Round Twenty One Report

The final round saw Sydney gain the psychological advantage over Adelaide and Newcastle lose its second game in a row before next week's finals series. Perth wrested fifth place away from the Roar with an excellent 3-1 away win over the Jets, who didn't look like a top four team at all. They'll have to develop something special at training this week if they're going to beat Central Coast over two legs. Queensland Roar again demonstrated that their good form is the league's loss, producing another good attacking display against the Mariners at home. If not for Spase Dilevski's tiny little elbow nudge on Wayne O'Sullivan and the latter's acting abilities, they wouldn't have lost a man in the first half due to a red card. Even with ten on the pitch, the Roar comfortably held the Mariners and were unlucky to finish with a draw that knocked them down to sixth place overall. The battle of the worst two teams in the league, Melbourne and New Zealand, was a staid affair with forthcoming off field anxieties subordinating on field performances. John Adshead and Ernie Merrick have long off seasons ahead of them, with both expected to elevate their teams to a decent spot on the ladder before next Xmas.

For now, it's time to soak up the finals atmosphere as the top four teams tussle in home-and-away matches over the next fortnight. The Sydney versus Adelaide matchup promises to be a Titanic duel, while the Mariners are probably now hot favourites against a dismally performing Newcastle. Having just watched the most poorly officiated Superbowl in living memory, let's hope for next-to-perfect decisions from the referrees or at least competent whistle blowing that doesn't effect the final outcome of the matches!

Best of Round Twenty One:

Player: Nick Ward (pictured) - doing his national team aspirations no harm at all in the build-up to the Asian Cup qualifiers

U-20 Player: Nick Ward

Coach: Alan Vest - demonstrating that public scorn for a group players can be a terrific motivational trick

Match: Sydney FC vs Adelaide United

Referee: Matthew Breeze

Goal: Alvin Ceccoli - finally a free kick worth cheering about, a scorching straight drive into the top corner following a simple touch-and-stop to get around the wall

4-4-2 Team of the Week:

Alex Brosque - Damian Mori
Nick Ward - Carl Veart - Dwight Yorke - David Micevski
Alvin Ceccoli - Mark Byrnes - Josh McCloughan - Alex Wilkinson
Clint Bolton

Subs: John Tambouras, Noel Spencer, Daniel Allsopp, Daniel Beltrame