Because this weekend, both those hotly-tipped favourites lost - and the A-League is once again blown wide open.

So close is the competition that just one round later, the title is still feasible for damn near every team if they could just string some back-to-back wins on the board.

Only two points divide the top three, five for the top four  - and three from fifth to tenth, with a mere ten points keeping top from bottom, and half the season left to play.

But the key will be consistency...something sadly lacking from the top two this round.

In the week that saw their coach re-sign for a further two years, Melbourne Victory were handed their heaviest ever home defeat at the hands of the Central Coast Mariners.

After seeing his side demolish the reigning Champions for the second time this season, Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna was full of praise for his side, sounding an ominous warning to the rest of the league.

 "I believe, and the coaching staff believe that we have a really good squad. I just think sometimes the players don't believe how good they are," he said.
 
"I just hope after a performance like that we do believe in ourselves, and believe in each other, they can get better."

Elsewhere, Gold Coast United put a tumultuous week behind them to topple league leaders Sydney FC and stay in the hunt for top spot at the end of the season.

With the FFA and United owner Clive Palmer once again seeing eye-to-eye about the direction of the club, the players were free to put on an encouraging show for their fans at Skilled Park.

The in-form Wellington Phoenix played three games in the space of a week, buoyed by the news that their star signing, Paul Ifill had committed himself to the club for a further two years.

And Newcastle were able to claw themselves off the bottom of the table after a hard-fought win over the North Queensland Fury.

The week's football action began early on Wednesday as Wellington Phoenix hosted Newcastle Jets for their postponed round 10 match. Boasting an impressive undefeated streak of 12 games, Phoenix clearly signalled their attacking intent early.

Newcastle custodian Ben Kennedy was the busier of the two keepers in the first 20 minutes as a flurry of Phoenix activity saw the hosts press hard for the opening goal.

Chances came as early as the third minute, when Chris Greenacre played in by countryman Paul Ifill, but failed to capitalise on the chance then Andrew Durante headed a floating ball over the crossbar.

Phoenix starlet Costa Barbarouses was rewarded for his impressive showing in recent weeks, and the young attacker earned his side a free kick when he was felled by Jets defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley.

Song and Haliti were combining well for the visitors, with both fashioning a number of chances throughout the half

Wellington's perseverance finally paid off, though, when Tim Brown was able to capitalise on a long-range Costa Barbarouses strike that was parried into his path

And it was again Barbarouses who was at the forefront of the home side's second goal, 10 minutes after the restart.

Ifill fired a cross in from the left, the young striker back heeled it to Greenacre who slotted it low past a diving Kennedy in a fantastic team goal.

From here, chances were limited for either side until Brown won a penalty for his side in the 83rd minute, being brought down by Topor-Stanley.

Greenacre's low drive from the pentalty spot was equally well met by Kennedy, but moments later Phoenix put the result beyond doubt when Paul Ifill showed a brilliant piece of individual skill to beat two defenders before chipping the ball over a sprawled Ben Kennedy.

Round 14 officially began on Friday night when Brisbane Roar travelled south to meet an Adelaide United outfit who were determined to add to their goal - and points - tally.

The home side started the brightest, with Travis Dodd and Christiano both fashioning chances early.

For all their dominance, however, Adelaide were unable to convert their chances and were punished midway through the opening stanza when Reinaldo contentiously went to ground under pressure from Scott Jamieson.

Sergio Van Dijk tucked the resulting penalty past Eugene Galekovic,.

The Reds weren't without chances of their own, with Kristian Sarkies unleashing two scorching long-range efforts in as many minutes shortly after the restart, and substitute Lloyd Owusu making a nuisance of himself.

Indeed it was Owusu who had the best chance for United, when Luke de Vere was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area. The big import stepped up to the spot, but his penalty was spectacularly saved by stand-in Roar keeper Griffin McMaster.

It was the Roar who stole all three points when van Dijk scored an impressive goal well into the final term to round out the evening and continue Adelaide's less than impressive home form.

Adelaide United                        0
Brisbane Roar                          2 (Sergio VAN DIJK 35' (pen)/51')
Crowd: 11,209

The first game of 'Matchday Saturday' saw a replay of the opening game of the 2009/10 competition, with Central Coast Mariners venturing to Etihad Stadium to meet Melbourne Victory.

It was revealed on the day that Victory coach Ernie Merrick had re-signed with the Melbourne club for another two years, and he undoubtedly wanted to celebrate the extention of his tenure with a resounding win.

The Mariners had stunned their opponents earlier in the year with a well-earned 2-0 win, and were looking to build on a psychological advantage over Victory.

There were a few decent chances for the home side inside the first 15 minutes, with Carlos Hernandez curling a free kick over and heading wide either side of a fumble by Danny Vukovic which almost let Sutee Suksomkit in on goal.

Despite the home side's early domination, it was the Mariners who were on the scoreboard first.

Nicky Travis won possession in the midfield and charged towards goal unleashing a shot which Glen Moss could only parry; Adam Kwasnik was there to meet the rebound with an improvised athletic aerial shot which lobbed the Victory keeper and landed in the net.

Melbourne immediately tried to respond through Archie Thompson and Carlos Hernandez, though neither for able to find the back of the net.

For the better part of 10 minutes, Melbourne laid siege to the Mariners goal, but a combination of poor finishing and stubborn Central Coast defence saw the visiting side weather the storm.

Then the game was sealed moments into the second half when Nicky Travis, arguably the most influential man on the pitch, provided a looping corner for Matt Simon to head home..

Melbourne continued to pummel the Mariners goal, though Danny Vukovic was superb and made some game-saving interventions.

The points were secured with 10 minutes left, when Pedj Bojic broke clear down the left, slotted it back for Dean Heffernan who slid a shot underneath Moss and into the net.

On 84 minutes, Melbourne's humiliation was complete when Moss came for a ball, but it fell to substitute Andrew Clark, who knocked it back for Mrdja to net his first goal of the season.

Melbourne Victory                                0
Central Coast Mariners                      4 (Adam KWASNIK 15', Matt SIMON 75', Dean HEFFERNAN 81', Nik MRDJA 83')
Crowd: 18,531

In the second game of the Saturday night double-header league-leaders Sydney FC travelled to the Queensland glitter strip hoping to open up an insurmountable lead on the competition. After a week of renewal off the park for Gold Coast United, Miron's men were keen to put points on the board to stay in touch with top spot.

Both teams started the match cautiously with neither prepared to show their hand too early in the contest, but it was the visitors who gave the first scare when their front-men had their best chance of the night.

As they had done to good effect  in previous matches, messers Bridge and Brosque combined with an almost telepathic understanding to force a shot on goal, though Scott Higgins was up to the task.

Jason Culina took up a more attacking role in the centre of midfield at his coach's request, and the Socceroo's distribution helped the home side make an impact on the match.

Chances to Smeltz and Caravella failed to hit the target early in the half, thought it was the kiwi international who took the lead for his side shortly before the interval.

It was Culina again who came streaming down the flank to lay a cross on for Smeltz, who sent a deft header past Clint Bolton and into the top corner of the net.

Sydney pressed for an equaliser from hereon in, though their attack perhaps lacked the fluidity that had been seen in previous weeks. A match-ending injury to lynchpin Steve Corica early in the game undoubtedly went someway to interrupting the visitor's rhythm.

Gold Coast United                                1 (Shane SMELTZ 36')
Sydney FC                                           0
Crowd: 5,364

After their demolition of Newcastle midweek, Wellington Phoenix were looking to move further up the ladder at the expense of visiting Perth Glory.

Influential midfielder-cum-striker Paul Ifill had re-signed with the team for a further two years during the week in a coup for the New Zealand-based club.

It was a scrappy opening 15 minutes as both teams took time to settle and it was Crowther who was called into action first after some great lead-up work from Adriano Pellegrino and Todd Howarth.

Phoenix squandered a glorious chance on 21 minutes when a mistake by the Glory defence set Costa Barbarouses free but the young striker fired his shot just wide.

Six minutes later Mile Sterjovski was equally as wasteful at the other end when Jacob Burns put him clear in the box with just the keeper to beat but his weak shot was easily gathered by Crowther.

Then Barbarouses made another strong run into the box and laid off a good ball for Greenacre but Andy Todd raced in to block the English striker's attempt

Perth finally broke the deadlock 21 minutes from time when Ben Sigmund conceded a free-kick 25 metres out and Srhoj struck it beautifully past a leaping Crowther.

But the home side responded strongly with substitutes Bertos, Caceres and Troy Hearfield adding some impetus when they were introduced to the fray.

The players were eventually rewarded for their endeavours with the equaliser with eight minutes to go when Caceres' shot came back off the keeper and Ifill made no mistake from close range.

The home side had several chances to take all three points in the dying minutes but Caceres, Ifill, Durante and Hearfield could not manage to land the killer blow

Wellington Phoenix                              1 (Paul IFILL 82')
Perth Glory                                         1 (Wayne SRHOJ 69')
Crowd: 6,930

The final match of the round saw Newcastle Jets host North Queensland Fury, with both sides aching to propel themselves up the competition ladder.

The Jets started with an attacking frame of mind, coach Branko Culina playing Bridges, Labinot Haliti and Sean Rooney upfront in a 4-3-3 formation that seemed to trouble Fury. The telling statistic of 25 shots on goal for Newcastle throughout the match was indicative of their willingness to go forward.

Michael Bridges had the first chance on goal in the 15th minute when the Fury defence misjudged a long ball and he found himself in space on the left side of the field. He took the ball goalward but just slid his shot across the face.

Sean Rooney had claims for a penalty denied in the 22nd minute when he was brought down by Rostyn Griffiths in the box after a sizzling run down the left flank, while Fury were unsuccessful with appeals for a handball by Jets defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley inside his area just moments later.

Having both been prominent in previous outings, David Williams and Danny McBreen were again proving a handful for the Newcastle defence .

It was the home side, though, who took the lead 15 minutes into the second half when Matt Thompson slotted home from close range after a pin-point cross from new boy, Michael Bridges.

Newcastle continued to press, with chances by Rooney and Vignaroli going just wide of the target, but the result was to be put beyond doubt five minutes from time when Bridges was topped in the area.

The Englishman stepped up to calmly convert the spot kick and seal the points for the home team.

Newcastle Jets                                     2 (Matt THOMPSON 55', Michael BRIDGES 85' (pen))
North Queensland Fury                        0
Crowd: 6,127

Hyundai A-League 2009/10 League Table

Hyundai A-League 2009/10 - Leading Goal-Scorers

11 - Shane SMELTZ

8 - Robbie FOWLER

7 - Sergio VAN DIJK

6 - Mark BRIDGE, Carlos HERNANDEZ

5 - Paul IFILL, Archie THOMPSON, Matt SIMON, Mile STERJOVSKI

4 - John ALOISI, Chris GREENACRE, Labinot HALITI, Branko JELIC, Victor SIKORA

3 - Tim BROWN, Steve CORICA, HENRIQUE, Lucas PANTELIS, REINALDO, Wayne SRHOJ

2 - Leo BERTOS, Michael BRIDGES, Alex BROSQUE, CASSIO, DANIEL CORTES, CRISTIANO, Jason CULINA, Dyron DAAL, Mate DUGANDZIC, Jason HOFFMAN, John HUTCHINSON, Adam KWASNIK, Adrian LEIJER, Daniel MCBREEN, Adriano PELLEGRINO, Joel PORTER, Jin-Hyung SONG, Matt THOMPSON, Nicky TRAVIS

1 - Danny ALLSOPP, Costa BARBAROUSES, Pedj BOJIC, Nigel BOOGAARD, Grant BREBNER, Isaka CERNAK, Kofi DANNING, Travis DODD, Ney FABIANO, Steven FITZSIMMONS, Iain FYFE, Brendan GAN, Royston GRIFFITHS, Chris GROSSMAN, Troy HEARFIELD, Dean HEFFERNAN, Karol KISEL, Todd HOWARTH, Adam Hughes, Matthew LECKIE, Michael MCGLINCHEY, Terry MCFLYNN, Charlie MILLER, Tahj MINNIECON, MILSON, Craig MOORE, Nik MRDJA, Kevin MUSCAT, Jason NAIDOVSKI, Mitch NICHOLS, Lloyd OWUSU, Tomislav PONDELJAK, Sean ROONEY, Ben SIGMUND, John TAMBOURAS, Danny TIATTO, Nick WARD, Alex WILKINSON