The juggernaut that is the Western Sydney Wanderers continued its ascent up the A-League ladder with a 2-1 win over the Victory in Melbourne. Tony Popovic’s team is now just one point behind the league-leading Central Coast Mariners with six rounds to go in the regular season.
Meanwhile, it’s all happening across town, where Sydney FC got its second win in a row, Frank Farina signed on for the long term and Lucas Neill will be on board for next week’s match with Melbourne Heart, the team that he spurned.
Again, the beauty (I guess you could call it that) of a top six in a ten-team competition is that only Wellington – and probably Perth – are out of the finals hunt. That means plenty to play for as we head down the homestretch.
Week 21 Wrap
Newcastle Jets 2, Melbourne Heart 0
The good: The second Newcastle goal - scored by Ryan Griffiths, but set up by Mitch Cooper and Adam Taggart - was a thing of beauty.
The bad: Heart have not won away from home since December of 2011.
The pleasant surprise: Emile Heskey, in the midst of a goal scoring drought, got the opener on a shot that Andrew Redmayne should have stopped.
The bit of levity: Not sure we needed 3-4 replays of the ball slamming into Jeremy Walker's groin.
Sydney FC 2, Adelaide United 1
The good: Everything's rosy at Sydney FC isn't it? Frank Farina signed on as full-time head coach, Lucas Neill is in the fold and the team has won two in a row.
The bad: Adelaide's leaky defense let down stellar keeper Eugene Galekovic again.
The pleasant surprise: Forgotten young talent Terry Antonis got the opening goal, albeit courtesy of a wicked deflection.
The bit of levity: Fox's Mel McLaughlin tweeted that "Lucas" had signed with Sydney FC. For a second, I wondered if things were really that bad at Liverpool.
Melbourne Victory 1, Western Sydney Wanderers 2
The good: A superb game of football, with Western Sydney clearly establishing itself as a legitimate contender for the title. Shinji Ono's goal was as calm a finish as I've ever seen.
The bad: I have nothing against Gary Phillips – and he says some good things – but surely somewhere in this vast country there's a football analyst who has a better voice.
The pleasant surprise: Former Youth League player Connor Pain scored a cracking goal for Victory.
The bit of levity: Slaves to fashion? I love the Wanderers’ warmup jackets, but I'm not convinced they were needed on a 32-degree night.
Perth Glory 2, Central Coast Mariners 1
The good: A stunning win for Perth ended a five-match losing streak and got the Alistair Edwards "era" off to a sensational start.
The bad: Central Coast dropped points and now has just a one-point lead on the rampant Wanderers.
The pleasant surprise: Perth took an early hit – Bernie Ibini's 12th minute goal – but rebounded through Travis Dodd 14 minutes later to get right back into it.
The bit of levity: Perth Rock City? Nice pregame shot of a fan in full Kiss makeup.
Brisbane Roar 2, Wellington Phoenix 0
The good: An ugly, scrappy game played on a terrible surface, but the Roar managed to get a needed three points.
The bad: A toss up between that dreadful pitch at Suncorp and the fools who held up a "Mulvey Out" sign.
The pleasant surprise: Despite all its woes, Brisbane is still in the finals hunt, just two points out of 6th place.
The bit of levity: A tweet from Ned Zelic (@nedzelic) saying "Whose farm is this game being played on?"
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