Is it time to kickstart the panic in New Zealand? After succumbing to yet another 'unlucky' (some would say spineless) defeat, the Knights are really languishing behind all of their cross-Tasman rivals. What's more the debacle in the wild wet of North Harbour Stadium drew just 3,558 diehard fans. Regardless of the pouring rain, that's quite a pitiful figure given the Knights were facing the top team. It might also be suggested that the defensive style of the Reds kept fans at home, but that argument would go against the logic of Sydney fans who are already predicting a massive crowd for next week's top of the table clash (assuming, of course, that the not always level-headed Sydney fans are capable of rational speculations). Unfortunately for Kiwis, the A-League prosperity of the Knights may very well have gone down with the sinking pitch! In the distant future, we might look back on this match (if you can call it one) as a definitive turning point for the Knights who continue their miserable downward spiral.
The other big news of the week was probably Melbourne's win over the Mariners. Cellar dwellers not so long ago, Victory has climbed to third and they're starting to look very threatening indeed. They must face another week without Archie Thompson, however, who re-joins Guus Hiddink in Holland. After going down to a resurgent Sydney, the Glory are in a bit of a tangle. They face good sides in the coming weeks, starting with Newcastle. Perth will be without Simon Colosimo for that contest, but given the form of the one-time international understudy to Paul Okon some will see that as a blessing in disguise. Jets vs. Roar should have been a blinder, but the referee's dismal performance turned it into a fizzler. Dubiously sent off by A-League first-timer Mr Srebre Delovski, Nick Carle will be missed by the Jets and fans everywhere when he fails to pull on his boots next week. Delovski also gave Matt McKay his marching orders for the second time this season, meaning an automatic three-game suspension for the Roar midfielder. Given the absurdity of the Delovski's decision to show McKay a second yellow card for an apparent dive where there was obviously bugger all of anything, I wonder if Queensland will appeal the suspension?
The standard of the referees has so far annoyed everyone: players, fans, managers, and no doubt executives too. It's time something was done, whether it's paying the officials enough to turn them into full-time professionals, establishing a thinktank to discuss why our refs are so woeful, or importing officials from overseas (but not from minnow nations). Simply put, the FFA has got to figure out a way to ensure that the future of officiating in the A-League improves over time.
Best of Round Six:
Player: Shengqing Qu (pictured) - overcoming the torrential rain and horrendous pitch to heat up a very wet night over the Tasman
U-20 Player: Adrian Leijer - producing a late-winner and showing that on recent form he's good enough to keep Byrnes out next week
Coach: Pierre Littbarski - presiding over his legion without a shred of humility but backing it up with a good result on the park
Match: Central Coast Mariners vs Melbourne Victory
Referee: Ben Williams
Goal: Warren Moon - chested down clearance curled around Reddy off the outside of the boot from just outside the box
4-4-2 Team of the Week:
Shenqqing Qu - Dwight Yorke
Andy Vlahos - Matt Thompson - Ufuk Talay - Hiroyuki Ishida
Mateo Corbo - Andrew Clark - Kristian Rees - Kevin Muscat
Liam Reddy
Subs: Ronnie Bull, Hyuk-soo 'Harold' Seo, Bobby Despotovski, Tom Willis
No comments:
Post a Comment