Perth Glory stumbled and Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory were there to take advantage as they made their way to the top of the table.  Meanwhile the race for the final finals spot is now down to two; Canberra United and Sydney FC. 

Here are the Round 11 talking points. 

1.  And then there were five: As an exciting season heads towards its finale, from here on in it's knock out football.  On Tuesday night we lost newcomers the Western Sydney Wanderers from the championship race after they went down heavily to Canberra United. 

Despite the result, the Wanderers can be proud of their first season in the competition.  Big scalps included Brisbane Roar, one time ladder leaders Perth Glory and taking points off Canberra earlier in the season.  While they will be disappointed with not making the finals, the Wanderers have core players and a squad they can build on for Season Six. And they still have a part to play as they could prove a banana skin for city rivals in the Sydney Derby this weekend.   

Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth have confirmed their finals places.  While for Canberra United and Sydney FC, this weekend is do or die.  For Canberra the equation is simple; win against Brisbane and they are through for a chance to defend their title.  For Sydney it's a little more complicated.  They, of course, will need to win (and win big) and then hope that Brisbane does them a favour in downing Canberra.  For  the confirmed finalists, victory is still important in terms of who will host finals and who will travel. 

It all makes for an intriguing and nervy final round of the W-League regular season.     

2.  Roaring on: It seems like the same story almost season after season.  As we reach the business end of the season, the Brisbane Roar find themselves at the top of the W-League table.  For the second season in a row the Queensland side have overcome a slow start, and several coaching and personnel changes, to be the form team of the competition. 

Their latest win, a 2-0 victory over traditional rivals Sydney, was arguably their best 90 minute performance of the season.  Not that Sydney didn’t have their chances; that is the nature of football.  However Brisbane controlled the tempo from start to finish, and with Tameka Butt running rampant, it will take a very good side to undo this well oiled machine. 

3.  Social Responsibility: With little fanfare a bombshell dropped last Thursday that Perth Glory striker Lisa De Vanna was suspended for 6 matches for a breach of the National Code of Coduct for comments made on social media.  Say what! Six matches! Admittedly four of those matches are suspended, although should she breach the Code in the following 12 months or fail to undergo "appropriate counselling and education" the four match suspension will be triggered.  The upshot was De Vanna was unavailable for the final two regular season Perth Glory matches of the season. 

What was the suspension for? Well the "comments made on social media" bit is a little vague because as we all know De Vanna is one of the more outspoken and forthright individuals on or off social media.  Initial thoughts were it may be related to comments about the refereeing this season, however a FFA spokesman has stated that is not the case.  They said it was in relation to comments made just prior to Christmas and it was immediately deleted from the social media site Twitter.  So for a six week suspension, we will can only imagine.

For the Glory it means they are without their star striker for two matches (one of which they have already dropped points in), the positive may be that they will have a fired up Lisa De Vanna for the first round of the finals. 

4.  If you can't take the heat:  Summer football Australia has it's own hazards as it we found out last Saturday.  Canberra United and Western Sydney Wanderers were scheduled to play their important fixture at 2pm on Saturday.  A Saturday where it was expected to reach 40 degrees and more importantly the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature was set to reach is 28 degrees. 

The whaaaa? 

Well as I recently found out, whether a match proceeds or not is not determined by the everyday temperature we are familiar with but by the WBGT which is determined by temperature, humidity, wind speed and sunlight (wiki it, it was enlightening).  According to the FFA 2012/13 Operations Manual (clause 8), a match can be postponed if the WBGT is 28 degrees or above. 

On Saturday the WGBT hit 30 so United and Wanderers was rescheduled to 7pm that night.  I received a lot of very unhappy messages from other clubs about the postponement of the match considering the hot temperatures under which some matches have been played in.  There has been recent talk from players about the effects of heat on their performance and not just in the W-League.  2 or 3pm kick offs in an Australian summer looks like it might be an issue that will be revisited at the end of the football season if some of the rumblings are to be believed. 

Back to Canberra and Western Sydney...unfortunately what they didn't foresee was the amazing electrical storm that was whipped up just kilometers from the stadium forcing the match to be abandoned 30 minutes into the contest.  For the record CAN v WSW Part 3 was finally played on Tuesday night. 
 
Top Five players (in no particular order)

1.  Petra Larsson (Melbourne Victory) is one of the keys to whether the Melbourne Victory can win their first W-League title.  The Swede has been instrumental since her arrival at Victory and with Jess Fishlock gone, her performances in the centre of the park will be crucial. 

2.  Tameka Butt (Brisbane Roar) is easily the form player in the competition.  It's no coincidence that the Brisbane Roar came right into championship contention when a fully fit Butt was available.  Her link up work with Katrina Gorry will cause many defences a lot of headaches. 

3.  Hayley Raso (Canberra United) has really stepped it up a gear this season.  Getting her opportunity late last season, the 18 year old speedster has added goals to her arsenal this season.  Still a bit raw, Raso will regardless be a key factor in Canberra's finals tilt this weekend. 

4.  Caitlin Munoz (Canberra United) has dropped deeper this season in the absence of Sally Shipard and has arguably been Canberra's best player.  Her dead ball work has also been a real treat. 

5.  Eliza Campbell (Newcastle Jets) demonstrates just how crucial a good custodian is. Quick and decisive, Campbell has been good all season whether commanding her area on set pieces or closing down the angle on a one-on-one and again last weekend she foiled many an attack.  An unknown a couple of months ago, she should be up there in the goalkeeper of the year awards. 

Asensio's Screamer Vs FC Barcelona
Asensio's Screamer Vs FC Barcelona
In one of Real Madrid's most outstanding performances at the Camp Nou, Los Blancos beat FC Barcelona 3-1 in the Spanish Supercup. Real were leading 2-1 after Cristiano Ronaldo's 80th minute goal, but just before the final whistle, we sealed the win with this beautiful Marco Asensio strike.
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