The A-League threw up more interesting results in Round 14, leaving onlookers no closer to picking an outright championship favourite. It got under way on Friday night with the vital clash between Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The Reds were in desperate need of a home win and were unlucky not to go ahead early on but their missed chances let the Roar and a Sergio van Dijk double did the damage, leaving Adelaide just one point off the bottom of the table whilst Brisbane's much-needed win put them seventh.
Adelaide United: 0 Brisbane Roar: 2 (Sergio van Dijk (p) '35, '51) Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium Crowd: 11,209 Yellow crads:ADE - nil BRI - Craig Moore '24, David Dodd '56, Ivan Franjic '61, Mitch Nichols '76, Mario Karlovic '88
On Saturday, the Central Coast Mariners came, saw and conquered the Melbourne Victory for the second time this season.
A crafty goal in the 15th minute by Adam Kwasnik got the visitors off to a good start and despite letting the Victory in with plenty of scoring chances, the Mariners managed to scored three late goals to record their second win on the road over the reigning champions.
Melbourne Victory: 0 Central Coast Mariners: 4 (Adam Kwasnik '15, Matt Simon '75, Dean Heffernan '80, Nik Mrdja '83) Venue: Etihad Stadium Crowd: 18,532 Yellow cards:MV - nil CCM - Nigel Boogaard '45+1, Nicky Travis '88
In what was billed as the match of the round, Gold Coast United hosted league leaders Sydney FC.
It was a chance for the Sky Blues to go four points clear on top after Melbourne's loss but they were unable to make the most of a perfect opportunity and failed to fire a shot against United who bounced back from two defeats on the trot.
Gold Coast United: 1 (Shane Smeltz '36) Sydney FC: 0 Venue:Sydney Football Stadium Crowd: 5,364 Yellow cards:GCU - Jason Culina '38, Steve Pantelidis '88 SYD - Terry McFlynn '24, Shannon Cole '25, Stuart Musialik '38
On Sunday, Wellington Phoenix managed a late equaliser to take a point from their clash with Perth Glory.
In-form striker Paul Ifill cancelled out Wayne Srhoj's 69th minute opener to give his side a share of the points to keep them in the top six.
Wellington Phoenix: 1 (Paul Ifill '82) Perth Glory: 1 (Wayne Srhoj '69) Venue: Westpac Stadium Crowd: 6,930 Yellow cards:WEL - Paul Ifill '18, Vince Lia '35, Ben Sigmund '74 PER - Wayne Srhoj '63, Jacob Burns '81
Finally, the Newcastle Jets finally got back to some long overdue form, accounting for the previously in-form North Queensland Fury.
A goal each to skipper Matt Thompson and English import Michael Bridges did the damage and lifted the Jets off the bottom of the table, relegating their opponents to the unenviable position.
Newcastle Jets: 2 (Matt Thompson '55, Michael Bridges (p) '85) North Queensland Fury: 0 Venue: EnergyAustralia Stadium Crowd: 6,127 Yellow cards:NEW - Labinot Haliti '34 NQF - nil
