A-League tipping Round 6: Sydney Derby headlines, Brisbane to cement return to form against Victory
It was not a great week for tipsters last time out. Texi Smith managed three correct selections and The Crowd stumbled badly, despite still holding a handy lead on the ladder.
Round 6 begins Fridnay night when Brisbane look to cement a poor start to Melbourne Victory’s season. Wellington are at home to Adelaide on Saturday afternoon, before the Mariners host the Reds and the Wanderers welcome Sydney FC in the first of three Sydney Derbies.
Auckland have home field advantage against the Jets on Sunday before Macarthur meets a Perth Glory team that broke its duck in Round 5. Good luck with your tips for the round and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say in the voice of the people.
Here are the thoughts and selections of the panel for all the Round 6 action.
Stuart Thomas
Brisbane, Adelaide, Central Coast, Western Sydney, Auckland, Macarthur
Melbourne Victory need a win, but Brisbane Roar are playing well early in the seaso,n and another loss will make the road back to the top six a long one for Arthur Diles’ team. Brisbane are seriously back.
Adelaide will have the attacking weapons to pinch the points in Wellington, and the Mariners will hold on against a late-charging Melbourne City after going ahead early.
The Sydney Derby will be wild and brutal, with the Wanderers nabbing the points in front of a massive crowd. Newcastle are well off the pace right now and Auckland FC will use home advantage to secure another important win, whilst Macarthur are a serious football team and will bring Perth back to ground after their first win of the season.
Andrew Prentice
Brisbane, Adelaide, Central Coast, Sydney, Auckland, Macarthur
I’m convinced. There’s proper stuff happening in Brisbane, and they faced down the toughest away trip in the league with aplomb last weekend. Anchored by a measly defence, the Roar are now finding their attacking feet, too.
Justin Vidic looked dangerous against Aucklan,d and to be frank, the defence he’ll be facing this round is not as formidable. Victory are taking in water like the Titanic and have looked unlikely most of the campaign.
The Reds lobbed a grenade into proceedings last week, spanking the undefeated champs on a wild Adelaide Friday night. Wellington started the season promisingly but have only one win to show for it. Their attack couldn’t find a way past Macarthur and even more telling, couldn’t score against 9-man Auckland. Craig Goodwin is likely to be back on deck for Adelaide.
Craig Goodwin of Adelaide United (Photo by Texi Smith).
Not good news for the home team. I’m not predicting topless Phoenix fans in the 80th.
Going out on a limb with a Mariners pick, but there’s always an upset somewhere. City’s recent fixture schedule is being unkind to their injury list and despite a midweek home win in the Champions League, the legs might be getting heavy. It’ll be a hot, humid Saturday in Gosford and the Mariners’ fresher legs might tip the scales their way.
The Sydney derby will hopefully be played in front of a chockers stadium at Parramatta. It won’t hurt that the Wanderers got on the board last week with a five-goal thriller against the Mariners. But Sydney look ominous. Four wins in a row, Joe Lolley in form and a defence looking as settled as an Amish village.
The Wanderers will need everyone to be firing, and there is still doubt over the fitness of Brandan Borello, who has been the thorn in the Sky Blues’ side in recent times.
Cue the Cruel Sea, the honeymoon is over, baby. The Jets, Australia Cup winners, scoring at will, ready to light up the league. But three losses in a row and last week’s tepid capitulation to Perth have Newcastle fans facing a familiar grim scenario.
Climbing out of that hole by beating Auckland in Auckland looks, on paper, a pipe dream. They can’t stop conceding, and Auckland know how to stop teams scoring. Not good omens.
While the Glory finally found a win last week, Macarthur have become the team flying very much under the radar. They’re not great, but are far from bad and have unearthed a rough jewel in Harry Sawyer, who is leading the line with tenacity and skill.
Rafael Duran of Macarthur FC (Photo by Texi Smith).
It’s hard to believe that Perth have turned a corner and it’ll be all smooth sailing from now on, although Welsh striker Tom Lawrence may be the alternative route to goal while Adam Taggart finds his scoring boots. Macarthur to win.
Texi Smith
Brisbane, Adelaide, Central Coast, Western Sydney, Auckland, Macarthur
So, Brisbane went close to a win in Auckland, showing that they’re no pushovers this season. Unfortunately, they have to return to Suncorp, after the smashing win on the Sunshine Coast, and the holiday is immediately over.
Somehow, thanks to a toothless Melbourne Victory attack, Brisbane conjure up a single chance in the first half to take the lead through Michael Ruhs, and a second half that has Australia Cup play-offs written all over it ends goalless despite Victory hitting the woodwork three times. Trouble at t’mill!
All of a sudden, it’s crisis time at Wellington Phoenix, and a third home defeat on the spin will turn away the remaining dwindling crowds that remain. Adelaide United win at home and lose away, any mathematician would be tipping the Kiwis to arrest their slide and dispatch their visitors, but this is different.
Even without speedster Dylan Pierias, sent off for some reason in the previous game, they have quality all over the park, and Wellington will again fall victim to Carlo Armiento’s insistence on going solo looking for the wonder goal. Ifeanyi Eze with two great goals for the hosts, but the second is only a late consolation as Luka Jovanovic terrorises the Phoenix defence for a handsome victory.
Melbourne City’s foray into Asia is causing more trouble than it’s worth. After their positive midweek exploits, a trip to Gosford is not ideal, and they struggle to contain the hosts, who are relentless in their pressing.
The recalled Ryan Edmondson scores a first-half brace, either side of Max Caputo’s instinctive finish, and we have to wait until the final minute for the Mariners to put the game to bed, Abdelelah Faisal smashing home the decider in a crazy counterattack from a City corner.
Sydney FC have exceeded expectations since their defeat on the opening day; with their main weapon, the left foot of Joe Lolley, being deployed at will, this could be a high-scoring encounter. Western Sydney Wanderers gave their fans something to cheer last weekend against the Mariners, and they will have renewed confidence.
Joe Lolley of Sydney celebrates scoring. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
They do create chances. A terrific first half, played at breakneck speed, yields no score despite a glut of goalmouth incidents, and the near full house at this magnificent venue roars the teams through a high-tempo battle in the second. In the end, it’s ex-Sydney man Kosta Barbarouses with the finish, sliding home a mis-kicked cross to seal the points for the home team and earn the first bragging rights of the season in a fortunate win.
Home banker alert. Mark Milligan has seen the early-season promise sucked out of his Newcastle Jets squad, and the gleaming new motor has fallen into disrepair. The fast attacking football that we were expecting after they thrashed Melbourne Victory has evaporated, and Auckland FC have a chance to fill their boots following their misfiring performance against the Roar last weekend.
What transpires though, is a see-sawing affair, the cracks in Auckland’s formerly impenetrable ship on show as they take on water in a shaky performance. Trailing in the first ten minutes, Jesse Randall gets Auckland level with a curling effort, before Guillermo May powers home a second just as his replacement is ready to come on in the second half and the excited New Zealand crowd roar on their heroes to victory.
Sunday 6 pm. What a time to try and rally a crowd when your usual attendance barely puts a dent in the capacity. That’s the challenge that faces Macarthur FC, fresh from their Thursday night exploits, and with the mavericks of Perth Glory in town looking for trouble.
The visitors will be bouncing after their unexpected win in Newcastle that lifted them off the bottom of the ladder, and anything is possible at Campbelltown Stadium tonight. Just when it looks like Perth are going to shut out the home team, Sime Grzan pops up to smash the ball home at the far post for the only goal of the game and send home the West Australians empty-handed.
Round 6StuartAndrewTexiCrowdBRI v MVCBRIBRIBRI?WEL v ADLADLADLADL?CCM v MCYCCMCCMCCM?WSW v SYDWSWSYDWSW?AUK v NEWAUKAUKAUK?MAC v PERMACMACMAC?Last week2232Total12131518Loading…
