Rojas strike sinks Glory

Melbourne Victory have won their fourth game in five games after a brilliant curling effort from Marco Rojas gave the home side a narrow 1-0 win over Perth Glory at Aami Park.

It was a disappointing first half of football for both sides, with neither team able to create any clear cut chances. The only real chance of the half fell to Kiwi international Marco Rojas, whose attempt to lob Danny Vukovic could only find the top of the net.

After starting well in the second half, Victory finally broke the deadlock in the fifty-eighth minute through in-form winger Marco Rojas, who found the top right hand corner with a brilliant curling drive.

Following the goal, the home side had Nathan Coe to thank after the keeper made two crucial saves, firstly palming away a Chris Harold strike and minutes later saving brilliantly to deny a Shane Smeltz header. Despite pushing hard to for an equaliser, Perth were unable to find a way past Coe, therefore falling to their fourth loss of the season.

Goal - Marco Rojas (58th min)

MV – Nathan COE, Adama TRAORE, Petar FRANJIC, Guilherme FINKLER (James JEGGO 93^rd min),  Jonathan Bru (Leigh BROXHAM 74^th min), Marcos FLORES, Marco ROJAS, Diogo FERREIRA, Billy CELESKI, Adrian LEIJER, Andrew NABBOUT (Theo MARKELIS 74^th min).

PG – Danny VUKOVIC, Bas VAN DER BRINK, Billy MEHMET, Steve PANTELIDIS, Nick WARD (Brandon ONEILL 65^th min), Dean HEFFERNAN, Shane SMELTZ, Adrian ZAHRA (Chris HAROLD 61^st min), Travis DODD, Steven MCGARRY, Joshua RISDON.

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Steph Catley: Back in the Vee

During rounds five and six of the 2012/13 Westfield W-League season, I found myself in China. Along with keeper and fellow teammate Brianna Davey, we were saying our goodbyes to our Melbourne Victory teammates early in the week and wishing each other good luck for our separate matches.

Bri and I were off on international duty for the Westfield Matildas to compete in qualifiers for the East Asian Cup.

In China, contacting home through social media is almost impossible as Facebook and Twitter are both banned. So trying to keep updated with what was happening in the W-League was very difficult and frustrating.

Though when game day arrived for the girls at home, we didn’t need to know much else other than we’d scored three goals and held Canberra scoreless. After a few proud smiles directed towards Matildas and Canberra United goalkeeper coach Paul Jones, we knuckled down to focus on our game against Chinese Taipai.

We started slowly but ended up winning 7-0 and then 4-0 against Hong Kong. We struggled to play through their tightly strung defensive structure, opting to instead cross the ball 83 times to be precise. By the end of the game, I had decided that I’d had enough of crossing and managed to score myself my first international goal.

The next few days flew by, filled with shopping, movies and lots of physio. The China match was the most important of the tournament and we’d known this from the very beginning. I had an interrupted sleep that night and hadn’t eaten as much at pre-match lunch that day due to nerves.

After a fairly even contest, China quite deservedly came out on top 2-1. We hadn’t played to our potential at all and China had really come to win. We found ourselves with our heads down at the conclusion of the game. We hadn’t qualified for our first East Asian Cup and hadn’t managed to win Tom Sermanni his last game as coach of the Matildas.

Tom has done so much for the women’s game in Australia; transforming the Matildas into a team who can compete with just about any other team in the world. He’s grown the game here from grassroots level all the way up to the national team and worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create a better environment for women in football.

So expectedly, the feeling floating around the change rooms after the game was shattering. Personally, I wasn’t happy with the way I had performed in the China game but will take this hurtful but extremely valuable experience to improve my mentality and strength for the next big game.

I arrived back home at around 1:30am on Sunday morning and couldn’t wait to get back to Victory training the next day. Although I’d arrived back after a 3-2 loss to Brisbane, the positive buzz was still radiating around the team.

The girls spoke about their first half as being poor but were happy with many, many aspects of the second half, noting mostly that they should have taken their chances and that the Brisbane girls took every single one of theirs.

We’re off to Adelaide this weekend and are looking to get back on the winners board.

We plan to be in the top four come finals and this weekend is another important step on the way to our goal. With such a close competition and an extremely short season, every single match counts. I’m so excited to put the big V back on this weekend!

How good is W-League!!!!?? 

Read all of Steph's columns for The Football Sack.

Winner of 2011/12 Female Footballer of the Year in the Australian Football Fan Awards, young star for Melbourne Victory Women Stephanie Catley is a current Matilda and is a born and bred Victorian. Catch the W-League every week at your local ground or if you can't make the game watch it on ABC1.

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Endorsements

This league needs more giant bottles of stuff in stadiums. The latest cartoon from the Hyundai A-League Webcomic "Sack Attack" by Agaki Bautista.

MORE SACK ATTACK WEBCOMICS

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Neill unlucky to miss out on award

Lucas Neill can count himself unlucky for missing out on one of three nominations for the Asian Football Confederation’s footballer of the year award after making the top five earlier.

The defender has continued his career since leaving Premier League side, Everton, by plying his trade in the Middle East, first with Galatasaray, before heading to UAE Pro-League side, Al-Jazira.

However, having failed to make an impact, despite helping the Abu Dhabi club to the UAE Presidents Cup last season, he was released and now finds himself at Dubai-based side, Al Wasl.

Although fallen into relative obscurity since his stint at Goodison Park ended three years ago, Neill has continued his high level of performances on the field.

The 34-year-old still offers his services to his national side and played a full 90 minutes in a friendly during Australia’s 3-1 defeat to Scotland back in September.

Indeed, it is at international level where Neill is still recognised by fans betting on soccer as a quality defender.

Neill has played every game of Australia’s World Cup qualifying campaign, completing 900 minutes of action despite playing at a relatively low standard of domestic league football.

Two yellow cards this campaign proves he still has that bite that scared Premier League strikers for years.

This snub from the AFC is unlikely to get Neill down, however. Throughout his career, the Sydney man has proven his mental toughness to overcome injuries, relegation, and World Cup disappointment.

He is steely, determined and altogether a solid defender that plays with his heart on his sleeve.

Certainly, this is what Australia will need as they enter four more World Cup qualifying games next year, with a difficult trip to Japan coming in July.

Brazil 2014 is just around the corner and, if Neill keeps turning heads like he has done at the AFC this November, he may well surprise fans who gamble with Bet365 by booking his seat on the plane in two years’ time.

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Hayley Crawford: To the drawing board

Sunday saw yet another opportunity slip to gain some points with another defeat, this time against Western Sydney Wanderers, in what was a horrendously hot and dry day on a rough Campbelltown field.

As the temperature hovered around the 40 degree mark for our 2pm kick-off, as a team we didn’t turn up to play football and consequently let a game that we all thought was there for the taking pass straight by us without applying any real pressure on the Western Sydney girls.

Credit to Wanderers as they came out and were hungry to post another win for their campaign and though we desperately needed the three points we looked like a team with no structure and minimal desire at times.

It’s disappointing to perform like this on game day given the amount of effort and intensity that had gone into our build-up during the week. We trained well and worked on what we thought would win us the game tactically, but all that went out the window when the simple parts of our game let us down.

It’s going to be a tough week as we now head into the second half of the season with a lot of room to make up on the competition ladder. This task becomes harder when our next game is against the most successful team in Westfield W-League history; Brisbane Roar.

Brisbane Roar welcomes back six Matildas and also come off the back of an impressive last minute win over the Melbourne Victory which I’m sure will add even more lift to their already confident squad.

We on the other hand need to go back to the drawing board and look to atone for the poor performance we showed against the girls from Sydney’s West.

Let’s hope for a solid week of training and a better result to upset the Roar at home on Sunday.

Hayley

Read Hayley's other columns for The Football Sack!

Club Captain for Westfield W-League side Newcastle Jets, Hayley has represented Australia at many levels including the Matildas. Catch the W-League every week at your local ground or if you can't make the game watch it on ABC1.

This season, the Newcastle Jets launched a Facebook page just for their W-League team, be sure to like it. 

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5 reasons to stop watching the A-League this week

Ok serious face time. 

Sydney FC are on an extraordinarily similar track as Melbourne Victory were last year. Disposed of Championship winning manager. Coach promoted from within. Coach failed to deliver. New one comes in 'til end of season which is ultimately a failure.

Sydney fans will be in the 'Magilton' phase of this cycle soon enough. There's even talk of Farina.

The possibility of this alone is reason to stop watching the A-League. No wonder Ian quit. He must have traveled into the future and laid eyes on the future coaching appointment and figured it just wasn't worth it. You should quit too. Here's why: 

1. Brockie, Smeltz, and to a lesser extent Rojas.

This is the A-League, dammit. Not a chance for New Zealanders to show us how much better they are than us at a game that isn't rugby. Yeah, you didn't lose a game at the World Cup. So what? We played in a four goal thriller against Germany. Your nickname is the All-Whites. Come on.  

2. Wanderers without Hersi is like a disfunctional parliament without Abbott. 

A team shouldn't rely so heavily on one player to get them across the line each week. This Sydney club shouldn't be forking out millions on a single European when the rest of the team is.. Sorry I've mixed that one up. Forza Youssef Hersi. 

3. Security guards at stadiums don't know who the coaches are.

Gallop is singing the praises of the competition but the men in fluro aren't listening. A-League coaches still have to wear All-Access passes whilst inside the ground so they don't get chucked out by an eager work-to-rule unionist with a rugby league agenda. 

4. Two nil lead plus six goals yet no result for Heart.

Gary van Egmond was right not to jump ship from the Jets. Whenever I'm in a jacuzzi I never want to leave the jets either. Newcastle is actually one giant spa bath. Everyone inhabits the outskirts whilst noone ventures into the center unless there's a game. Newcastle Jets: Members only. 

5. Central Coast beat Roar 2-1

Sydney FC are reliving Victory's coaching pain whilst Brissy and the Mariners keep exchanging low-scoring blows (it's been exactly two years since there was more than two goals scored by either side). We're living in some sort of timey-wimey time warp and I'm having none of it. Tit-for-tat nonsense.

NOW READ "THE CROSSBAR", THE WEEKLY LIKES AND DISLIKES FROM THE WEEKEND OF A-LEAGUE.

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The Crossbar: Bells and [too many] whistles

Attackers - tick. Midfielders - tick. Defenders and Referees - ???

For so long we here at The Football Sack have defended the referees but the time is now for FFA to get a full-time panel in. Some of the key decisions over the weekend were amateurish to say the least. Refs weren't the worst offenders over the weekend though; what has happened to the defences of the A-League? Where are the Muscats and Ognenovski's gone? How does Heart get 2-0 up at home and ultimately draw 3-3? How does Western Sydney Wanderers concede twice whilst up a man? Does Sydney even have a defence anymore? 


These snuck under the Crossbar and into The Sack (Likes)

1.  #SauceBottles at Blue Tongue. They're like mini rockets eager to blast off.

2. Tommy Rogic. 'Nuff said.

3. Marco Rojas. New lease on life under Postecoglou.

4. Six goal thrillers. Heart vs Jets was a joy to watch.

5.  Besart Berisha. He's a sandwich short of a picnic.

6. Photoshop experts. David Beckham keeping them in a job.

What went over the Crossbar (Dislikes) 

1. Brisbane Roar fans vs Matt Jurman on Twitter. Uncalled for. [says @Regevans17]

2. Crowd average dipping below 10,000 per game.

3. Shadows covering half the pitch for 5pm games.

4. Why on earth would the FFA schedule Wellington Phoenix to play Perth Glory at 11:30 pm New Zealand time? Ridiculous to think that you couldn't watch your team in your local league at a decent hour.

Things we learned:

Ange has Victory purring.

Things we already knew:

The standard of defending in the A-League needs to lift.

Things we could change if we had superpowers

The sauce bottles at Blue Tounge would explode with confetti when the Mariners score.

Hero of the week:

Richard Garcia. Still has big claims on selection for full Socceroos squad.

Villain of the week:

Ben Williams. I don't want to bash refs but he had an absolute stinker.

Player to watch:

Liam Miller. It sometimes gets lost in the eastern states how good he really is.

This week's prediction:

1. Steve Pantalidis will get a standing ovation (ala Travis Dodd) when he is subbed off at AAMI Park against the Victory on Friday night.

2. Melbourne Victory will start with ten men.

3. Sydney will beat Melbourne Heart.

Last week's predictions:

1. David Beckham will dominate the headlines. PRETTY MUCH

2. Sydney will employ a coach that won't be Alex Ferguson so the fan forums will go into meltdown. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN OVER NIGHT BUT IT WILL HAPPEN

Worth a punt:

Keep your money safe this week. 

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Tale of two coaches: Happy Herbert, Frustrated Fergie

Wellington Phoenix boss Ricki Herbert was pleased with his side’s showing to claim a point against Perth Glory last night, but also felt that they could have claimed all three. 

"I’m disappointed we probably didn’t win it," he said.

"I thought we started really bright tonight, two really good chances.

"Away to Perth if you can put them away then it makes the evening a little bit more easier for you.

The last fortnight has provided plenty of challenges for the Phoenix with players on international duty with New Zealand in China and tough away fixtures against Glory and the Newcastle Jets, but Herbert is understandably happy to have picked up four points from those games.

"We’ve travelled well; the owners have done a great job letting us stay for the week," he said.

"That’s to be hugely acknowledged from all of us and it gave us time to settle and work on things that we thought we could exploit, and the two chances we created early were the signs of that.”

When asked about Jeremy Brockie’s purple patch, Herbert quipped “About time isn’t?!” before going on to praise the in-form striker’s ability.

Indeed, Brockie has now scored five of Wellington’s lastsix goals.

Glory, meanwhile, will no doubt be disappointed to have taken just one point from back to back home games against the Nix and the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Coach Ian Ferguson spoke openly afterwards when quizzed about his side’s lacklustre showing.

"I don’t think it was our best performance," said Ferguson.

"Very disappointed overall, getting ourselves into the lead and then we gave away a silly goal and the manner that we defended that was pretty poor."

Ferguson spoke strongly about his side’s inability to hold on to the lead given to them by Smeltz.

"We weren’t consistent enough, I think at times we played some decent football and then there’s times where, again we spoke at half time, the decision making again under no pressure and the turnover of the ball isn’t good enough," he said.

"We seem to put ourselves in a lot of trouble rather than the other team hurting us."

Things don’t get any easier with back to back games in Melbourne against Victory and Heart and Ferguson confirmed that the team will fly back to Perth in between games rather than stay over in the Victorian capital.

With Jacob Burns now suspended and Michael Thwaite and Scott Jamieson called up for the Socceroos, there will be at least three changes to the starting line up next week with Bas Van den Brink and Dean Heffernan set to return from injury.

As for the #BeckhamToPerth campaign, Ferguson doesn’t believe it should have an effect on the club and players.

"I don’t read too much into all that," he said.

"We’ve put an offer to his representatives and whatever happens it’s out of our hands, there’s no use me sitting there, or anybody in the team sitting there, worrying about that until we get an answer.

"No effect at all whatsoever, it shouldn’t impact anybody."

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W-LEAGUE: Roar steal points in five-goal thriller

A dramatic injury time winner from Ashley Spina has seen Brisbane Roar edge Melbourne Victory in a five-goal thriller at Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre on Saturday.

Spina’s strike settled scores at 3-2 and overshadowed an earlier brace from in-form Roar team mate Amy Chapman – who produced two fantastic strikes to twice give the hosts the lead and restate the attacking midfielder’s Matildas claims.

Victory pair Laura Spiranovic and Jessica McDonald netted in the second half to twice level the ledger for the visitors, but they were unable to deny a spirited and understrength Roar outfit missing six first-team regulars.

Brisbane started the sharper of the sides in the muggy mid-morning conditions, almost grabbing a lead inside ten minutes following a frenetic goal mouth scramble that saw Chapman, Erika Elze and Hannah Beard all fashion shots in quick succession – Chapman’s shot only denied by the crossbar.

Chapman renewed her acquaintance with the crossbar to open the scoring in controversial circumstances on 19 minutes, her stinging strike from 25 yards bouncing in off the underside of the crossbar before spinning out again.

Referee Peta McCallum belatedly awarded the goal after consulting with her linesman however replays of the incident proved inconclusive.

Victory regrouped and soon began to threaten at the other end– Tiffany Eliadis botching a golden chance to level the scores just before the half hour when she missed the target after finding herself one-on-one with Roar goalkeeper Hoshimi Kishi.

The visitors got in behind the Roar line on several more occasions before the interval, however scrambling defence from Vedrana Popovic and Chelsea Harper ensured Brisbane held their lead at the break.

The second half proved to be an end-to-end affair – no sooner had Lana Harch shot barely over for Roar to start the half then Petra Larsson’s shot was denied by the left post at the opposite end.

Similarly, Beard shot just wide of the near post after strongly holding off a defender not long after. Seconds later, a goal mouth scramble at the other end resulted in Danielle Johnson blazing wide from ten yards for Melbourne.

Despite the ebb and flow, the balance was tipping toward Victory approaching the hour. However, despite McDonald’s constant threat at the top of the Big V’s formation, they repeatedly failed to test Kishi from promising positions.

The breakthrough finally came in the 72^nd minute when substitute Spiranovic was allowed to waltz unchallenged into the box following an attacking throw; her well-placed shot to the far post well beyond the reach of the diminutive Kishi.

Buoyed by the equaliser, Victory continued to push forward in search of a second – Jacqueline Vogt saw her solid shot saved at the near post before McDonald headed wide from close range.

Victory’s shaky shooting continued though when McDonald, having broken free on the counter and one-on-one with Kishi, was once again unable to find the target with a close range effort.

Chapman then restored Roar’s lead with another piece of solo magic on 88 minutes, deftly chipping Victory keeper Cassandra Dimovski from the edge of the area with a first-time right footed strike borne from Emma Pittman’s innocuous cutback.

Victory’s response was swift – once again striking the post before McDonald delivered seconds later, controlling the ball well on the run before rounding Kishi and leaving herself the simplest of finishes to level scores again two minutes in to time added on.

With the match headed for an entertaining draw, Roar coach Belinda Wilson urged her team forward with dramatic results.

Receiving the ball in the unfamiliar third, Spina did well to tease-then-shake her marker before calmly slotting her shot in at the far post to the delight of her teammates and the fiercely parochial Brisbane crowd.

The result ends Victory’s three match winning streak, while it serves as a welcome return to winning ways for Roar, who have struggled for consistency in the early part of the W-League season.

BRISBANE ROAR 3 (Chapman 19' & 88', Spina 90'+4)
MELBOURNE VICTORY (Spiranovic 72', McDonald 90'+2)

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Brockie Nix a point in Perth

Shane Smeltz scored on his return to the Perth Glory starting line up but Jeremy Brockie spoiled the party with an equaliser to give Wellington Phoenix a deserved draw.

Playing in front of a crowd of 7982, Kiwi striker Smeltz netted against his fellow countrymen just after the hour mark before Brockie levelled things up on 72 minutes.

The first half never really got going as both sides huffed and puffed, though there were some decent chances to open the scoring.

Mark Paston had to be alert in the Nix goal to deny Billy Mehmet and Travis Dodd, while at the other end Danny Vukovic kept out a close range volley from Louis Fenton.

Brockie had the best opportunity of the half five minutes before the interval when he was left unmarked 15 yards from goal but his shot sailed harmlessly over.

Seven minutes after the restart, Josh Risdon was denied his first senior goal by the base of the post, however Glory did go ahead on 62 minutes when Smeltz latched on to a Mehmet flick on to fire past Paston.

The lead lasted just over ten minutes when Brockie slotted through the legs of Vukovic after showing Steve Pantelidis a clean pair of heels, much to the delight of the small travelling contingent in the bottom corner of the south stand.

Neither side was able to find a winner and it'll be the visitors no doubt the happier of the two with the result.

Perth Glory: 1. Daniel VUKOVIC, 4. Billy MEHMET, 5. Steve PANTELIDIS, 6. Nick WARD, 7. Jacob BURNS, 9. Shane SMELTZ, 10. Liam MILLER, 13. Travis DODD, 19. Joshua RISDON, 21. Scott JAMIESON, 23. Michael THWAITE.

Subs: 11. Adrian ZAHRA, 14. Steven MCGARRY, 17. Chris HAROLD, 30. Lewis ITALIANO.

Wellington Phoenix: 1. Mark PASTON, 2. Emmanuel MUSCAT, 3. Tony LOCHHEAD, 6. Alexander SMITH, 7. Leo BERTOS, 8. Paul IFILL, 11. Jeremy BROCKIE, 16. Louis FENTON, 17. Vince LIA, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 22. Andrew DURANTE.

Subs: 10. Stein HUYSEGEMS, 12. Tyler BOYD, 20. Glen MOSS, 28. Ricardo CLARKE.

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Ten-man football curse hits Wanderers

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic believes playing against a ten-man opposition is one of the hardest mental battles for any side.

The Wanderers were outclassed by a Victory outfit that were without defender Sam Gallagher for the majority of the match thanks to a blatant foul on Western Sydney striker Dino Kresinger.

But despite his side being kept scoreless Popovic was happy with the performance.

“Overall we were pleased with how we moved the ball, its just in the final third I just felt we got anxious and really forced things when we didn’t have to” he said.

The Wanderers were cursed last round against Perth Glory with a send off to Youssouf Hersi but roles were reversed against Victory.

“As we showed last week, its difficult to play against ten players.

“Its frustrating really, we started the game off so well and it was almost as if the worst thing that happened to us was their player getting sent off.

“I thought our players seemed a little stressed and a little bit nervous and we kind of forced things a little too often.

“The start was very good and we were very pleased with the start of the game” Popovic said.

It was a spirited performance from the away side which didn’t go unnoticed by Popovic.

“We came up against a very good side that had that one chance on the break and they punished us. That’s credit to them.”

Archie Thompson has continued his recent good form, securing the victory with his third goal this season.

Popovic recognises the striker’s impact on the game and had nothing but good comments for the veteran.

“That’s why he's still in the Socceroos, he's a top player. Top players can do that - one chance, one goal.”

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Lost in Wanderland: Victory more than hold on for win

A ten-man Melbourne Victory have tonight stunned A-League new boys Western Sydney Wanderers with a 2-0 victory at Parramatta Stadium.

It was clear from the whistle that Popovic’s men were out to show the Victory why they were higher on the ladder. But in a first half that was dominated by the Wanderers, it was the away side who drew first blood just a minute out from half time through an own goal to Michael Beauchamp.

The Wanderers were the better of the two sides in the first half, bombarding Nathan Coe’s goal. Shinji Ono’s attempt from half way inside three minutes kept the Victory 'keeper on his toes for the rest of the game.

A pull down from behind tackle on Dino Kresinger saw Victory defender Sam Gallagher sent off the field in the 15th minute. Ono failed to capitalize on the opportunity, shooting wide of the far post just outside the 18-yard box. 

Mooy presented his side with the best chance of the half in the 32nd minute but Bridge failed to make it count with a disappointing head at goal inside the 6-yard box.

The Wanderers were unlucky not to be handed a penalty just after half time when the Victory looked to have handled the ball. Referee Ben Williams did not agree with the home fans. Shannon Cole came within centimeters of equalizing in the 53rd minute but his shot just scraped the cross bar.

The Victory went two goals ahead in the 59th minute. Rojas’ run down the edge saw Archie Thomson cross for his third goal of the season.

Trifiro’s shot in the 73rd minute summing up what was an unforgiving night for the home side, scrapping the post.

Despite the crowd’s best effort to keep their side in the game the Wanderers simply had no answers to the Victory’s defense. Melbourne clinched on for a well-earned away victory.

Western Sydney Wanderers –
Melbourne Victory – Beauchamp (own goal) 44’, Thompson 59.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS: Covic (GK), Cole, D’Appuzo, Topor-Stanley, Beauchamp (C), Polenz, Kresinger, Mooy, La Rocca, Bridge, Ono.
Subs: Tyson (GK), Elrich, Gibbs, Trifiro. 

MELBOURNE VICTORY: Coe (GK), Traore, Milligan, Finkler, Thompson, Rojas, Ferreira, Celeski, Gallagher, Leijer (C), Nabbout, Coe.
Subs: Velaphi (GK), Broxham, Bru, Cernak.
@ Parramatta Stadium
Crowd: 9,614

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Lady Reds fall to fifth straight defeat

Lady Reds fail to stop a rampaging Sydney FC at Burton Park

A depleted Sydney FC side has taken all three points at Burton Park after inflicting a demoralising 4-0 win over Adelaide United.

The Sky Blues were without four starters, with Kyah Simon, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Foord and Samantha Kerr all away with the Matilldas. However the visitors still managed to open up the Lady Reds on four occasions with goals to Rollason, Kete and a double to Logarzo.

Adelaide were missing a key cog in their defence with 16-year-old Emma Checker making her international bow for the Matildas in Thursday’s 4-0 win over Hong Kong. Checker’s absence looked the most obvious change to the Reds as their error-prone defence was continuously hounded by a high-pressure Sydney forward-line.

The Sky Blues were gifted a golden chance to take the lead in the fourth minute after an Ann Mayo foul on the edge of the box allowed Ellyse Perry to step up as Sydney’s dead-ball specialist. With a host of players away on international duty the responsibility fell on Perry who made no mistake, assisting the Blues’ opener. Perry’s lofted delivery from the right side split the Lady Reds’ centre-backs leaving Renee Rollason with the easy task of leaping and firing her header down into the back of the net.

Sydney extended their lead in the 10th minute after their forward pressure caused the Adelaide defence to cough up possession. The ball was fired out wide to #7 Nicola Bolger who angled a low strike at the far post. Lady Reds’ ‘keeper Kristi Harvey did admirably to palm away the strike however it fell perfectly for Emma Kete to tap-in and double their tally for the day.

The Reds were guilty of coughing up possession too easily as their opponents’ high-press and possession-style gameplan caused all sorts of headaches for the home team. Sydney should have extended their lead even further in the 29th minute as Natoli was caught in possession by Kete who charged in-on goal but the woodwork would deny her a brace in the sweltering Adelaide heat.

The Sky Blues inflicted more pain on the home crowd in the second half with a 58th minute goal from Chloe Logarzo ending any hopes of a Reds revival. Logarzo finished with aplomb as her long-range strike flew into the ‘keeper’s top-right corner after Sydney capitalised on another loose ball from the Reds.

Adelaide’s day went from bad to worse as they conceded their fourth goal of the match in incredulous circumstances. With Sydney’s attack breaking with pace, Logarzo managed to mis-time her strike and wrong-foot Harvey to score her second of the afternoon in the 77th minute.

The visitors forced wave after wave of attacks as the game headed into the final 10 minutes but couldn’t extend their lead any further. Head coach Alen Stajcic will be pleased with his side’s performance and result as his sparse squad picked up all three points on the road.

--

Goals: Rollason 4’ (1-0), Kete 10’ (2-0), Logarzo 58‘ (3-0), Logarzo 77’ (4-0)

Adelaide Starting XI: Harvey (gk), Natoli, Erceg (c), Quigley, McLaughlin, Rajcic, Henry, Mayo, Waterhouse, Macri, Patterson

Subs: Wharepouri, Whorlow, Maggio, Johns


Sydney Starting XI: McLaren (gk), Polias (c), Ralston, Bolger, Rollason, Longo, Logarzo, Crummer, Perry, Kete, Billson

Subs: Harrison, Bromley, Khamis (gk), Ledbrook

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Hayley Crawford: Back on track

Saturday saw us finally record our first win of the season (4-0 against Adelaide United) in what we hope is the catalyst to kick start our climb back up the ladder. Football is a funny game as our season began so well but then faltered in the following three rounds that saw us record three consecutive losses and took away any confidence which we may have had.

Hopefully that is all behind us now and we can surge ahead and pick up maximum points in all remaining games to reach our goal of playing finals football. It’s a tough ask but with results going our way and focusing on the only game we can control, ours each week, nothing is impossible!

We started our week of training again on Tuesday with our usual morning weights and afternoon field session and I the mood was a far brighter affair than in previous weeks. We have to enjoy the confidence and belief that a win can bring but also remember that this is the first small step and the immediate focus is on the new girls of the league, The Western Sydney Wanderers.

Like their male counterparts the WSW have achieved some good results on the field and will definitely bring the game to us. We will have to stay focused for the whole 90+ minutes as they have players that can definitely punish you.

Catherine Cannuli scored a brace last week and having played with and against her for many many years now I know the danger she holds. There are many memories of playing against the likes of herself and Sarah Walsh and them finding the back of the net so I’ll have to be on my toes to try and stop this from happening on Sunday.

It will be a hard game but if our girls start the way we did against Adelaide with a lot of intensity, belief and enthusiasm I think we may just come away from Campbelltown with the three points.
Hope to see you at the game!!

Hayley

Read Hayley's other columns for The Football Sack!

Club Captain for Westfield W-League side Newcastle Jets, Hayley has represented Australia at many levels including the Matildas. Catch the W-League every week at your local ground or if you can't make the game watch it on ABC1.

This season, the Newcastle Jets launched a Facebook page just for their W-League team, be sure to like it. 

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Don't sell out for Becks

Neil Sherwin believes that the idea of playing in Australia should be sold to David Beckham using footballing reasons.

With David Beckham’s future up in the air following the announcement that he won’t be at LA Galaxy next year, the prospect of him playing in the Hyundai A-League understandably has people excited.

Beckham is a superstar, make no mistake about it, and his presence in Major League Soccer has done plenty for the game both on and off the field.

There is no denying that he is a marketing dream and if he were to sign for any one of the ten clubs in this country, their worldwide ‘street cred’ would instantly go through the roof.

Indeed, there is a feeling that a few clubs have only expressed an interest in Beckham so that their name can be tagged to some of the many stories doing the rounds now across the globe.

However, with such an appealing possibility comes the danger of falling into the trap of simply looking needy.

Over the past few days we’ve seen everything from a petition to bring him to Melbourne Heart to an offer of a part in a Christmas pageant in Perth.

While many will say this is just harmless fun, the fact of the matter is that to some of us here in Oz, and to plenty in the wider football world, it reeks of desperation.

The A-League has come a long way in recent times, and already this season there is further evidence of increasing interest in the game as attendances broke the 500,000 figure quicker than ever before.

The standard of football being played is constantly improving thanks to a healthy mix of seasoned professionals, both local and foreign, as well as the next batch of youngsters who will improve the reputation of Australian football when they eventually move overseas.

The talk around Beckham should be how much Tom Rogic’s vision could improve training alongside an international with over 100 caps for his country not how many shopping centre openings he could grace with his presence.

If clubs and fans want David Beckham to come to Australia they should be making their pitch on the merits of what has already been achieved in footballing terms, with a thorough proposal on what can be attained in the future with such a household name in the midst, and hopefully that's what's happening behind closed doors.

The A-League still has plenty to do before it is taken seriously in world terms; indeed two UK media outlets referred to “Melbourne Heat” and “Western Sydney Warriors” as possible destinations for Beckham in the last 48 hours, while Tony Popovic was referenced as Heart's coach.

Playing the sycophant won’t do anything to change this mindset so for the integrity of football in Australia, leave the small time tweets and offers to one side and sell the league itself.

It worked with Del Piero, Heskey and Ono so why change tact now?

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5 reasons to stop watching the A-League this week

The rumors are flying around - Becks was in Sydney this past week. Playing at Harvest. Sorry, that was who? Oh. The drink? Oh. Never heard of him. Can he bend anything?

Crowd averages are going down by the week, we're no longer the 14th most supported competition in the world. Get him here, quick.
 
You should stop watching the A-League. Hell, you should stop watching football completely after such a horrible weekend. Here's why. 

1. Nabbout can't bend it like Beckham.
Andrew Nabbout is unable to bend a ball exactly like David can. Plus I'm pretty sure that one against Sydney was a toe poke.

2. It's not even $160 million like they said.
In actual fact it's really only $148m with twelve million in marketing "support". What is this expensive support and how do we get Jason Culina one for his knee?

3. Gallop ain't been doin' nuffink.
He's been in the job what, like a week now? David says he has a lot of listening to do but it sounds very similar to Clive Palmer's FA and their "Listening Tour" which turned out to be a guy in a tracksuit taking shorthand in various pubs around the country.

4. Dodgy moustaches are dodgy.
Is there a way to raise money for men's health awareness without having to bare witness to these dirty face extensions? Leave them to the cider quaffing hipster types. Like me. Perhaps if we donate enough they'll shave them.

5. The Walking Dead is on. 
Like, for reals. If I'm going to watch ten players walking slowly around a pitch as is the case of Sydney FC then I'm better off seeing some zombie killings while I'm at it. Although, saying that, Del Piero is probably extremely close to wielding a cricket bat and unleashing some ruckus on his fellow teammates. 

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Crossbar: Everybody wants a piece of the A-League

Have you ever had that moment when you've just smiled and thought, "We've done it" 

Well I had that moment late on Friday night after watching a brilliant half of football, then jumping into the car and hearing that David Beckham could be on his way to the A-League. 

The competition has it all right now, plenty of goals, genuine superstars, crowds and even some 'original' songs from the terraces. (but we still have that god awful Perth goalkeeper chant)

Del Piero did it again on Saturday night but it wasn't enough to drag the hapless Sydney over the line and they are in real danger of missing the finals as early as it is.

These snuck under the Crossbar and into The Sack (Likes)

1.  Western Sydney's win in Perth. Down to ten for over a half, was ugly, but effective

2. 1st Half Victory vs Mariners. Enthralling football

3. Jeronimo, flying under the radar, banging in the goals. Stiff not to be credited with one against Heart, so kudos to MRP for fixing it so he was.

4. Victory fans singing Nabbout, Nabbout, Nabbout is on fire. To the tune of the roof is on fire. Beats the hell out of the usual 'player x you are the love of my life' or player z to the tune of baby give it up.

5. Daniel McBreen. On fire. Again. Although this week 'defender'  Petar Franjic made him look a little better than he is.

6. Marco Rojas. What. A. Talent. The Kiwi Messi was awesome on Friday night.

7. Berisha vs Booschaart. Doing it old skool. Shake hands before the game, kick the shins out of each other during the game, shake hands after the game. Good Old Fashioned Football. 

8. Jeremy Brockie.

9. The Socceroos.

10. Michael Bridges' red and Blue Mo. @Ryans_Rovers 


What went over the Crossbar (Dislikes)  

1. Sydney. I don't mean to kick a team when its down. But gee whizz, the Sky Blues are just awful at defending right now.

2. Petulant time wasting. Annoys the hell out of me. So glad Patty Z and Ante Covic got cards for it over the weekend.

3. Internet connections at games, makes it impossible to tweet @Fosmakesence

Things we learned: 

David Beckham might be on his way down under. Will put bums on seats for the first home game, but the novelty is wearing thin.

Things we already knew:

Wellington make it very hard for punters.

Things we could change if we had superpowers

Clubs should have had a decent crack at getting these real 'Marquee' players a long time ago.

Hero of the week:

Robbie Cornthwaite. Yeah, we're all still shaking our head still too.

Villain of the week:

Holger Osiek. Mark Schwarzer in goal for a friendly! Why?

Player to watch:

Aaron Mooy. Tireless, skilful and still young. Good move coming back home.

This week's prediction:

1. David Beckham will dominate the headlines

2. Sydney will employ a coach that won't be Alex Ferguson so the fan forums will go into meltdown.

Last week's predictions:

1. Over 30,000 at Etihad to see Victory v Mariners.  TERRIBLE CALL

2. Adelaide vs Melbourne Heart will be intriguing.  NO, NOT REALLY

3. David Gallop will have a very uneventful first week in the job.  I GUESS WE WERE RIGHT

Worth a punt:
Nought.

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Resolute Wanderers grab three points in Perth

Western Sydney Wanderers youngster Youssouf Hersi owes team mate Ante Covic a drink or two after their side’s hard fought 1-0 win over Perth Glory at NIB Stadium this afternoon. 

The winger was sent off in the first half for kicking out at Scott Jamieson but a spirited backs-to-the-wall showing, including some top drawer saves from Covic, meant that Iacopo La Rocca’s 15th minute header was enough for three points.

The defender rose highest just outside the six yard box to nod home a cross from Aaron Mooy, silencing the crowd.

Glory unsurprisingly dominated with the man advantage but couldn’t find the net as both Steven McGarry and Billy Mehmet struck the woodwork, while Covic denied Liam Miller and Nick Ward amongst others.

The return of captain Michael Beauchamp at the heart of the defence alongside Nikolai Topor-Stanley was a huge boost for the Wanderers, and they rarely gave lone striker Billy Mehmet a clear sight of goal.

Shinji Ono remained on the bench until after the 80th minute as youngster Aaron Mooy was given the job of pulling the strings behind Dino Kresinger.

For Glory, the absence of Shane Smeltz for personal reasons was a big blow and you can’t help but feel that he would have converted at least one of the chances created in the second period.

The defeat is Perth’s first of the season at home and they must pick themselves up for the visit of the Wellington Phoenix next weekend, while Western Sydney take on Melbourne Victory.  

Perth Glory: 1. Daniel VUKOVIC, 3. Bas VAN DEB BRINK, 4. Billy MEHMET, 6. Nick WARD, 8 Dean HEFFERNAN, 10. Liam MILLER, 13. Travis DODD, 14. Steven MCGARRY, 19. Joshua RISDON, 21. Scott JAMIESON, 23. Michael THWAITE.

Subs: 5. Steve PANTELIDIS, 11. Adrian ZAHRA, 17. Chris HAROLD, 20. Lewis ITALIANO.

Western Sydney Wanderers: 1. Ante COVIC, 3. Adam D’APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Michael Beauchamp, 6. Jerome POLENZ, 9. Dino KRESINGER, 10. Aaron MOOY, 17. Youssouf HERSI, 18. Iacopo LA ROCCA, 19. Mark BRIDGE, 23. Jason TRIFIRO.

Subs: 2. Shannon COLE, 13. Joseph GIBBS, 20. Jarrad TYSON, 21. Shinji ONO.

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Brockie too good for lifeless Jets

Newcastle Jets’ opportunity to cement themselves into the top three of the Hyundai A-League suffered a major setback after an embarrassing defeat to bottom of the table minnows, Wellington Phoenix. 

Jeremy Brockie came back to the haunt the Hunter faithful, not only netting two goals but totaling Mark Birighitti with an errant knee to the cheek. Brockie's double was the last thing the Jets kneeded, eventually going down 3-0 in a forgettable afternoon.

Viewers only had to tune to be put to sleep and enjoy a peaceful Sunday arvo kip. Despite Mark Paston also nodding off on occasions, the lifeless Jets were unable to create any clear cut opportunities as a bemoaning crowd of 13 116 echoed, “Wow that was close, something almost happened!”

Despite very little opportunities in the uninspired first half, Brockie made the most of one by latching on to an impressive cross by Paul Ifill in the 44^th minute and after a composed header in the 81^st minute, Brockie had won the game off his own back with a double.

The Phoenix secured their first win since round 1, with Ifill calmly slotting in a penalty in the 87^th minute. The Jets obviously underestimated the Phoenix, comprising mostly of experienced New Zealand reps with the odd journeyman thrown in for good measure.

At least the Jets won the battle of the hair, with Michael Bridges’ sensational red and blue mo’ outshining the afro of Craig David look-alike, Ifill. That’s something, right?

Jets starting XI: 2. Scott Neville, 3. Tiago Calvano, 4. Josh Mitchell, 7. James Brown, 8. Ruben Zadkovich, 9. Emile Heskey, 12. Josh Brillante, 16. Jobe Wheelhouse (c), 17. James Virgili, 20. Mark Birighitti (gk), 23. Ryan Griffiths.
Bench: 11. Connor Chapman, 19. Michael Bridges, 22. Adam Taggart, 33. Matt Nash (gk).

Wellington starting XI: 1. Mark Paston (gk), 2. Emmanuel Muscat, 3. Tony Lochhead, 6. Alexander Smith, 7. Leo Bertos, 8. Paul Ifill, 11. Jeremy Brockie, 16. Louis Fenton, 17. Vince Lia, 18. Ben Sigmund, 22. Andrew Durante (c).
Bench: 9. Benjamin Totori, 12. Tyler Boyd, 20. Glen Moss (gk), 28. Ricardo Clarke

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Two John's delighted and disappointed at Hindmarsh

Adelaide United Coach John Kosmina is delighted with his side’s newfound defensive strength after the Reds shut out the Heart to earn a 1-0 win last night at Hindmarsh Stadium. 

With United regaining top spot on the ladder, Kosmina said his backmen are proving to be the highlight of the season so far for Adelaide.

“Defensively we’ve been good,” Kosmina said.

“As much as we’ve turned the ball over at times in front of the defence, those guys have done their job,” he said.

The Reds have already bettered their clean sheet record from last season by keeping their fourth, just seven games into the 2012/13 Hyundai A-League season.

Last night’s win means Adelaide are off to the best start to a season since the 2005/06 season and Kosmina said there are similar traits the two squads share.

“The similar feeling is you feel confident going into games,” Kosmina said.

“I don’t want to curse myself either, I still think we’ve got a long way to go.

“We’ve got a long way to go to get to where I think the players in this team are capable of getting.

There’s a long way to go to achieve what they’re capable of achieving, as individuals and as a group,” he said.

Contrastingly, Heart Coach John Aloisi was bitterly disappointed by Melbourne’s capitulation after Simon Colosimo’s own-goal gave United a 58th minute lead.

“It's a disappointing loss because we gave them the game,” Aloisi said.

“After they scored the goal, we stopped playing - we stopped moving, stopped competing, and that’s the thing I'm disappointed about.

“You can go a goal down but you can't stop playing. We made that mistake and then it was all over.

“It's not physical ... it was more mental, it has to be.

“It was more mental and I'm not happy about it and I have to make sure that it doesn't happen again,” he said.

Aloisi believes the challenge for starting berths will fire his players up and give them a competitive edge on match-day.

“Once I have a full squad there will be competition for places,” Aloisi said.

“When you have a full squad you can make it even more competitive so the players have to fight for their place even more,” he said.

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Strikes of differing genius: Berisha or Del Piero?

Somewhat overshadowed by his side’s return to form on Friday night against Sydney FC, Brisbane striker Besart Berisha pulled level with Sergio van Dijk as the club’s all time leading goalscorer.

Berisha’s goal, his 25^th for the banana-benders in thirteen months, exemplified the capabilities the Albanian brings to the Brisbane forward line and stand in stark contrast to the two goals scored by Alessandro Del Piero in the same match.

Admittedly, Del Piero’s goals were superb; generated out of little more than a spark of an idea and put into effect by the Italian’s unparalleled control of the ball.

In short, Del Piero saw an opportunity and took it – twice – confident his highly skilled hoofs would follow the path laid out in his mind. The same, however, cannot be said for Berisha’s goal.

While his goal-scoring record is undeniable, it also serves to conceal some of the flaws in Berisha’s game – flaws that illogically make him a better a player; not just individually but as part of the team.

When Del Piero split apart the Roar defence for his second goal nobody laid a finger on him. He didn’t spin on the ball like a whirling dervish to break the Brisbane line, he merely timed a run and worked an elegant one-two.

It was beautiful because Del Piero made it look simple and his touch made it so.

Berisha’s touch has never been as elegant. So when he looked to single-handedly restore the Roar’s two goal buffer on the counter attack, it was never going to play out as sublimely as Del Piero.

Where the Italian waltzed through the Brisbane defence untouched, Berisha brushed off the challenges of three Sydney players, losing and regaining the ball at least once, darting one direction and then back in another, relying on little more than sheer force of will to press on and eventually score.

A review of some of Berisha’s previous 24 goals show a similar theme – a torrid and tenacious never-say-die attitude that sees him clatter past defenders inelegantly before finishing well enough to forgive the sometimes scrappy lead up.

While Del Piero’s goals will be rightfully lauded as works of genius in the post-match discussions, it was Albert Einstein, that most famous of geniuses, who said, “Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”

It begs the question, which of the two was the true genius on the night? Del Piero delivered two hits of one per cent, while Berisha served one shot of ninety-nine.

They were three different strikes of genius, but Berisha's ultimately proved the more decisive. Even if it weren't as pretty.

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Melbourne troops fail to storm home

A short time ago in a galaxy pretty close to Sydney, Victory striker Andrew Nabbout struck back to equalise against the Central Coast Mariners and square up the game after a McBreen opener.

And this was all inside ten minutes.

Ange Postecoglou was not elected to watch his team suffer and die whilst others discussed this Beckham invasion in a committee. And so he sent Nabbout to war.

But Nabbout would feel more like Alderaan as Daniel "Death Star" McBreen scored again minutes later, this time from a long ball. Bringing it down, the in-form striker rounded Franjic easily and smacked it in the net to make it 2-1.

Captain of the victory Adrian "Princess" Leijer rallied his troops and Mark Milligan rose to the task, glancing a header past keeper Mat Ryan to level the scores again before half time.

Patrick Zwaanswijk was then sent off for a second yellow card leaving Central Coast with 10 men for the final 25 minutes and a tough task to take any points from Etihad Stadium.

19 462 fans then saw Marcos Flores receive a second yellow in the 89th and the subsequent red. Both teams reduced to ten players meant some open football in stoppage time, but a goal was not found.

2-2 the final score in what was a wonderful game of football to watch.

Melbourne Victory: Nathan COE, Adama TRAORE, Petar FRANJIC, Mark MILLIGAN, Marcos FLORES, Marco ROJAS, Diogo FERREIRA, Billy CELESKI, Isaka CERNAK, Adrian LEIJER, Andrew NABBOUT

Central Coast Mariners: Mathew RYAN, Daniel MCBREEN, Joshua ROSE, Pedj BOJIC, Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, John HUTCHINSON, Tomas ROGIC, Michael MCGLINCHEY, Trent SAINSBURY, Nick MONTGOMERY, Mile STERJOVSKI

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W-LEAGUE: Wanderers outclass understrength Roar

A brace of goals from Matilda Catherine Cannuli – including a 35 yard wonder strike from the left touchline – has delivered Western Sydney Wanderers a 2-1 victory over Brisbane Roar at Cleveland Showgrounds.

Wanderers performed assuredly and dominated possession throughout the afternoon, but it was Cannuli’s magical 55^th minute goal that ultimately secured all three points for the visitors.

With the score locked 1-all, the left-sided attacker pounced as pint-sized Roar goalkeeper Hashima Kishi strayed off her line; Cannuli’s long-range lob clearing the Kishi before holding up in the bay breeze and sneaking under the cross bar.

The visitors were good value for their win against a Roar side missing six regulars through international duty – completely dominating the first half before seeing off a unconvincing second half Roar resurgence.

The experience of Cannuli and Sarah Walsh in the Wanderers front third proved a handful for the Roar defenders from the outset – Walsh heading wide at the near post from a corner with the first chance of the game on five minutes.

Three minutes later, Cannuli opened up her afternoon’s account when she poked home Louise Fors’ well-placed cross to the far post with an outstretched right foot from close-range.

In the twentieth minute Cannuli came close to extending the lead after Kishi fumbled Linda O’Neill’s cross at the far post, the ball rolling over the byline before the surging Cannuli could get a touch.

Wanderers continued to threaten the Brisbane goal as the half drew to a close – Trudy Camilleri and Samantha Spackman coming closest – while Brisbane’s Hannah Beard struggled for supply at the top of her team’s formation.

Canulli spurned chance to extend the lead just before the break after pouncing on a deflection from Camellieri’s shot, however her shot from fifteen yards spun off the side of her boot, missing the target.

After not having a shot on goal in the first half, Brisbane looked like a new team in the second. And it was only three minutes after the restart that Amy Chapman restored parity for the home side – steering in a cross with her right foot amid a congested penalty area.

The resurgence continued when Amy Chapman went on a mazy run from her own half, evading three challenges, before firing a vicious shot that was directed straight at Wanderers goalkeeper Elizabeth Durack.

Two minutes later, Cannuli ended the comeback with her match-winning goal and the game returned to a familiar pattern.

Cannuli, Spackman and Walsh spurned further chances to seal the result in the remaining half-hour as the humidity began to take its toll on the players stamina.

A final flourish of excitement came in the dying moment’s when Brisbane’s Elise Kellond-Knight tried to rescue and unlikely point for the hosts – however her well-driven, thirty-plus yard freekick swerved wide of the left post to the disappointment of the parochial home crowd.

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United come out tops in cross-border 'rivalry'

 United's fans prepare for their Melbourne grudge match

Adelaide United’s 1-0 win over Melbourne Heart has reinforced the notion the fixture is one of the friendliest cross-border rivalries in the world.

The United-Heart edition of the Melbourne Derby is hardly ever a spiteful match and it proved so again with only two cautions produced throughout 90 minutes of play.

The game appeared less of a cross-town battle and more like a pre-season friendly between the two sides, with Jeronimo Neumann’s 58th minute strike enough to separate the sides at the end of play.

Marcelo Carrusca was the beneficiary initially as he recovered the ball from a a dawdling Melbourne defence. The playmaker fed Jeronimo who split the two centre-halves and struck a left-foot drive at Bolton’s goals. Unfortunately for the gloveman, centre-back Simon Colosimo got the last touch as it sailed off his outstretched foot and into the opposite corner of the net.

Goal(s): Neumann 58’ (1-0)

Adelaide Starting XI: Galekovic (gk) (c), Malik, Boogaard, Fyfe, Cassio, Carrusca, Vidosic, Watson, Neumann, Ferreira, Kostopolous.

Subs: Djite, Ramsay, Barbiero, Hall (gk).


Heart Starting XI: Bolton (gk), Marrone, Colosimo, Gerhardt, Thompson (c), Tadic, Garcia, Behich, Hoffman, Kalmar, Dugandzic.

Subs: Macallister, Williams, Redmayne (gk), Mitchinson.

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