It's A Mug's Game...

Three key penalty decisions were made. Two were clearly dives with little to no contact whatsoever, and the third - for the lightest of touches in the box - was softer than a cucumber sanger.

And yet the refs gave them all, including Matthew Breeze - no rookie like Chris Boyle in his explosive debut last weekend - but an experienced veteran notching up his 100th A-League appearance.

Why did they give them? Because from kick-off to full-time, they are bombarded with a constant stream of appeals from strikers going down in the box instead of doing the hard yards and finishing.

(And this on a weekend when Sydney FC's biggest proponent of the art, Alex Brosque, was out injured too...)

Confronted by so many appeals - often convincingly played out - it's inevitable they will be under pressure to give one, or two, or three...with red cards to match too.

Playing the ref instead of playing the game has become the new Route One - but every bit as ugly.

It's not a matter of them all evening out by the end of the season - Glory and Heart's equally weak penalties cancelled each other out - but it is a matter of cheating the fans.

We want to see goals from open play, crafted from fine moves and skill. Or a John Hutchinson rebound into the net, off his knee, from a goalmouth scramble. Whatever.

But we don't want to see game after game decided by dubious/plain wrong penalties as is becoming the fashion in the A-League.

One club's fans might accept an unfair spotkick equaliser or winner from a dive in the box in their favour...but it will never be a win they savour or look back on with pride.

And for the other side's fans, yet another part of their passion for the game will die, especially when they see the same kind of error being repeated again and again and again.

It doesn't take much to fix - unless the ref clearly sees a textbook offence in the box that would definitely merit a foul outside the box, they don't stop play. If they have ANY doubt, they don't stop play.

If it was a dive, let the match review panel deal harshly with it later. If it was just an exaggeration, everyone should just ignore it, and let the player's coach bawl him out for going to ground instead of finishing properly.

If the ref makes a mistake and some fouls get through then, like dodgy offside decisions, it sucks...but people get over it.

Fans rarely remember marginal call penalties that weren't given...but everyone remembers penalties that SHOULDN'T have been given.

Strikers need to score goals properly, don't take the ref and fans for mugs...and remember there should be no spotkick shortcuts to scoring. Acting skills should never replace ball skills.

Penalty furores aside, game week four also  answered questions such as whether Roar can continue to impress? They answered with a resounding yes as they accounted for a dangerous and impressive Wellington team at Suncorp.

Meanwhile questions remain about Phoenix's title aspirations if they continue to struggle taking home any points when they leave their Cake Tin fortress.

North Queensland  Fury had questionmarks over their depth with key players missing due to the flurry of red cards against Melbourne Victory last week.

Adelaide’s two goals came from lofted balls into the box proved Fury quite obviously missed Eric Akoto and his dominance in the air, while the Reds silenced those questioning their ability to carry on their undefeated run streak.

Sydney's title defence is still in doubt after their fiery clash with the Central Coast Mariners that added discipline issues to their list of woes, with four bookings for dissent within five minutes after the Patricio Perez penalty.

The Argentinean finally made his debut to end the speculation on his future, and immediately made a huge impact, diving for his penalty, getting Liam Reddy sent off, scoring from the spot and then having a winner wrongly disallowed for offside. All within 30 minutes. Gosh.

Could Gold Coast United score without their two main strikers? Erm, no. They experimented with a young forward line that included James Brown playing upfront and got nothing in return.

Meanwhile Melbourne Victory found the answer to their spluttering defence that had leaked goals so far this season by finally keeping a cleansheet against Gold Coast.

Unfortunately Melbourne Heart are still waiting to find out what it feel like to be winners after Michael Baird's dodgyy dive cost them their three points.

But Perth Glory's title credentials remain unchallenged as they continue undefeated...and now have more points at AAMI Park than both of the Melbourne franchises combined.

Brisbane Roar                          1 (Kosta BARBAROUSES 73’)
Wellington Phonenix                0

Friday, 27 August 2010
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Local kick-off: 8.00pm
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant referees: Denis Silk and David Walsh
Fourth official: Matthew Gillett
Crowd: 7,339

Wellington travelled to Suncorp with a less than credible record in the Queensland capital, and there would be no change to the record books after Friday night as Roar continued their reinvention and rejuvenation under Ange Postecoglou this season.

Roar did not have it all their own way as they did against Sydney last week. Wellington tested Brisbane with their height and strength, asserting themselves whenever possible throughout the match.

Dylan Macallister’s aerial feats often troubled Brisbane’s defence via a through ball by Ifill or a corner where he was always a threat.  In goal,  Mark Paston hung on to the starting keeper's position despite an injury preventing him from kicking - and the ominous figure of Danny Vukovic sitting on the bench.

Roar dominated possession in the first half an hour, their best chances came in the minutes before the half with Mitch Nichols fluffing a one on one with Paston and Broich doing the same.

Wellington came out in the second half with more possession and they started to compete with Brisbane’s midfield, pressuring Roar and limiting the free time they had on the ball.

Reinaldo's introduction helped settle Roar and his battling in the corner for possession ultimately found McKay who completed some nifty passing with ex-Phoenix player Kosta Barbarouses to slot the ball home and sending the fans into raptures.

Soon after the restart,  Ifill forced a save from Theoklitos. Pavlovic entered the fray and made two telling contributions, a rasping shot again saved by Theoklitos and a karate kick to Matt McKay’s chest. Brisbane remain unbeatedn and have not conceded a goal thus far this season as Wellington suffer their first loss.

Brisbane Roar line-up: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH, 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES (8. Massimo MURDOCCA 88’), 10. HENRIQUE, 15. Matt McKAY (c), 17. Mitch NICHOLS (11. REINALDO 63’), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK
Substitutes not used: 12. Matt MUNDY, 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk)
Yellow Cards: Matt McKAY 70’
Red Cards: Nil

Wellington Phoenix line-up: 1. Mark PASTON (gk), 2. Manny MUSCAT, 3. Tony LOCHHEAD, 6. Tim BROWN, 7. Leo BERTOS, 8. Paul IFILL, 9. Chris GREENACRE (13. Troy HEARFIELD 80’), 17. Vince LIA, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 22. Andrew DURANTE (c), 23. Dylan MACALLISTER (14. Mirjan PAVLOVIC 66’)
Substitutes not used: 11. DANIEL, 19. Danny VUKOVIC (gk)
Yellow Cards: Paul IFILL 11’, Vince LIA 35’, Tim BROWN 45’+1, Andrew DURANTE 53’, Mirjan PAVLOVIC 75’
Red Cards: Nil

North Queensland Fury                        2 (Isaka CERNAK 8’, David WILLIAMS 87’)
Adelaide United                                    3 (Marcos FLORES 22’, Brett STUDMAN 50’ (og), Daniel MULLEN 56’)

Saturday 28 August 2010
Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Local kick-off: 5.15pm AEST
Referee: Peter Green
Assistant referees: Graham Buzzi and Nathan Macdonald
Fourth official: Matt Hodgson
Crowd: 6,130

Both teams were undefeated coming into this encounter which has baffled the so called experts who tipped both these teams to prop up the ladder this season. Only Adelaide can continue to claim their unbeaten tag after scrapping past a surging Fury outfit.

Fury opened the scoring with a clinical Cernak header but a decidedly unclinical celebration which is becoming a characteristic of this infectious squad.

North Queensland seem to relax after the goal allowing Adelaide to dominate proceeding, eventually equalising with a superb piece of individual skill from Marcos Flores, who chested the ball and turned quickly tucking the ball into the back of the net.

Paston denied Van Dijk the opportunity to send the Reds into the lead with a top shelf save but Adelaide eventually got the go ahead goal through a mad scramble in the box.

The ball fell to Pantelis, who lashed it wide of the goal but fortunately for Adelaide, Brett Studman redirected the ball into his own goal.

Daniel Mullen quickly added a third for Adelaide with an open header from a corner and it wasclear North Queensland were missing central defender Akoto.

David Williams set the scene for a frantic finish to the contest as he dragged the ball to the edge of the box and fired home into the corner. Fury bombarded the Adelaide defence in the final minutes but was unable to find an equaliser.

Although on the losing side of the ledger the North Queensland fighting spirit and adventure remained untarnished. Adelaide continue to prove people wrong and are sitting pretty on the topside of the league.

North Queensland Fury line-up: 1.Justin PASFIELD (gk), 2.Jack HINGERT (3.Brad McDONALD 67’), 5.Mark HUGHES, 7.Gareth EDDS, 9.Eugene SSEPPUYA, 11.David WILLIAMS, 15.Chris PAYNE, 16.Simon STOREY, 17.Osama MALIK (6.Ufuk TALAY 59’), 18.Brett STUDMAN, 19.Isaka CERNAK (10.Dyron DAAL 59’)
Substitutes not used: 20.Matthew HAM (gk)
Yellow Cards: Osama MALIK 46’
Red Cards: Nil

Adelaide United line-up: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS (c), 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK (17.Iain RAMSAY 76’), 10.Marcos FLORES (26.Joe KEENAN 81’), 12.Paul REID, 19.Mathew LECKIE, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 24.Cameron WATSON
Substitutes not used: 16.Inseob SHIN, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk)
Yellow Cards: Mathew LECKIE 84’
Red Cards: Nil

Sydney FC                                           1 (Rhyan GRANT 47’)
Central Coast Mariners             1 (Patricio PEREZ 71’(pen))

Saturday, 28 August 2010
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Local kick-off: 7.30pm AEST
Referee: Matthew Breeze
Assistant referees: Alex Glasgow and Daniel Dewhurst
Fourth official: Ryan Shepheard
Crowd: 10,147

Sydney came home from their latest disappointment and have only garnered one point from their opening three matches. The major positive they could take from this contest is that they doubled their point tally for the season.

Central Coast came into the contest in the middle of a goalkeeper dilemma and handed a debut to youngster Mat Ryan who could not look more nervous as he walked onto the SFS.

The youngster got lucky early on when Mark Bridge’s attempt on goal was deflected and hit the post. Apart from that effort the first half was characterised by lofted long balls into the attacking half, sloppy passing and turnover after turnover with both sides struggling to keep the ball for an extended period.

There were not many attempts on goal, and when there was, they were scuffed. Seb Ryall also managed to hit the post before both teams welcomed the half time break.

Mat Ryan’s debut turned ugly shortly after the resumption, as he managed to squeeze a cross right into the path of Sydney midfielder Grant to gift the Sky Blues into the lead.

This promped Mariners manager Arnold to finally introduce the much anticipated debut of Patricio Perez which coincided with a resurgence for Central Coast as they went searching for an equaliser.

Perez was involved and looked dangerous as he passed the ball into Matt Simon who returned the ball into the box. Perez got to the ball and brought it inside Reddy who sprawled across then Perez went down.

Inconclusive pictures provided no information as to if Reddy made contact with Perez, but that mattered little as Matthew Breeze in his 100^th match in the league signalled for a penalty and gave Liam Reddy a straight red.

Perez dispatched the penalty, equalising the contest.

What followed was an extraordinary five minute period of dissent and lack of composure from Sydney players who received four yellow cards for talking back to the official.

The usual stone face Lavicka rose from the sidelines and motioned for his players to shut up. It’s a far cry from the disciplined performances of the title winning team of the previous campaign.

Central Coast failed to take any advantage from this and had a Perez goal disallowed for offside, but Perez was clearly onside. A controversial exchanged ended, with both teams sharing the points.

Sydney FC line-up: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL, 3. Stephan KELLER, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 10. Nick CARLE, 11. Kofi DANNING (20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk) 72’), 12. Shannon COLE, 19. Mark BRIDGE, 21. Scott JAMIESON (6. Hirofumi MORIYASU 90+1’), 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT
Subs not Used: 5. Hayden FOXE, 16. Terry ANTONIS
Yellow Cards: Stephan KELLER 71’, Stuart MUSIALIK 75’, Scott JAMIESON 77’, Mark BRIDGE 78’
Red Cards: Liam REDDY 71’

Central Coast Mariners line-up: 20. Mathew RYAN (gk), 2. Daniel McBREEN (23. Adam KWASNIK 69’), 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS (10. Patricio PEREZ 53’), 11. Oliver BOZANIC, 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 18. Alex WILKINSON, 19. Matt SIMON.
Substitutes not used: 30. Paul HENDERSON (gk), 17. Chris DOIG.
Yellow Cards: Joshua ROSE 64’, John HUTCHINSON 90+2’
Red Cards:  Nil

Gold Coast United                    0
Melbourne Victory                    1 (Robbie KRUSE 20’)

Sunday, 29 August 2010
Skilled Park, Robina
Local kick-off: 3.00pm AEST
Referee: Ben Williams
Assistant referees: Ashley Beech and Brad Hobson
Fourth official: Jarred Gillett
Crowd: 3,624

Gold Coast came into the game missing successful strike force Shane Smeltz and Joel  Porter while keeper Glen Moss also had a point to prove to the team that left him on the bench for the bulk of the previous campaign.

The three ring circus that is Gold Coast United and the stadium cap continued as well as the teams basically ran out to an empty stadium.

Melbourne managed to stop the slide they were experiencing via a Robbie Kruse goal that settled the contest. Carlos Hernandez slid an inch perfect through ball to the feet of the Victory flyer as he took the ball past Moss and finished expertly.

The goal was timely as both teams started the match in a rusty fashion, with Melbourne wildly crossing the ball in the early stages. The game was open as the play went back and forth. Gold Coast missed a perfect opportunity to equalise as Golgol missed an open goal and headed the ball wide. Culina also lashed a half volley just wide as they searched for the elusive goal.

The second half was just as open. Bleiberg changed things around introducing Barasic for Anderson which didn’t please him at all as he left the stadium gesturing wildly towards the bench.

Melbourne went close to doubling their lead as Muscat fired a shot on goal which Leijer flicked on but Caravella cleared from the line.

But the match was quite different from the encounter last year, missing the fireworks, passion and endeavour.

Melbourne took all three points but from Gold Coast's point of view, at least there weren’t too many people at the stadium to witness it.

Gold Coast United line-up: 1.Glen MOSS [gk], 3.Michael THWAITE, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 8.ANDERSON (19.Andrew BARISIC 58’), 10.Jason CULINA (c), 16.Kristian REES, 18.James BROWN, 21.Golgol MEBRAHTU (26.Ben HALLORAN 46’), 22.Adama TRAORE, 24.John CURTIS (2.Steve PANTELIDIS 69’)
Substitutes not used: 20.Scott HIGGINS [gk]
Yellow cards: Kristian REES 24’
Red cards: Nil

Melbourne Victory line-up: 1.Michael PETKOVIC [gk], 2.Kevin MUSCAT (c), 3.Mate DUGANDZIC (11.Marvin ANGULO 87’), 5.Surat SUKHA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Grant BREBNER, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 19.Evan BERGER (13.Diogo FERREIRA 45’), 21.Robbie KRUSE (27.Geoff KELLAWAY 78’), 23.Adrian LEIJER
Substitutes not used:  20.Sebastian MATTEI [gk]
Yellow cards: Mate DUGANDZIC 22’
Red cards: Nil

Melbourne Heart                                   2 (Gerald SIBON 4’ (pen), Nick KALMAR 37’)
Perth Glory                                          2 (Michael MARRONE 19’ (og), Robbie FOWLER 90’+3 (pen))

Sunday, 29 August 2010
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant referees: Luke Brennan and Hakan Anaz
Fourth official: Lucien Laverdure
Crowd: 5,878 

AAMI Park played host to controversy two weeks in a row, as Heart were robbed of their first A-League victory via a deplorable decision to award a penalty as time was fast running out in the second half.

But it wasn’t the first penalty of the day with Heart speedster Alex Terra making light contact with Glory's Naum Sekulovski and getting the nod for a penalty by referee Kurt Ams in his first A-League game.

Gerald Sibon buried the penalty with little trouble. Their lead didn’t last for long as Robbie Fowler crossed the ball from out wide, it skipped off Hammil’s head and struck Marrone on the shoulder and dribbled into the open Heart goal to level the scores.

Heart restored their lead though when a free kick fell to Kalmar who fired the ball across goal into the back of the net to restore Melbourne’s lead.

During the second half Glory had the bulk of possession, with Fowler sending a first time shot towards goal, but tipped over by a superman-like Clint Bolton.

Bolton doubled his efforts a short time after with Sekolovski one on one, only to be denied by the Heart Stopper (pun intended).

Michael Baird was introduced in the second half as he finally received his international clearance to make his debut for Perth. and made his presence felt as time was winding down, blatantly going to ground after the ball rolled away from his feet in Melbourne’s box.

Robbie Fowler scored his first goal in purple from the resulting penalty kick. The dark cloud of dubious penalties descended on AAMI Park once again.

Simon Colosimo was direct in his admonishing of Baird in his post match interview, but some credit has to go to the referee that fell for his theatrics.

Melbourne Heart line-up: 1. Clint BOLTON, 2. Michael MARRONE (21. Kliment TASESKI 65’), 3. Brendan HAMILL, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 6. Matt THOMPSON, 7. Rutger WORM, 9. Gerald SIBON (19. Eli BABALJ 61’), 10. Wayne SRHOJ, 11. ALEX TERRA (24. Aziz BEHICH 80’), 22. Nick KALMAR, 23. Dean HEFFERNAN
Substitutes not used: 12. Peter ZOIS
Yellow cards: Wayne SRHOJ 52’, Matt THOMPSON 82’, Dean HEFFERNAN 88’, Brendan HAMILL 89’
Red cards: Nil

Perth Glory line-up: 1. Tando VELAPHI, 2. Josh MITCHELL, 3. Jamie COYNE, 7. Jacob BURNS (C), 9.Robbie FOWLER, 11. Branko JELIC (10. Michael BAIRD 61’), 12. Scott NEVILLE, 14. Steven McGARRY, 16. Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17. Todd HOWARTH, 19. Naum SEKULOVSKI (22. Anthony SKORICH 87’)
Substitutes not used: 20. Aleks VRTESKI, 24.Joshua RISDON
Yellow cards: Naum SEKULOVSKI 4’
Red cards: Nil

Weekend Break: Newcastle Jets

Hyundai A-League 2010/11 League Table

Hyundai A-League 2010/11 - Leading Goal-Scorers

2 - Chris GREENACRE, Chris GROSSMAN, Paul IFILL, Branko JELIC, Kevin MUSCAT, Chris PAYNE, Shane SMELTZ, Mile STERJOVSKI, Iain RAMSAY, David WILLIAMS

1 -  Eli BABALJ, Kosta BARBAROUSES, Leo BERTOS, Jeremy BROCKIE, Alex BROSQUE, Leigh BROXHAM, Billy CELESKI, Isaka CERNAK, Shannon COLE, Jason CULINA, Dyron DAAL, Mate DUGANDZIC, Marcos FLORES, Robbie FOWLER, Iain FYFE, Rhyan GRANT, Jamie HARNWELL, Scott JAMIESON, Nick KALMAR, Mathew LECKIE, Terry MCFLYNN, Matt MCKAY, Daniel MULLEN, Scott NEVILLE, Patricio PEREZ, Gerald SIBON, Matt SIMON, Eugene SSEPPUYA, Alex WILKINSON, Rutger WORM