A number of surprises this week. Biggest of all, the Jets triumph over a fairly lacklustre Melbourne. Just goes to show the impact of a key suspension (Muscat) in combination with a defensive reshuffle (Theoklitos, Piorkowski and Storey all sitting out). One loss such as this doesn't imply that a chink in Melbourne's armour is about to become a significant hole - let's wait until next week before assessing the situation any further.
The Mariners topping the Reds so comfortably was another mild surprise. Romario was completely ineffective and perhaps even detrimental for Adelaide, who were in with a shout but couldn't match Central Coast's finishing. Two quick goals soon after half-time and it was back to the drawing board for next week's massive clash against Melbourne at Hindmarsh - a game I'll be attending (and hoping for much better things from Romario).
The other result of note was Sydney's demolition of Queesland. What do they say about a few weeks in football...? Having slipped from second to seventh, and with few signs of a rapid resurrection, the Roar are now in serious trouble. The timing of Miron Bleiberg's exit has made it an extremely difficult initiation for Frank Farina, who may not survive long if the confidence and form of the squad are as low as they seem. Since I'm a cynic, allow me to suggest that Bleiberg knew precisely what he was doing when he jumped ship with such tricky matches approaching - Farina is already bad guy.
Ron Smith on the other hand has seen his gamble of playing Jamie Harnwell up front for Perth Glory pay off twice in succession. Three goals this time for the converted front man, albeit against the ten men of a Knights outfit that has surely condemned itself to another wide-ranging cull during the off-season. There's only one worthwhile question for the Knights now: Could life possibly be worse if the team was mostly comprised of local talent?
Best of Round Fourteen:
Player: Ivan Necevski, Newcastle - came on early for an injured Ben Kennedy and firmly bolted the back door to set up a massive win for the Jets.
U-20 Player: Nathan Burns, Adelaide - a cameo to outshine Romario.
Coach: Lawrie McKinna, Central Coast - hats off to Gary Van Egmond, but McKinna proves he's still the best personnel manager in the league - after losing Mori to the Roar, plonked Mrdja back into the starting eleven and reaped the dividends of a fresh formation and tactics. Also dealed very well with the media hype surrounding Romario during the week.
Match: Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle United Jets
Goal: Milton Rodriguez, Newcastle - used the time given to him by the Victory defence to glide a cheeky shot past the 'keeper's near post after Nick Carle's little dink into the box
4-4-2 Team of the Week:
Jamie Harnwell - Daniel Allsopp
Robbie Middleby - Nick Carle - Mile Jedinak - Leo Bertos
Gregory Duruz - Tony Vidmar - Mark Milligan - Steve Eagleton
Ivan Necevski
Subs: Robert Bajic, Seo Hyuk-soo, Steve Corica, Adam Kwasnik
27 November 2006
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2 comments:
Press seem to agree with you on Romario. Which is probably bad for the A-League - suggested he is doing all he can to get to 1,000 goals. Doesn't make him look good v Pele.
I think the Roar will stick with Frank. The upsets were NZ and drawing with Adelaide (the 24 shots to nil game when Qu was sent off), then CC and losing to Newcastle, Adelaide. Plus they have had Ben Williams twice in a handful of matches. Does he not like them? Sydney should have been down to 10 men before Roar (Talay) and I now agree with Kozzie on McFlynn.
Did you see Sydney, world city that it is, could only drag less than 13,000 to the game on Friday. Further, I wasn't surpised to see Melbourne lose as they looked done after their 2-0 win over Roar.
Roar recruitment has not gone as planned. I wonder if Alex will return next year?
NZ had a good start and were unlucky to get down to 10 men when the score was still 1-1.
With the greatest of respect James, I really reckon you should have put Reddy in goals.
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