In the Friday night contest Michael Bridges turned on his class, and orchestrated Newcastle's victory with skill and composure and a quality volley that opened the scoring.

Newcastle literally turned their frowns upside down, forgetting the financial debacle engulfing the club, and providing a clinic to Perth who have now suffered two losses on the trot.

Robbie Fowler crashed hard into the turf during the contest and was eventually substituted nursing a suspected injured shoulder. Perth's display left Dave Mitchell questioning their desire, and also left many pundits questioning if Mitchell has figured out how best to use Fowler.

Melbourne Victory took their weary legs to Townville, where they were made to look even wearier by an enthusiastic Fury squad coming off a bye. Melbourne's marquee Hernandez was shackled and missing for the bulk of the contest - as were the rest of his team mates.

North Queensland's team doesn't have a marquee per se, rather a youthful team willing to have a go, as they did, but also the inability to capitalise on their possesion.

Adelaide took their unbeaten streak to Brisbane, and kept that tag of being undefeated. Flores was as dangerous as ever, although he was as not as prevalent as he had been in previous contests.

However Sergio Van Dijk's home coming wasn't too pleasant, as he missed an open goal, and was widely booed by the Brisbane faithful. Broich continued to display his silky skills in the Roar midfield, and now has a goal to add to his resume. The contest was cut and thrust and as both managers noted they were happy to get a point from the contest.

Melbourne Heart's stars seemed to all read from the same script against Wellington, as Sibon, Terra and Aloisi all made an impact, where Wellington were suffering from the increased workload.

The less said about Central versus Gold Coast the better, as it pitted one team who emphasised their defence against the other team who are struggling to find their offense, resulting in a dull affair.
 
 
Jets v Glory

The Jets saw the gloomy rain-filled clouds, that have hovered over their heads for the last few weeks, clear momentarily as they accounted for Perth Glory on Friday night.

Newcastle dominated every statistical category on their way to a deserved 2-0 victory. Michael Bridges was at his best again directing the Jets attack, and providing the first goal of the contest with a sublime volley that exploded into the back of the net.

There was no doubting his class as every little touch was perfect. Haliti put the finishing touches to the contest with a well-worked goal as time was running out. There were many other opportunities that came Newcastle's way, but they were unable to capitalize, including a Zadkovich shot that cannoned into the post.

The Perth squad looked deflated and were well off the pace as they rarely troubled Ben Kennedy in the Jets goal. Robbie Fowler was again left unsupported in a solitary role up front. Fowler eventually succumbed to a shoulder complaint after he fell head first during a challenge for the ball. Dave Mitchell bemoaned the lack of commitment exhibited by the travelling Perth outfit, citing Newcastle's desperation and "backs against the wall" mentality the enabled them to come out on top.

Newcastle Jets 2 (Bridges 10', Haliti 89')
Perth Glory 0

Newcastle Jets
1. Ben KENNEDY - 7
3. Adam D'APUZZO - 6
4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY - 7
5. Ljubo MILICEVIC - 7
6. Ben KANTAROVSKI - 6
7. Kasey WEHRMAN - 7
8. Michael BRIDGES - 8
9. Zhang SHUO - 6
10. Ruben ZADKOVICH - 8
11. Tarek ELRICH - 7
16. Jeremy BROCKIE - 7
19. Ali ABBAS - 7
15. Sean ROONEY - 6
14. Labinot HALITI - 8

Perth Glory
1. Tando VELAPHI - 8
2. Josh MITCHELL - 6
3. Jamie COYNE - 6
4. Andy TODD - 6
5. Jamie HARNWELL - 6
7. Jacob BURNS - 6
9. Robbie FOWLER - 6
14. Steven MCGARRY - 7
16. Adriano PELLEGRINO - 6
17. Todd HOWARTH - 6
21. Mile STERJOVSKI - 6
10. Michael BAIRD - 6
19. Naum SEKULOVSKI - 6
11. Branko JELIC - 6

Man of the Match - Newcastle Jets skipper Michael Bridges led by example with an exceptional all-
round performance; his early goal setting the tone for a consistent and creative ninety minutes.

Weakest Player - It would be unfair to say that any one player put in a noticeably weaker
performance than the rest of those who took the field. This match was merely a case of Newcastle
Jet's overall team performance bettering that of the Perth Glory.


Fury v Victory

Melbourne managed to hold on for a 0-0 draw with a North Queensland team who were eager to make amends for their controversial encounter earlier in the season. Unfortunately for Akoto, Kevin Muscat missed the match due to injury so we will have to wait for that rematch.

Melbourne's fatigue showed as they played their third game in a week, their attack was blunt with Hernandez shackled all evening. They had a couple of opportunities to break the draw but were unable to trouble the scoresheet, although Pondeljak forced Paston into a diving save in the 33rd minute to maintain the clean sheet.

North Queensland could not convert the majority of possession into a goal. Chris Grossman had the best attempts on goal for Fury, but was unable to produce the quality needed at those crucial times. Williams was as dangerous as ever, and Talay showed desperation in the second half that almost paid dividends with an outlandish effort in the second half that had Petkovic scrambling. The points were shared but North Queensland should feel aggrieved that they didn't capitalise on the opportunity to maximise their points haul from a flat Victory side.

 

North Queensland Fury 0

Melbourne Victory 0

North Queensland Fury
1. Justin PASFIELD - 7
3. Brad MCDONALD - 6
4. Eric AKOTO - 7
5. Mark HUGHES - 8
6. Ufuk TALAY - 7
7. Gareth EDDS - 6
9. Eugene SSEPPUYA - 6
11. David WILLIAMS - 7
14. Chris GROSSMAN - 6
16. Simon STOREY - 7
17. Osama MALIK - 7
21. Jason SPAGNUOLO - 6
12. Panny NIKAS - 6

Melbourne Victory
1. Michael PETKOVIC - 7
5. Surat SUKHA - 7
6. Leigh BROXHAM - 7
8. Grant BREBNER - 6
9. RICARDINHO - 6
12. Rodrigo VARGAS - 7
14. Billy CELESKI - 6
15. Tom PONDELJAK - 7
16. Carlos HERNANDEZ - 7
19. Evan BERGER - 6
23. Adrian LEIJER - 7
27. Geoff KELLAWAY -

Man of the Match - A match dominated by the two central defence pairings once again proved Mark
Hughes' credentials as a top A-League defender, continuing his solid early season form.

Weakest Player - Melbourne Victory's Evan Berger found himself in a tough situation due to the
constant pressure applied by David Williams. He struggled to contain the Fury flyer in the first half but lifted in the second when Williams was shifted into a central position.


Roar V Reds

After this encounter Adelaide remain undefeated and Brisbane remain undefeated at home. An entertaining and open game was enjoyed as the game was back and forth for the bulk of the contest.

Adelaide opened well and had Brisbane on the backfoot early which, in turn, gave them plenty of time on the ball.

That early dominance led Leckie to enjoy some space outside the box, and with Brisbane players back tracking and not closing down, gave him enough time to slot the opening goal into the net.

It was their only goal for the game, but it wasn't because of lack of opportunities, Hughes hit the woodwork early, Flores had a one on one with the keeper but was thwarted by Theoklitos. The glaring miss was provided by Sergio van Dijk, much to the enjoyment of the Suncorp crowd that laughed and jeered for minutes after he failed to put the ball into an empty net. He was then loudly booed by the Roar faithful when he was substituted late.

Brisbane, were again lacking the killer instinct up front. Reinaldo and Solarzano showed glimpses of working well, but at times looked like they had run out of ideas on how to put the ball into the back of the net. Reinaldo can consider himself unlucky not to have scored as Galekovic had little knowledge of his shot that ricocheted off his boot and onto the post.

The Roar did equalize through a long range free kick from Broich that was untouched and bounced into the net. Broich was again crafty in the midfield and has displayed some magnificent touch so far this campaign. Matt Smith was also resilient in defence and dominated the taller and stronger Van Dijk in the aerial contests.

Brisbane Roar 1 (Broich 35')
Adelaide United 1 (Leckie 27')

Brisbane Roar
1. Michael THEOKLITOS - 6
2. Matt SMITH - 7
4. Shane STEFANUTTO - 6
6. Erik PAARTALU - 6
8. Massimo MURDOCCA - 6
9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO - 6
11. REINALDO - 6
12. Matt MUNDY - 6
15. Matt MCKAY - 6
22. Thomas BROICH - 8
23. Milan SUSAK - 7
7. Kosta BARBAROUSES - 6
14. Rocky VISCONTE - 6

Adelaide United
1. Eugene GALEKOVIC - 6
2. Robert CORNTHWAITE - 7
4. Iain FYFE - 7
6. CASSIO - 6
7. Lucas PANTELIS - 6
8. Adam HUGHES - 7
9. Sergio VAN DIJK - 5
10. Marcos FLORES - 8
12. Paul REID - 6
19. Mathew LECKIE - 8
24. Cameron WATSON - 6
17. Iain RAMSAY - 6

Man of the Match - Two of the league's most creative players, Brisbane Roar's Thomas Broich and
Adelaide United's Marcos Flores, looked more willing and able than any other to inspire opportunities for their respective teams.

Weakest Player - Some credit must be given to Adelaide United's Sergio Van Dijk for getting himself into dangerous areas but two glaring misses in front of goal denied his side a chance to take all three points.


Heart V Phoenix

Melbourne Heart secured their second win at AAMI stadium as the squad that promised so much pre-season finally gelled in the second half, putting on an outstanding attacking performance that was not represented on the scoreboard.

It was a nondescript first half that exploded when Melbourne started weaving together flowing attacking moves that wound up with Aloisi scoring his first for Heart via a Sibon pinpoint cross. Aloisi's involvement escalated and provided another example of mind blowing goal misses as he hit the bar from less than 5 metres out. Alex Terra then eventually doubled the lead as he scored as deserved goal rewarding his endeavor and guile.

Wellington eventually  managed to get a goal back via a pinperfect cross with the outside of the boot by Ifill to Tim Brown. Nick Ward continued to impress for his new club. Wellington, like Melbourne Victory seemed to have suffered from the 3 games in a week fatigue.

Melbourne Heart 2 Wellington Phoenix 1

Melbourne Heart FC:
1.Clint BOLTON (gk) - 7/10
2.Michael MARRONE - 8/10
3.Brendan HAMILL - 6/10
4.Simon COLOSIMO (c) - 7/10
6.Matt THOMPSON - 7/10
7.Rutger WORM - 8/10
9.Gerald SIBON - 6/10
10.Wayne SRHOJ - 7/10
11.ALEX TERRA - 8/10
15.John ALOISI - 8/10
19.Eli BABALJ - 6/10
20.Josip SKOKO - 7/10
22.Nick KALMAR - 6/10
23.Dean HEFFERNAN - 6/10

Wellington Phoenix:
2.Manny MUSCAT - 6/10
3.Tony LOCHHEAD - 6/10
4.Nick WARD - 6/10
6.Tim BROWN - 7/10
7.Leo BERTOS - 7/10
8.Paul IFILL - 6/10
9.Chris GREENACRE - 6/10
11.DANIEL - 6/10
13.Troy HEARFIELD - 6/10
15.Jade NORTH - 6/10
18.Ben SIGMUND - 5/10
19.Danny VUKOVIC (gk) - 7/10
22.Andrew DURANTE (c) - 7/10
23.Dylan MACALLISTER - 6/10

Man of the Match: Melbourne Heart's Michael Marrone played a crucial role
on the right side of the pitch. He set up attacks and closed down Wellington; an
excellent game for the young defender.

Weakest Player: Wellington Phoenix's Ben Sigmund didn't have a particularly good
game. His marking was questionable, especially during the Melbourne attack that
resulted in John Aloisi's goal.


Gold Coast V Mariners
 
An empty Skilled Park witnessed a nil all draw. Primarily this game is a story of missed opportunities for Gold Coast.

In front of just over 2000 fans, the Gold Coast were flacid in front of goal as they struggle to cover the loss of Smeltz and Porter. The 2000 supporters will be hard pressed to remember the last time Gold Coast scored at home.

Bleiberg tried Adama Traore up front to try and solve their offensive woes. In the end though it was a lack of touch and class in the final third. Culina tried to will his charges to victory but many were unable to follow his lead. Newcastle may be in financial trouble, but Gold Coast with the all time lowest (Australian) attendance in A-League history are standing on a slippery slope.

Central Coast's campaign so far this season is built on the shoulders of their defence, in particular their two central defenders who are near on impregnable. The encounter against Gold Coast did not highlight any attacking powers that Central Coast will require in order to challenge for the league title this year.

Gold Coast United 0 Central Coast Mariners 0

Gold Coast United:

1.Glen MOSS (gk) - 6/10
2.Steve PANTELIDIS - 7/10
3.Michael THWAITE - 8/10
5.ROBSON - 6/10
6.Dino DJULBIC - 7/10
7.Zenon CARAVELLA - 7/10
8.ANDERSON - 7/10
10.Jason CULINA (c) - 8/10
11.Bruce DJITE - 7/10
16.Kristian REES - 7/10
19.Andrew BARISIC - 6/10
22.Adama TRAORE - 7/10
24.John CURTIS - 6/10

Central Coast Mariners squad:
2. Daniel MCBREEN - 6/10
3.Joshua ROSE - 7/10
4.Pedj BOJIC - 8/10
6.Patrick ZWAANSWIJK - 8/10
7.John HUTCHINSON - 6/10
8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS - 6/10
10.Patricio PEREZ - 7/10
14.Michael McGLINCHEY - 6/10
18.Alex WILKINSON (c) - 8/10
19.Matt SIMON - 5/10
20.Mathew RYAN (gk) - 7/10
23.Adam KWASNIK - 6/10

Man of the Match: It was a night for the central defenders as Gold Coast United's Michael Thwaite and Central Coast Mariners' Alex Wilkinson both put in impressive efforts to nullify the oppositions' attacks.

Weakest Player: Central Coast Mariners' Matt Simon wasn't in his best form. When not drifting offside, he simply committed too many fouls to get into the game and tended to stop his team's attacks, rather than encourage them.