Ref Hanging By A Red (Or Two)

Scots rookie ref Chris Boyle made his A-League debut that he single handedly managed to turn into a baptism of fire which ended in his widespread ridicule by both sets of fans.

Neutrals lapped it up though as, against all the odds, the match bizarrely turned into one of the most entertaining in the competiton's history, largely as a result of Boyle's comedy clown refereeing.

Key to the excitement was Fury's passion despite going down to nine men thanks to the card-happy ref, and the three penalties dished out to tie the scores - not to mention other random yellows for offences apparently as wide-ranging as "oddly-laced boots" to "having hairy kneecaps".

AAMI Park has yet to witness a home team gathering all three points but while Melbourne welcomed back Robbie Kruse, the man who could maybe have sealed a win with a killer touch in front of goal was missing, and will be missing for quite a while, Archie Thompson.

Both of their goals in this contest came from the spot making it two matches in a row that Victory hav failed yo score from open play. Also missing is their new signing Ricardinho. He certainly has the name to be an answer to their scoring woes, but does he have the skills? We will find out in three weeks according to Ernie Merrick.

Nowhere was the impact of missing men more evident than at Hindmarsh Stadium with Van Dijk pulling out moments before the game started - and it ended up being a blessing in disguise.

When Van Dijk went down, Leckie stepped up, and despite being full of promise, he is by no means a target man - but he is quite adept on the break.

Meanwhile Melbourne Heart have lost their Australian marquee Josip Skoko through injury as well as Alex Terra, not to mention John Aloisi who is yet to make his debut in the snappy looking away strip of the Melbourne.
 
Perth Glory claimed all the points against Newcastle Jets due mainly to a forced substitution of Mile Sterjovski due to injury, which enabled Branko Jelic (no, not Marko Jesic - JELIC. It really IS a different person - who knew?) to bundle in the winning goal against a Newcastle team which is yet to give Zhang Shou and Marcello Fiorentini their debuts.

Perth were able to hand a debut to one of their Romanian captives being Josh Mitchell whilst Michael Baird sat out due to his FIFA case worker being on holidays (I’m not making this up). By this performance Newcastle could have used a reputed play maker like Fiorentini to complement their midfield work horses Wehrman and Wheelhouse.
 
There were of course two prominent players missing for Sydney as they travelled to Suncorp to face the fresh Roar. Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge, but almost more importantly for the Skyblues they are now permanently missing Clint Bolton, Simon Colosimo, John Aloisi, and Karol Kisel - players whom most feel have not been adequately replaced during the off-season.

The scenery at Sydney has suddenly become barren for strikers and they struggled to make any headway against the revamped Roar who dominated proceedings. For Roar, basically the whole team from last season is missing, and they are obviously better for it. 

 Wellington Phoenix are hardly missing key personnel bar Jade North who is yet to debut for his new club. Maybe this is why they looked impressive against a faltering Central Coast outfit. The Mariners were missing Chris Doig who’s future is the subject of much conjecture, and Patricio Perez their import who seems to constantly be on the cusp of making his debut, but always seems to be a late withdrawal.

The most interesting person missing was sitting on the bench though - as an underfire Graham Arnold left off-season signing Daniel McBreen warming the bench for the entirety of the match, despite being two goals down and in dire need of some strike power.

 One key person you can almost guarantee that will be missing next week though is referee Chris Boyle...who may have had the shortest refereeing career in A-League history after the dust has settled on this weekend's performance.

Or alternatively the FFA may well end up naming him Ref of the Year at their awards night in February...you never can tell with them.

 
Adelaide United                        3 (Mathew LECKIE 2’, Iain RAMSAY 52’/88’)
Melbourne Heart                       2 (Rutger WORM 42’, Eli BABALJ 74’)
Friday, 20 August 2010
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Referee: Ben Williams
Assistant referees: Daniel Goodwin and Curtis Wordsworth
Fourth official: Regis Queffelec
Crowd: 7,370
 
The best thing that could have happened to Adelaide happened during the warm ups. Their star signing Sergio Van Dijk re-aggravated his Achilles injury and was forced to miss the game. Now for most teams the loss of  prolific striker like Van Dijk may cause concern to a club, but for Adelaide it allowed them to play Matthew Leckie upfront and  revert to the old counter attacking style that has served them so well in previous campaigns.

Conversely Heart was missing Alex Terra, which unfortunately for Heart, did not have the same effect. It was also the opportunity for old coaching colleagues Rini Coolen and John Van’t Schipp to catch up from their days at FC Twente.

But just after the two opposing coaches had finished shaking hands, Adelaide had put the first goal on the board, thanks to a Marrone mistake and Leckie pace. Beauchamp slipped whilst attempting to chase Leckie down and for the majority of the first half so did the rest of Melbourne Hearts players.

Leckie was a continual threat with his pace in much the same way that Nikita Rukavytsya was when he was with Perth Glory. Despite Adelaide’s dominance they went into half time all square after Heffernan who was showing great promise down the left flank whipped in a cross for Rutger Worm to meet with a stiff header.
 
Marcos Flores was conducting the Adelaide attack to perfection, instrumental in Ramsay’s first goal. Again Melbourne pulled back level with some smart work on the side line by Matt Thompson setting up Eli Balbaj.

Flores continued to run the show, scoring a goal that was correctly disallowed for offside. There was no denying the late winner by Ramsay, who played a one two pass with Flores and buried the ball in the net. Though the score sheet will show Ramsay scored two and Leckie scored one, the main man for Adelaide was no doubt Flores.

As for Melbourne, they showed great fighting qualities, but are still trying to play like a team rather than a group of players assembled a couple of months ago.

Adelaide United line-up: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS (c), 10.Marcos FLORES (15.Francsco MONTEROSSO 90’+2), 12.Paul REID, 16.Inseob SHIN (25.Matthew MULLEN 67’), 17.Iain RAMSAY, 19.Mathew LECKIE (gk), 24.Cameron WATSON
 
Substitutes not used: 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 23.Joe COSTA
Yellow Cards: Iain FYFE 5’
Red Cards: Nil
 
Melbourne Heart line-up: 1.Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 4.Simon COLOSIMO (c), 5.Michael BEAUCHAMP, 6.Matthew THOMPSON, 7.Rutger WORM, 9.Gerald SIBON, 10.Wayne SRHOJ (3.Brendan HAMILL 66’), 22.Nick KALMAR, 23.Dean HEFFERNAN (19.Eli BABALJ 66’), 24.Aziz BEHICH (17.Jason HOFFMAN 73’)
 
Substitutes not used: 12.Peter ZOIS (gk)
Yellow Cards: Rutger WORM 45’+1, Wayne SRHOJ 65’, Jason HOFFMAN 75’, Michael BEAUCHAMP 84’
Red Cards: Nil

 
Perth Glory                 1 (Branko JELIC 45’)
Newcastle Jets           0
Saturday, 21 August 2010
nib Stadium, Perth
Referee: Matthew Breeze
Assistant referees: Joe Fusari and Michael Nugus
Fourth official: Matthew Cheeseman
Crowd: 12,031
 
Perth continued their strong start to the season by defeating a flat Newcastle team at home. The contest was decided just before half time when Branko Jelic was hit by a ricochet Howarth effort and bundled the ball into the back of the net amid protests by all the Newcastle players in the vicinity.

This led to a muted celebration by Jelic, as Newcastle contested that the ball struck Jelic on the arm, nevertheless the goal stood. Jelic had only been on the field for seven minutes after a substitution was forced upon Perth due to an ankle injury to their Australian marquee Mile Sterjovski.

Although the clumsy goal decided the encounter, it wasn’t indicative of how Perth controlled the contest having 15 shots to Newcastle’s 6.  Perth attacked with pace as their attacking fervour forced Newcastle into numerous fouls. Robbie Fowler was unlucky not to open his Glory account with his effort hitting the cross bar.

Likewise Marco Jesic hit the cross bar with Newcastle’s closest attempt with a free kick outside the goal area in the first half. Jets were forced to live off scrap possession as Perth enjoyed dominance in the midfield. It was only as the game was winding down did Newcastle insert their authority into the contest. Unfortunately for Newcastle, it was way too late.

Perth Glory line-up: 1. Tando VELAPHI, 3. Jamie COYNE, 5. Jamie HARNWELL (2. Josh MITCHELL 90’+2), 7. Jacob BURNS (C), 9.Robbie FOWLER (23. ANDRIJA JUKIC 87’), 12. Scott NEVILLE, 14. Steven McGARRY, 16. Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17. Todd HOWARTH, 19. Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21. Mile STERJOVSKI (11. Branko JELIC 38’)
 
Substitutes not used: 20. Aleks VRTESKI 
Yellow cards: Scott NEVILLE 29’, Jacob BURNS 59’
Red cards: Nil
 
Newcastle Jets line up: 1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D’APUZZO, 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI 7. Kasey WEHRMAN 8. Michael BRIDGES (14. Labinot HALITI 67’), 10. Ruben ZADKOVICH, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE (19. Ali ABBAS 46’), 16. Jeremy BROCKIE, 18. Marko JESIC, 
 
Substitutes not used: 2. Taylor REGAN, 30. Paul HENDERSON
Yellow cards: Ruben ZADKOVICH 43’
Red cards: Nil

 
Brisbane Roar                                      1 (Matt MCKAY 53’)
Sydney FC                                           0
Saturday, 21 August 2010
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Local kick-off: 7.30pm
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant referees: Brad Hobson and Nathan MacDonald
Fourth official: Jarred Gillett
Crowd: 10,339
 
Sydney came into the contest without their Killer Bs, but even with those two in the line up, they would have struggled to make an impact as Brisbane dominated with exciting passing and movement that has made the whole league take notice.

Brisbane had Sydney chasing their tails throughout the contest as they chased the men in orange continually but were always a step behind as Brisbane moved the ball quickly and precisely. Sydney were forced to hack the ball out of their defence and continued to give up possession easily as Brisbane harassed the sky blues into mistakes.

Nick Carle battled heroically but was outnumbered and unsupported. Sydney had five shots on the night, with only one of those five looking anywhere near threatening via a Grant header that clipped the bar in the second half.

Despite Roar’s dominance of possession, they were wasteful and were always in danger of not getting the points they deserved from the contest. A smart passing move lead to a well-taken Matt McKay goal early in the second half.

Mitch Nichols was guilty of not putting the ball into the back of the net as he had numerous chances; Kosta Barbourouses was guilty of this charge as well, spurning a one on one opportunity. The controversy of the encounter involved a goalline save from ex Roar player Liam Reddy, which resulted in appeals stating the ball was over the line, replays were inconclusive but the referee’s decision will show it wasn’t a goal.

Brisbane Roar Line-up: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matthew Smith, 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC (23.Milan SUSAK 18’), 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10. HENRIQUE (11. REINALDO 81’), 15. Matt MCKAY, 17. Mitch NICHOLS (18. Luke BRATTAN 68’), 22. Thomas BROICH
 
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk)
Yellow Cards: HENRIQUE 40’
Red Cards: Nil
  
Sydney FC Line-up: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL 3. Stephan KELLER, 5. Hayden FOXE (12. Shannon COLE 81’), 8. Stuart MUSIALIK 10. Nicky CARLE (6. Hiro MORIYASU 77’), 11. Kofi DANNING (7. Brendan GAN 70’),15. Terry MCFLYNN, 21. Scott JAMIESON 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT
 
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk)
Yellow Cards: Hayden FOXE 10’, Scott Jamieson 39’, Sung-Hwan BYUN 45’
Red Cards: Nil

Wellington Phoenix                              2 (Leo BERTOS 10’, Paul IFILL 61’)
Central Coast Mariners             0
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee: Peter O’Leary
Assistant referees:
Fourth official:
Crowd: 9,553
 
Wellington Phoenix took their unbeaten run at the cake tin to 21 adding Central Coast Mariners to their list of victims by defeating them 2-0.

A fairly innocuous opening was set alight by a Jess Vanstratten brain explosion as he ventured into the middle of the park with no apparent agenda. He escaped without being punished but the Wellington crowd were on his case from that point onwards giving him plenty of attention every time he came close to the ball.  

Manny Muscat then ventured into the box and cleverly cut back to an appreciative Leo Bertos to send Wellington into the lead. Overall, however, the passing of both teams left a lot to be desired.

Just when you thought that the game was lacking a bit of class up steps Paul Ifill who received a deft chip throughball and slapped it with the outside of his left foot, sending the ball zipping into the top corner of the goal.

Late in the contest Oliver Bozanic showed a glimpse of his potential with a stunning strike forcing Mark Paston into a save whilst Muscat did everything in his power to make it difficult for him. Bozanic continued to look dangerous in the last ten minutes but failed to put any pressure on the scoreboard

Wellington Phoenix line-up: 1. Mark PASTON (gk), 2. Manny MUSCAT, 3. Tony LOCHHEAD, 6. Tim BROWN, 7. Leo BERTOS (10. Oscar Roberto CORNEJO 58’), 8. Paul IFILL, 9. Chris GREENACRE, 17. Vince LIA, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 22. Andrew DURANTE, 23. Dylan MACALLISTER (11. DANIEL 90’+2)
  Substitutes not used: 30. Griffin McMASTER (gk), 13. Troy HEARFIELD
Yellow Cards: Tony LOCHHEAD 64’
Red Cards: Nil

Central Coast Mariners line-up: 1. Jess VANSTRATTAN (gk), 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 5. Brad PORTER (9. Nik MRDJA 64’), 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 11. Oliver BOZANIC, 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 18. Alex WILKINSON (c), 19. Matt SIMON
  Substitutes not used: 20. Mathew RYAN (gk), 2. Daniel McBREEN, 17. Chris DOIG
Yellow Cards: Nik MRDJA 76’
Red Cards: Nil 

Melbourne Victory                                2 (Kevin MUSCAT 5’ (pen)/75’ (pen))
North Queensland Fury                        2 (Eugene SSEPPUYA 15’, Chris PAYNE 82’ (pen))       
Sunday, 22 August 2010
AMII Park, Melbourne
Referee: Chris Boyle
Assistant referees: Hakan Anaz and Shaun Evans
Fourth official:  Kevin Docherty
Crowd: 13,318
 

There wasn’t much that didn’t happen in this contest. Fury came into the match looking to continue their positive start to the season while Victory were looking to stop a slide, which is quite a contrast to how these teams operated last season.

Fury opened full of purpose and were determined not to take a back step from the intimidating Victory lineup. Hernandez looked to embarrass Pasfield early with a quickly taken free kick that went just wide of the post. David Williams was causing concern to the Victory defence with his pace his ultimate weapon.

Fury forward Ssepuya ensured that his team took advantage of their bright start, dribbling a shot through a sea of Victory legs to give the public another display of North Queensland’s goal celebration dance.

 In the 28th minute the game turned on its head as Robbie Kruse went down in the penalty box after a touch from Chris Grossman. Referee Chris Boyle gave Grossman a harsh straight red, handing Fury a double blow of a man down and a goal scored through the resulting reliable spot kick of Kevin Muscat.

Those who thought the first half was full of excitement would be flabbergasted by the second. This half included two yellow cards for simulation in the penalty box and two more penalties.

Victory newboy Kellaway enticed a rash challenge from Malik on the very edge of the box that Muscat again converted. As if Boyle hadn’t had enough influence on the game, he awarded yet another penalty for holding from a corner kick.

The resulting fracas saw Akoto receive another red for pushing a theatrical Muscat in the chest to retrieve something from the ground. Fury down to nine men but now on level terms thanks to Payne’s conversion from the spot.

As expected Melbourne dominated possession and bombarded the thin Fury defence. Justin Pasfield excelling with several fine saves even into the fourth minute of time added on. Mark Hughes was spectacular for the resilient and courageous North Queensland team garnering man of the match honours.

Melbourne Victory line-up: 1.Michael PETKOVIC (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (c), 3.Mate DUGANDZIC, 5. Surat SUKHA, 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 19.Evan BERGER, 21.Robbie KRUSE, 23.Adrian LEIJER
 
Substitutes not used: 11.Marvin ANGULO, 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 20.Sebastian MATTEI (gk), 27. Geoff KELLAWAY
Yellow cards: Adrian LEIJER 10’, Leigh BROXHAM 51’, Mate DUGANDZIC 55’, Robbie KRUSE 65’, Diogo FERREIRA 81’
Red cards: Nil
 
North Queensland Fury line-up: 1. Justin PASFIELD (gk), 4. Eric AKOTO, 5. Mark HUGHES, 7. Gareth EDDS (c), 9. Eugene SSEPPUYA, 11. David WILLIAMS, 14. Chris GROSSMAN, 15. Chris PAYNE, 16. Simon STOREY, 17. Osama MALIK, 19. Isaka CERNAK 
Substitutes not used: 6. Ufuk TALAY, 8. Adam CASEY, 10. Dyron DAAL, 20. Matthew HAM (gk)
Yellow cards: Nil 
Red cards: Chris GROSSMAN 29’, Eric AKOTO 81’

Weekend Break: Gold Coast United
 

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
 
1 -  Eli BABALJ, Leo BERTOS, Jeremy BROCKIE, Alex BROSQUE, Leigh BROXHAM, Billy CELESKI, Shannon COLE, Jason CULINA, Dyron DAAL, Mate DUGANDZIC, Iain FYFE, Jamie HARNWELL, Scott JAMIESON, Mathew LECKIE, Terry MCFLYNN, Matt MCKAY, Scott NEVILLE, Eugene SSEPPUYA, Matt SIMON, Alex WILKINSON, David WILLIAMS, Rutger WORM