-
Jamie Samuel
-
A-league Round 14 Recap
Melbourne City Go Second As Melbourne Victory Suffer Cup Hangover
It's Week 14 in the A-League and it was mixed results for Victory and City. City climbed to second on the table with a win over the Wanderers whilst their cross town rivals, the Victory, are suffering from a Cup hangover after theri second straight loss. Read on for your complete week 14 recap.
Leckie Brace As City defeat Wanderers
Melbourne City climbed to second on the table, following a 3-1 over the Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) on Friday night.
Matthew Leckie scored a double in the first half. First in the 35th minute with a bullet diving header to open the scoring. Then off a corner kick, Leckie would head in a second at the near post, getting a brace for himself a 2-0 halftime lead for City.
At the hour mark, Aiden O’Neil was brought down in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty being awarded. Jamie Mclaren sent the keeper the wrong way but dragged his shot to the right, wide. 3 minutes later though, Florin Berenguer would put the result beyond doubt, after taking on the defenders, and emphatically striking it into the top left corner.
In the 76th minute, the ball struck Curtis Good’s hand in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty for WSW. Dimi Petratos scored his penalty, but it would only prove to be a consolation prize. As Melbourne City came away with a comfortable 3-1 win.
Melbourne City will look to continue its winning form when they host Adelaide United on Tuesday night at AAMI Park. WSW will host the Melbourne Victory on Wednesday night, with an opportunity to bounce back.
Oliveira Rescues Point For Reds Against Phoenix
Adelaide United came away with a 1-1 draw with the Wellington Phoenix, thanks to a 92nd-minute equalizer from Bernado Oliveira.
Wellington came into this game winning their last 3, and opened the scoring in the 20th minute through Gael Sandoval, with a beautiful finish into the left bottom corner. Into the second half, Craig Goodwin beat the keeper but his shot went wide in the 52nd minute. Clayton Lewis had the chance to wrap it up for the Pheonix, but he was denied in the 73rd minute.
Adelaide would find their equalizer in the 91st minute of the game, after a high cross was headed in at the back post by Oliveira, who saved the day for the Reds, earning them a 1-1 draw and bringing Wellington's 3-game winning streak to an end.
Adelaide United face a tough trip to Melbourne, to face the 2nd placed Melbourne City on Tuesday night. Wellington will look to get back to winning form when they host Brisbane Roar on Wednesday night.
Sydney FC & Western United Play Out Draw
Sydney FC and Western United played out a thrilling 1-1 draw on Saturday night.
After a goalless first half, the game sprung into life in the 55th minute, when Steven Lustica struck a beautiful goal from the edge of the box, giving Western United the lead. By the 63rd minute, Sydney FC was back on terms, as Max Burgess struck a through ball into the left bottom corner.
That would be enough to see the game end in a 1-1 draw. Western United remains on top of the table after this result. Western United will look to maintain the top spot when they host the Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday. Whilst Sydney FC faces a tough trip to Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
Cup Hangover Continues For Victory Against Lowly Jets
Melbourne Victory suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to the Newcastle Jets on Saturday night. After winning the FFA cup, the Victory has lost their last two competitive A-league outings now.
Jason Davidson came close to opening the scoring in the 34th minute, his shot cleared off the line, just, and adjudged no goal. The Victory thought they had taken the lead in the 39th minute through Brendan Hamill’s excellent volley, but the VAR overruled the goal for offside. Jake Brimmer sent the Victory into a 1-0 lead just before the halftime whistle, after Marco Rojas’s first shot was palmed away, but Brimmer followed in the rebound to send the Victory fans wild.
However, in the second half, it went from bad to worse for the Victory. In the 48th minute, Josh Brillante was handed a second yellow card for a mistimed tackle, in what would prove to be a turning point. Two minutes later, Jason Hoffman thought he’d equalized for Newcastle, but the VAR check showed he was offside, ruling out the second goal for the night.
By the 56th minute, Newcastle was level, Valentino Yuel cleverly volleyed it over the keeper with his first touch after a high lofted through ball at the near post. In the 67th minute, Oliver Boumal was controversially given a penalty, after very minimal contact from Brendan Hamill in the penalty area.
Beka Mikeltadze stepped up and scored what would prove to be the decisive blow. The Newcastle Jets caused a massive upset over the Victory, moving them up to 8th place, while the Victory slipped down to 5th after a really promising start and winning the FFA cup. The Victory will look to rebound from this surprising defeat when they travel to take on WSW on Wednesday night. While Newcastle will look to build on this form when they take on a tough challenge in Melbourne City on Friday night.
Stynes Rescues Point For Glory With Last Gasp Equalizer
Perth Glory stunned the Central Coast Mariners with a 93rd-minute equalizer from Daniel Stynes, to cause a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon.
After a goalless first half, the Central Coast took the lead through Jason Cummings, who controlled a chested down a through ball and finished calmly into the right-hand corner. Bruno Fonaroli was close to equalizing for Perth in the 79th minute, but his header was denied from close range. But just before the 93rd minute, Daniel Stynes received a short pass in the box and struck a decisive equalizer for Perth Glory.
Central Coast will look to rebound from this disappointing draw when they travel to face Melbourne Victory on Saturday night. While Perth has a chance to build on the form that earned them a draw when they host Brisbane Roar on Sunday.
Roar Score Big Win Over Macarthur FC
Brisbane Roar caused an upset 3-1 win over Macarthur FC on Sunday evening.
Brisbane made the perfect start, scoring in just 60 seconds on the clock played through Nikola Mileusnic. It would be enough to see them through to half time with a 1-0 lead. On the hour mark, Brisbane’s lead was doubled with a stunning first time volley from outside the box from Corey Brown. Macarthur were given a lifeline in the 73rd minute, Adrian Mariappa heading home a cross at the near post.
Henry Hore sealed the result for Brisbane, with a first time strike in the same move as the interception, which went beyond the keeper and the two defenders standing right in front of him. It was kicked away but not before it had just crossed the line, with the referee signalling the goal that clinched a 3-1 result for Brisbane, moving them into 10th position.
Macarthur will look to rebound from this defeat when they host Adelaide United on Saturday night. Whilst Brisbane will look to continue its winning form when they travel to face Perth Glory on Sunday.
Here are the A-League standings as of 14/2/22 8.15 PM
Jamie Samuel has completed a double degree in sports media and business at Holmesglen. He is passionate about sports including AFL, A-league, Basketball, and Cricket. He currently works full-time as a chief marketing officer for Apple iSports.
Want more sports news and analysis? Check these out:
Follow Jamie on Twitter here @JamieSamuel18