Round Fifteen Report

The good got better as Adelaide and Sydney strecthed out their lead at the top of the table. Newcastle were stunned by the Reds, who banged in two late goals for another amazing come-from-behind victory. Melbourne, whose recent form is quite terrible, were royally thumped by a rampaging Sydney, who now look forward to the Club World Championship in Japan. There was excellence all over the park for Sydney, who on the basis of this, their most recent performance, might just be capable of beating CONCACAF's Deportivo Saprissa to set up a semi-final showdown with UEFA champion Liverpool. Centre-half Jacob Timpano is a potential exclusion from the match, however, due to a groin strain suffered in the first-half, which - incredibly - wasn't inflicted by Victory's 'killa' Kevin Muscat. It would be nice to see how Timpano stacks up on the world stage against Ronald Gomez and co. but if he isn't ready to go, Sydney has all the experience of Mark Rudan on the bench (or they could possibly promote Andrew Packer and move Mark Milligan to the middle, where he filled in reasonably well on the weekend).

Perth Glory's final hopes were almost severely dented by the Mariners, who took a rapid 2-0 lead in their match, which saw the Glory fight back to salvage a 2-2 draw in Matt Horlsey's final professional game. Glory fans may well have been hoping for a loss since if the side fails to make the top four it will be so much easier for the club to rid itself of coach Steve McMahon. I'm no fan of McMahon, but this might be taking things a little too far! If the team can gel and come up with the results to put itself in the hunt for the finals, then surely the coach is at least doing a respectable job, if only barely! For the Mariners, meanwhile, things are starting to look brighter. Tom Pondeljak and Nick Mrdja are scheduled for possible returns early after the December lay off, and while they've been away the team has been putting together some decent results. They looked too good for Glory early on, and but for a defensive communication error they may well have hung on and taken full points. It's probably going to be a race between these two teams for the fourth and final spot, between the momentary brilliance of the Glory and the athleticism of the Mariners. I know who my imaginary money's on, but I'm not telling.

As for the dregs ... Victory and Queensland Roar have joined the Knights in a bottom three that seems decidedly fixed to me at this stage in the competition. Roar's struggles started much earlier in the season when they failed to put a string of results together, and it should be mentioned that they've failed to gain any points from their matches against top shelf opponents Adelaide and Sydney. They've imported a Brazilian who could be great, or could equally be yet another disappointment in their front line. Alex Brosque, Seo Hyuk-soo and Tom Willis have been marvelous individual performers for the Roar, but Miron Bleiberg's lack of a cohesive gameplan from week-to-week has seen the talented squad flounder at critical moments.

If any team can catch the front runners it's Melbourne, but with question marks over the future of Archie Thompson, the failure of the club's foray into the transfer market as the deadline approached last week and the apparent absence of width in the midfield (especially on the left) it's going to be tremendously difficult. A home win over Perth in the first game back is absolutely vital, which means at least that the attendance at Olympic Park should be massive. Unfortunately, Victory has a nasty run of four consecutive away matches to contend with straight afterwards before a final home game against the Knights. That, in all likelihood, will be a dead rubber.

Oh, the Knights, the Knights, what can one say? Their performance last week was nothing special yet they managed to carve out a draw with Queensland. Let's hope they can put some more points on the board, if for no other sake than prosperity. I for one would like the world to think our league is a whole lot closer than it stands at present. Mobile underdog Jeremy Brockie has had a talismanic effect on the squad the past few weeks and he well deserves praise from the fans. But it's the 'big name' players who have to step up and earn their keep if the Knights are going to develop some respectability around the league. Hay, Bazeley and Emblen (remember him?) are reputedly the self-appointed anti-management unit responsible for stoking unrest in the squad, and they're also among the three highest paid players in the team. Emblen has been injured, Hay has gone AWOL and while Bazeley has been consistent he has rarely shone. Frankly, these three experienced heads haven't responded at all to the pressure that has been thrust upon them in the Knights season of misery. I think they need to regroup and ask themselves again: To damn or be damned?

Best of Round Fifteen:

Player: Carl Veart (pictured) - despite a missed penalty exemplified Adelaide's fightback with his determination and sharp play up the field; having a real throwback of a season

U-20 Player: Jeremy Brockie - another diehard performance from the dreadlocked utility man

Coach: Pierre Littbarski - getting his troops pumped and firing on all cylinders before the Club World Championships

Match: Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory

Referee: Matthew Breeze

Goal: Royce Brownlie - Sydney had the spectacular goals but Brownlie's delicate touch on his diving glancing header had to be perfect, and it was

4-4-2 Team of the Week:

John Hutchinson - Sasho Petrovski
David Carney - Carl Veart - Dwight Yorke - Hiroyuki Ishida
Alvin Ceccoli - Ned Zelic - John Tambouras - Jade North
Danny Milosevic

Subs: Angelo Costanzo, Travis Dodd, Alex Brosque, Jason Petkovic