-
Jamie Samuel
-
A-League Round 16 Recap
Round 16 in the Men's A-League has been played and it seems that two was the number of goals required if you wanted to take any points this week. Get your complete rundown of what occurred in Round 16 right here
Bulls & Jets Play Out Score Draw
The Newcastle Jets and Macarthur FC played out a thrilling 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon.
Tomislav Uskok broke the deadlock in the 21st minute from an unstoppable header off a corner kick. 6 minutes later, after a handball from Liam Rose in the area, the Jets equalized from the spot through Beka Mikeltadze. Newcastle almost snatched a halftime lead with Sam Silvera’s effort from outside the box, beating the keeper but rebounding off the crossbar.
On the hour mark, Tommy Oar from a first-time strike from outside the box scored potentially one of the goals of the year. Off a cleared header, he struck a volley on the first strike, looping into the top right corner to give Macarthur back the lead. However, after conceding a first-half penalty, Liam Rose would be the villain again. From a Newcastle cross, a header from Eli Babalj deflected off Rose’s head in the 79th minute. Babalj thought he had won the game for Newcastle in the 90th minute with his close-range header, but the offside flag ruled the goal out. As the teams ended up drawing 2-2 in a close, thrilling encounter.
Macarthur faces an interesting trip to Melbourne on Friday night, to take on Melbourne Victory who are just clinging on to their place in the top 6. Newcastle also faces a trip to Melbourne to take on league leaders, Western United on Saturday afternoon.
Leckie's Injury Time Goal Gives City Late Victory
Melbourne City snatched a 2-1 win over Sydney FC, with a stunning late winner from Matthew Leckie.
Melbourne City broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute after Leckie struck from close range, the rebound save from Andrew Redmayne hit the boot of Paulo Retre who deflected it into his own net to open the scoring. City would take this lead into halftime.
In the 52nd minute, Sydney FC was back on terms, Milos Ninkovich striking in a corner at the near left post. In the 90th minute, Matt Leckie stole the show, releasing a beautiful strike from outside the box that hit the post and went in. His strike stole a thrilling 2-1 win for Melbourne City, moving them into 2nd place.
Sydney FC will look to rebound when they take on the Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) in next week's Sydney Derby. Melbourne City faces Perth Glory at home on Wednesday, looking to continue this form which has them sitting in 2nd place.
Reds Move Up To 4th With Thrilling Victory
Adelaide United also stole a late winner to defeat the Central Coast Mariners (CCM) 2-1. After a foul in the area by Jacob Farrell, in the 23rd minute, Craig Goodwin’s penalty was denied. CCM then took the lead in the 34th minute, through Beni N’Kololo’s strike. Giving CCM a 1-0 halftime lead.
Adelaide was level in the 52nd minute, from a scramble off a corner kick, the goalkeeper was out of position as Hiroshi Ibusuki tapped home the easiest of equalizers for Adelaide. In the 91st minute, Nestor Irankuda struck the decisive blow from a slight angle from close range. His powerful first-time strike found the top right corner and won the game for Adelaide in stoppage time.
This win puts Adelaide up to 4th on the table, as CCM slip to 2nd last at the end of round 16. Adelaide will look to continue this current form when they travel to face Perth Glory on Sunday night. CCM has a chance to rebound from this defeat when they host the bottom of the table, Brisbane, on Saturday evening.
Western United Reign Supreme After 2-0 Victory
Western United remained on top of the table after they took care of Perth Glory 2-0 on Sunday night.
Aleksander Prijovic gave Western United the lead in the 37th minute, his low strike into the left bottom corner gave Western a 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.
In the 55th minute, Western United sealed the result through Dylan Pierias. After Steve Lustica’s low cross, Pierias was there to tap the ball home and seal a 2-0 win for Western United.
Western United will look to maintain the top spot when they host the Newcastle Jets on Saturday afternoon. While Perth faces another tough challenge in Melbourne City on Wednesday night.
Here's how the table looks in the A-League as of 2nd March 11.47 am
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 from The Pyrrhic? Check these out:
Follow Jamie on Twitter here @JamieSamuel18