewhere, Sydney FC continued their form in a clash with Macarthur Rams, a single goal to Dimitri Petratos in the 90th minute being the difference between the sides. Also that night (Tuesday 22nd June), the Central Coast Mariners drew 2-2 with Bankstown City, in an unusual match that featured three penalties - one to CCM and a pair to City.

“We battled hard tonight. It was a battling performance rather than a quality performance,” said Mariners Assistant Coach Phil Moss.

“We’re still working hard to try and get some combination's going forward, but defensively I thought our structure was pretty sound, they didn’t have many chances in open play.

“They’re more than halfway through their season so their match fitness is probably better than ours.

“Disappointed to concede two penalties, the second one was very questionable but the first one was pretty clear, but overall, probably what we got out of tonight was match fitness more than anything,” said Moss.


For Sydney FC there was more positive news, with the club signing Ian Crook to become Steve Corica's assistant for thier National Youth League team. Crook's previous encounter with Sydney FC was with their A-league team, in it's inaugural season, leading them to silverware as assistant to Pierre Littbarski.

“It’s been great returning but there have been a lot of changes in the time that I have been away,” Crook said. “The club has a new set-up with the training ground and the facilities there are magnificent.”

“Steve has had a glittering career as a player culminating last year for him so I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s been looking at players to bring in and I have too since coming back several weeks ago.

For more insight into the A-league this week, check out our podcast.