Melbourne Victory 2 Perth Glory 3

Western Sydney Wanderers 1 Sydney FC 1

Brisbane Roar 2 Melbourne Heart 0

Adelaide United 0 Central Coast Mariners 2

A Fight To The Finish

There is one round left in the 2012/13 season of the A-League and things are perfectly poised for a grand stand finish.  The Premiere’s Plate is not yet decided with Western Sydney Wanderers unable to beat Sydney FC at home.  A victory by the Mariners over Adelaide ensured that it will go down to the wire.  A win or a draw will do for the Wanderers against Newcastle Jets but if they lose, then the Mariners are a chance to pip them to the post with a vastly superior goal difference.

Brisbane Roar continued their weirdly inconsistent form this season when they faced Melbourne Heart, who had put seven goals past the Roar in the previous two fixtures.  This time, the Roar looked like the team of old, at least in the first half, when they scored 2 goals and peppered the Heart goal with over a dozen shots.  They closed out the game 2-0 and are in control of their own destiny heading into the final round.  Their last game is an enticing home game against Sydney FC.  A win secures finals qualification.  A draw or loss puts them in jeopardy of being replaced by Perth Glory or Newcastle Jets.

The highlight of the round was the Sydney Derby (see video above) between the Wanderers and Sydney FC.  For a rivalry that is three matches old, it has already produced some entertaining games and a cracking atmosphere.  Seeing the sellout crowd going crazy for the full ninety minutes in a fixture that featured Alessandro Del Piero and Shinji Ono is a sign of how far the league has come in eight years.  One season, I’d definitely like to get down to NSW and experience it first hand.  Particularly since Queensland doesn’t even have a local derby 🙁

It’s a short week and then from Thursday, it’s all on.  The final round of the season and plenty to play for.