The A-League continues to throw up interesting results each week and round 13 was no exception. It begun on Friday night with a 1-1 draw between the teams who ended the round in the bottom two, the Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets.
The Jets hit the lead just after the half-hour mark but Labinot Haliti's opener was equalised when Sergio van Dijk converted his penalty for the Roar four minutes later. Brisbane Roar: 1 (Sergio van Dijk (p) '36) Newcastle Jets: 1 (Labinot Haliti '32) Venue: Suncorp Stadium Crowd: 7,509 Yellow cards:BRI - nil NEW - Ben Kantarovski '63
Saturday night saw a dour struggle between Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United at Canberra Stadium.
The Reds and the Mariners were both desperate for a win to firmly entrench themselves in the top four but neither side could get the ascendency on the scoreboard and had to settle for a share of the points. Central Coast Mariners: 0 Adelaide United: 0 Venue: Canberra Stadium Crowd: 5,437 Yellow cards:CCM - Matt Simon '29, Alex Wilkinson '52 AU - Scott Jamieson '71 Red cards:CCM - Matthew Crowell '83
On the Gold Coast on Saturday night, the second derby between this season's two new A-League franchises, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury, ended in a win to the visitors.
The Fury, who had been beaten 5-0 in round 2 by United, turned around the disappointing early-season result at the same venue thanks to a brace by marquee striker Robbie Fowler.
The result saw the Fury climb from bottom on the table to 7th whilst United in 3rd position despite their fifth loss of the season. Gold Coast United: 0 North Queensland Fury: 2 (Robbie Fowler '64, (p) '76) Venue: Skilled Park Crowd: 2,616 Yellow cards:GCU - nil NQF - Rostyn Griffiths '39
On Sunday, Sydney FC kept their recent good form rolling along with a 3-1 home win over Wellington Phoenix, who were coming off a 6-0 demolition of Gold Coast United.
The Sky Blues did all the damage in a twenty minute spell in the first half, led by Alex Brosque who was involved in all three plays that brought about the goals.
The win kept Sydney a point clear on top of the table whilst Wellington find themselves in eight despite showing some good recent form of their own. Sydney FC: 3 (Mark Bridge '15, '35, Steve Corica '31) Wellington Phoenix: 1 (Costa Barbarouses '81) Venue:Sydney Football Stadium Crowd: 10,653 Yellow cards:SYD - Steve Corice '30, Shannon Cole '60, Karol Kisel '71, Stuart Musialik '90+3 WP - Vince Lia '38
Finally, Melbourne Victory broke a hoodoo of sorts by recording an away win over the Perth Glory.
The reigning champions had not tasted success in Western Australia in their last six attempts but managed to grab the points and kick clear in second position on the table with a 2-1 result.
Carlos Hernandez and Archie Thompson again led the show for the Victory who recorded their fifth win from the past six matches. Perth Glory: 1 (Mile Sterjovski '21) Melbourne Victory: 2 (Chris Coyne (og) '7, Carlos Hernandez '67) Venue: Members Equity Stadium Crowd: 10,035 Yellow cards:PER - Adriano Pellegrino '75 MV - Adrian Leijer '38
