This is a match review of the Perth game last week, written on Monday but not published due to the site being down.

It never ceases to amaze how the Melbourne Victory can follow up excellent performances against top-ranked teams with mediocre efforts against teams propping up the bottom of the table.

We may have given Perth a hiding when we played them at home, but Melbourne can’t seem to get the edge over the West Australians in Perth. This is the second time this season that Melbourne has been solidly beaten by the Glory.

After last night’s match I was left wondering how Perth managed to squander its season so effortlessly when it is capable of turning in performances like that. David Mitchell has so much talent at his disposal, even with Nikita Ruykavitsya’s departure. Eugene Dadi again put two in against Melbourne, while … Sikora and Adriano Pelegrino were impressive in midfiield.

The clue to Perth’s failure this season may be gleaned from the first 20 minutes of last night’s game. Archie Thompson and Danny Allsopp caught the Perth defence napping after just three minutes, with Allsopp slotting home the opener. The onslaught from Melbourne continued, with Carlos Hernandez missing a golden opportunity and Allsopp nearly doubling his score count.

But Melbourne didn’t take its chances, and Perth seized upon this little glimmer of hope. After a short drinks break around the 22 minute mark, Perth clearly began to dominate the game. Goals from Dadi and Ruykavitsya had the Glory a goal up at half time.

In the second half, I felt that Melbourne had the edge over Perth, especially after Ney Fabiano took advantage of a stray ball in front of goal to bring the score to 2-2. Dadi’s second goal came at a perfect time for the Glory, and a horrible time for Melbourne. We’d been on the ascendancy until then, but that goal proved to be a killer blow.

The young referee, whose name I didn’t catch, had an excellent game until the final ten minutes, when he managed to make two embarrassing errors. First, he unwittingly gave a second yellow to Matthew Kemp for what was a very soft foul – I’m convinced he wouldn’t have given that yellow if he’d remembered that Kemp was already on a yellow. Second, he missed a brilliantly obvious Kevin Muscat foul minutes later: Muscat should have received a red card for trying to pull Dadi down from behind. I don’t blame David Mitchell for being upset about the decision. Muscat deserved a red; Kemp didn’t.

The loss to Perth is a serious blow to our chances of winning the Minor Premiership, as Adelaide United sit a point ahead of us with a game in hand. It’s not impossible, but we need Adelaide to lose games while we win. The result, in other words, is out of our hands.

Melbourne’s performance was a cut above the previous week, with the Victory controlling the game for most of the second half. But two first-half goals in quick succession from Perth’s Ivorian striker, Eugene Dadi, gave the home side a strong lead, which they defended tenaciously. The Victory pressed hard and eventually pulled one back with an enterprising (and somewhat lucky) run by Ney Fabiano in the 55th minute; but after enduring all the pressure, Adriano Pellegrino fired in a wonderful goal in the 78th minute to crush the Victory.

Despite the scoreline, it was a tight game. Perth took their chances, while Melbourne didn’t take theirs. Tom Pondeljak missed a sitter, and Rodrigo Vargas narrowly edged the ball over the crossbar with his header. But football doesn’t reward possession or near-misses, only goals.

Archie Thompson had picked up a knock at training the day before, putting him out of action. But why did Merrick decide to put him on the bench if he didn’t intend to play him? Last I heard, Merrick was planning to take Evan Berger with the squad to Perth, so why he wasn’t on the bench instead of Archie is beyond me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFkfJzDZLSc[/youtube]

It’s another away game for the Victory, who have only had one at home in the last four matches. But Melbourne will have a week’s rest after this, thanks to Adelaide United’s Club World Cup schedule.

Ernie Merrick yesterday tipped that he would start Grant Brebner, whose form (and fitness) has been diminished over the past month. The Scotsman has started the last two matches but been substituted off at half time. Evan Berger, meanwhile, appears to be ready to return from his injury. I for one have missed the youngster, who added grit and determination to the side.

Merrick has also indicated that Carlos Hernández will be played off the bench, amid concerns that the Costa Rican isn’t quite ready to play a full 90 yet. Maybe so, but I hope Ernie gives Hernández more than 15-20 minutes to work his magic. Hernández made a belated appearance last week in which he clearly lifted Melbourne’s game, but it was too late. It would be great to see Hernández given a full 45 minutes.

Last week, I tipped a win for the Glory, but they were robbed of three points by a late equalizer from the boot of Sasho Petrovski. That draw adds to the pressure this week, as Glory coach David Mitchell has already declared that this is a must-win affair for his side. Perth are on 12 points, well clear of the 18 it currently requires to be in the top 4.

But desperate teams are dangerous, something which Melbourne must be wary of. While we can dream of another 4-0 thrashing, we should realistically expect something much more difficult. The key will be scoring early and putting Perth on the backfoot. The Glory are confidence starved and seem to fall apart when they’re a goal or two down.

My tips for the weekend:

• Adelaide United to draw with Wellington Phoenix. A fourth win in a row for the Phoenix would be truly something; Adelaide are looking very fragile at the moment; but I think the home side will dig in and find themselves a goal or two, enough to draw with Wellington.
• Central Coast Mariners to beat Queensland Roar. This is a critical game for both sides, who are fourth and third, separated by a point. Queensland have the edge on the ladder, but I’m tipping the home side will overtake them.
• Perth Glory to be kept on 12 points, as the mighty Melbourne Victory put at least 2 past them. If Melbourne can take the lead early on (and maintain it), they’ll be halfway there.
• Newcastle Jets to beat Sydney FC. Newcastle desperately need a win this weekend, as they are stranded on the bottom with Perth. Sydney’s poor form is starting to catch up with it, as it has sunk to 6th place. I expect that poor form to continue this weekend, with Newcastle getting the three points they need.

Perth Glory were truly lacklustre, all across the pitch. Mitch Langerak was tested just once – and produced a wonderful acrobatic save to keep a clean sheet – while you only have to look at how easily Melbourne picked up its fourth goal to see how flimsy the Perth defence was. Things are not looking good for the bottom feeders.

The win adds great credibility to Merrick’s claim that Melbourne has the depth to cover for injuries and suspensions this year. Perth may have been poor, but it still takes a pretty good team to manage four goals. Even without Carlos Hernandez, our first-choice goalkeeper and one of our first-pick defenders, we looked the goods.

Meanwhile, Adelaide United stuffed up a 3-0 lead over the Central Coast Mariners, finishing the match with a draw. Sydney FC also drew at home, though they were lucky to come from behind in injury time. The Newcastle Jets host Wellington Phoenix tomorrow.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQJdnPpMj0[/youtube]

Melbourne edges Sydney FC out on goal difference, sits a point ahead of Adelaide United, two ahead of the Central Coast Mariners and three points ahead of Queensland Roar, who inflicted Melbourne’s first defeat of the season last week.

This is a critical round. Adelaide hosts the Mariners tonight, while Queensland have another away game, this time in Sydney. The Wellington Phoenix have a chance for back-to-back victories (they’ve never achieved this before), with the Newcastle Jets missing a host of players, including Joel Griffiths.

Suspensions and injuries have whittled Melbourne’s squad down to barely enough to field a full team. Carlos Hernandez, Michael Theoklitos and Ney Fabiano are all out with suspensions; Sebastian Ryall and Nathan Elasi are on international duty; and Michael Thwaite is out with an ankle injury, while Nick Ward may make a reappearance. Steven Pace has been promoted into the squad, as has Matthew Theodore, who impressed me last week in the Youth League.

The Perth Glory aren’t without their problems. With just four points to show from 6 rounds, they’re holding up the bottom of the table. Former Victory player James Robinson has been ruled out for the next ten weeks with a groin injury, while Amaral, Dinjo Djulbic, Hayden Foxe and Josip Magdic are all still unavailable.

My tips for the weekend:

• Adelaide United to draw with Central Coast Mariners. Both these sides had strong wins last week, and they’re sitting in three and four on the ladder. I’m tipping a draw.
• Melbourne Victory to thump three past the Perth Glory. I like to be specific with my Victory tips. But seriously, even with a less-than-stellar squad, Melbourne should be able to beat the Glory emphatically.
• Sydney FC to draw with Queensland Roar. Again, I’m tipping a draw, but this could really go either way. At the end of the season, I would expect both of these sides to be in the final four.
• Newcastle Jets to draw with Wellington Phoenix. What can Newcastle do without Joel Griffiths? A fired up Wellington might be able to grab a win, but I think a draw’s the more likely outcome.

To quote directly from there:

“Well, we certainly have come full circle.

Once upon a time we had the best team in the land with the most vocal and passionate supporters.

Now we’re bottom of the league with, what are without question, the worst supporters in the country.

After tonights disgraceful performance by the self-appointed ‘best fans in the land’ shed supporters, I call on the club to demolish the area known as the shed and replace it with either seats or more terracing. A move that will give all Glory supporters access to the area and help foster unity.

As far as I am concerned, the GSSC and the general shed area have tonight forfeited any rights or concessions the club has afforded them in the past and do not deserve any further special treatment of the type this minority clique has received for the past 10 years.

Tonight they turned their collective backs on the club by booing a player in purple – at home. “

The player in question was, of course, Simon Colosimo, who had been earlier reported to be leaving the Glory for brighter pastures at Sydney FC. As the writer of the forum post pointed out, Colosimo’s decision to leave Perth behind would undoubtedly have been aided by the Shed’s verbal and painfully obvious rejection of him.

I agree that it’s poor form to boo one of your own players. Very poor form. But I know that Perth Glory fans aren’t the only ones to be guilty of this.

It was only a few rounds ago that a certain section of Melbourne supporters had enough of Matthew Kemp and decided to boo him when he had the ball.

How is that helpful? Did they expect their boos to lead Merrick to take Kemp off there and then, never to play him again? That didn’t happen. Kemp has remained a solid fixture in the squad – despite what some fans think of him.

I agree that Kemp has not had a great season – especially considering the kind of form he was in last season for Adelaide United. The main fault I have found with Kemp this year was a propensity for long balls (shared by Grant Brebner), which did nothing to help a struggling Melbourne attack. At times, he has also been outpaced by opposition attackers (Robbie Kruse, for example).

But I don’t think that he has been woeful. My first glimpse of Kemp came in the pre-season match against Newcastle. My assessment of him then was brief, but I would still use it to describe Kemp’s more recent performances: “committed in defence and drove forward on a number of occasions.” For a defender, Kemp does a good job of getting up front and assisting the attack – while still tracking back to defend when necessary.

It also is worth remembering that Kemp is playing as a left-back – even though his role at Adelaide was as a right-back. It’s always going to be tough for a player that has to adjust to an unfamiliar position in a new team.

This post isn’t designed to be a complete defence of Kemp. As I said, I agree that he hasn’t had a great season. But as a supporter, abusing your own player - especially while he’s playing – is disgraceful. It does not help the player’s performance. And by extension, it doesn’t help the team’s performance. So how is that “supportive”?

What did you think of the fans who booed Kemp? Were you one of them?

And yet, the Melbourne Victory turned up on Sunday and was utterly outclassed by the Perth Glory, who thoroughly deserved to win their first home game in over a year.

That Joe Keenan came straight back into the team after serving his suspension did not surprise me at all. But that Carlos Hernandez was the player to make way… I didn’t see that coming. For me, Hernandez has been an integral part of the team and has been one player who has kept his cool when the heat is on. While other players are happy to boot the ball as far away as a swing of the legs will allow, Hernandez takes his time and finds better passes.

Granted, if Hernandez had been kept in the line-up, it’s not hard to figure out who would have dropped to the bench: Adrian Caceres. Caceres, a former Perth Glory man, took the opportunity of starting against his old team by firing in Melbourne’s best goal of the season by far. It was a goal that gave us Victory fans some hope to hang onto at half time, but it only took the Glory a minute of the 2nd half to widen the gap, again thanks to a Nikita Rukavytsya goal.

Of course, a 2-goal deficit early in the 2nd half of a match isn’t an insurmountable challenge. Not at all. But Melbourne never really looked like coming back. Perth maintained pressure and kept the Victory in their own half. Long balls to Archie became the preferred mode of attack, but rather than look like anything constructive, these long balls just looked desperate, signs of a team lacking creativity and fortitude.

Grant Brebner is one major culprit for these long balls. In the words of fellow blogger Eamonn:

Grant Brebner is no Fred. Nor is he expected to be, but to me when he lifts his head to play a wonderful 40 metre pass the Victory season goes with it.

Brebner isn’t the sole culprit, of course. Matthew Kemp springs to mind. But when Brebner, a central midfielder – and therefore a critical link to the forwards – cannot find any way to attack other than through wasteful long balls, we have a real problem. And it’s a problem that needs to be dealt with soon.

Very soon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZqMvF–AzY[/youtube]

But the glory was short-lived. A loss at home to the Central Coast Mariners and a draw in Adelaide have kept the club at the bottom of the ladder, languishing 3 points behind the Wellington Phoenix and a formidable 9 points outside the top 4.

Still, Glory fans will be hopeful of seeing their team win at home for the first time since November 26 last year. But to do so, they will have to overcome a Melbourne Victory struggling for a spot in the finals.

Perth’s cause will be aided somewhat by the prodigal return of their marquee, Stan Lazaridis. The former Socceroo, who picked up a yearlong ban for drug use, has declared that Perth are still in the running for a spot in the finals. I suppose it’s statistically possible – but it would take nothing short of sheer magic.

The Melbourne Victory are in a much better position to reach the finals. Sitting just 3 points outside the top 4, a win this week would be the ideal start for the sprint to the finals.

Melbourne will have to do without Kevin Muscat, who picked up an automatic 1-week suspension for his red card against Wellington. I don’t subscribe to the theory that Melbourne is unable to win without Muscat. In fact, the Victory’s last win was without Muscat – interestingly enough, that was against Perth.

Joe Keenan returns after serving out a 3-match suspension. Merrick has suggested that he will try Keenan in a midfield role, while retaining last week’s 4-man defense.

Frank Farina suggested earlier this week that Perth will be a crucial factor in determining who makes the finals this year. The Glory’s own hopes for making the finals are tenuous at best, but I have no doubt that Perth can and will steal points.

Let’s just hope it’s not against the Victory.

My prediction: Perth Glory 1, Melbourne Victory 2

Your tip?

It’s a very tight league.

1. Central Coast Mariners
Four points separate Central Coast from the Queensland Roar. It’s a strong, but breakable, lead. From a strictly statistical point of view, the Mariners’ strength has been their defense, which has let through only 9 goals this season. But with strikers like John Aloisi and Sasho Petrovski, and scoring midfielders like Tom Pondeljak, Adam Kwasnik and John Hutchinson, opposition teams will have their work cut for them all across the park. The Mariners are a lethal team at the moment and I would not bet against them finishing top of the ladder.

2. Queensland Roar
Since Frank Farina decided to unleash Michael Zullo and Robbie Kruse, the Roar have a looked a much more impressive affair. Do they have what it takes to knock the Mariners out of the top spot? I doubt it. But you’d think that Farina and co. will be perfectly happy with a top 2 spot, granting them the double chance at the finals.

3. Adelaide United
Adelaide United’s grip on finals football is slipping. A single loss, and Aurelio Vidmar’s team is out of the top 4. Adelaide has lost momentum in the last month, with players like Bruce Djite, Cassio, Bobby Petta, Kristian Sarkies, Daniel Beltrame and Michael Valkanis all missing games due to injury. In the absence of key players, Adelaide has gone four games without winning – a run Vidmar will want to bring to an end tomorrow night in Wellington.

4. Newcastle Jets
Since beating Melbourne in round 10, Newcastle have lost 2 and drawn 2. Coach Gary van Egmond will be particularly worried about his team’s form in front of a home crowd – Newcastle haven’t won any of their last 4 games at home. They may have done enough to remain in the top 4 so far, but Newcastle are far from a certainty for the finals.

5. Sydney FC
Consecutive wins after John Kosmina took over as coach gave Sydney FC fans a world of hope, but those two wins were followed up with three draws, leaving Sydney still outside the top 4. They’re just a point behind Adelaide and Newcastle – but they’re also only 2 points ahead of Melbourne. Will it all come down to the round 21 clash between the Victory and Sydney at the Telstra Dome? Relish the thought!

6. Melbourne Victory
Five games in a row without a win is bad news for any team. Whether you blame the coach, the players, the ref or the KFC mascot, something isn’t sitting right in the Victory arrangement. It feels like we’re still waiting for the team to “click”. I remain hopeful that it can happen, but reaching the finals will take some impressive improvement.

7. Wellington Phoenix
The Phoenix are sitting a full six points outside the top 4, but catching up is certainly no impossibility. The major problem coach Ricky Herbert will want to address is the side’s leaky defense: Wellington has let through a rather embarrassing 25 goals (6 more than bottom of the ladder Perth Glory). On the positive side, the Phoenix haven’t had too much trouble scoring goals. If they can maintain the latter while tightening their defense, the Wellington might have a decent shot at the finals.

8. Perth Glory
Perth ended a one year winning drought three weeks ago with an impressive 4-1 win over Newcastle, but lost and drew its next two games. With nine points separating them from the top 4, Perth have little hope of making it to the finals. The main question now is: Will they become the first Australian team to pick up the wooden spoon?

Anyone care to predict the end-of-season ladder?