A-League tipping Round 7: Spicy New Zealand Derby headlines as Perth hunts three on the trot
It was a broad disaster last weekend in terms of A-League tipping. Stuart Thomas and Texi Smith managed two correct selections, with the form of The Crowd and Andrew Prentice growing ever concerning.
Round 7 looks a beauty, with Macarthur and Melbourne Victory desperate to bounce back on Friday night after poor efforts last time out. Perth have the chance to gain real momentum with a third win in succession against the Wanderers, that would probably sneak them into the top six.
The New Zealand Derby kicks off in the sun on Saturday afternoon, Newcastle seeks another win against a stumbling Melbourne City and the day rounds off on the Central Coast when Sydney FC visits the Mariners.
The lone game on Sunday sees the Reds at home to the charging Brisbane Roar.
Good luck with your tips for the round and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to participate in the voice of the people. Here are the thoughts and selections of the panel for all the Round 7 action.
Stuart Thomas
Macarthur, Perth, Auckland, Newcastle, Central Coast, Adelaide
Victory are so out of form and impotent in attack that the developing Macarthur side should get the points at home in a canter. Perth have awoken and the Wanderers are flying high after their Sydney Derby win. I’m siding with the home side in Perth in what will be the story of the early portion of the season.
Auckland rarely lose two on the trot and they will beat the Phoenix in front of a big crowd on Saturday. The Jets and Melbourne looks a tough match to call and if Newcastle have in fact turned the corner after a good win last week, they might well get the three points against a City team that is well off the boil.
Arthur Diles is struggling to find the answers early in the season at Melbourne Victory. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
Central Coast face a big task against a Sydney FC team that will be in the mix this season. The Mariners need this one and if a decent crowd gets out there to support them, the three points should come their way in an upset. Adelaide need a return to form and the visiting Roar are no easy proposition. It will be tight but the Reds’ home advantage will get them over the line.
Andrew Prentice
Draw, Western Sydney, Auckland, Newcastle, Sydney, Adelaide
Let’s dispense with the notion that there is any such thing as form in the Men’s A-League. There’s great, ordinary and terrible but teams like to surprise us all by flitting between these categories. Macarthur and Victory are both ordinary at the moment.
They’re like the least likely suspect in a crime story who end up shocking everyone. The shocks might not be in evidence on what is predicted to be a roasting hot Friday at Campbelltown and I sense both coaches will gladly slip a point in the kit bags and reassess the future.
The Wanderers went from ordinary to great last week in the Sydney derby. Their opponents in the golden west have left terrible behind and verged on great against Macarthur. However, the Wanderers are showing steel and grit and if they can fashion a cohesive attacking threat will relegate the Glory to ordinary this week.
Alou Kuol would be well-advised to temper any goal celebrations after appearing to injure himself during one against Sydney.
Western Wanderers supporters in the Red and Black Block. (Photo by Texi Smith).
Auckland made life miserable for tipsters last week by suddenly being terrible at home, a sight so rare it has been called Haley’s Comet Syndrome (okay, I made that up). Maybe it was to get a bad game out of the way before the NZ derby in front of a full house at Mount Smart.
The Phoenix surprised most observers by being singularly unordinary against Adelaide but will need to be extraordinary to finally get a win over the Black Knights.
The Jets changed their tune from “The Honeymoon Is Over” to “Better” (by Newcastle’s own Screaming Jets) in a shock win in New Zealand. And so, hook line and sinker I’m swallowing the bait and believing that they have enough to go on with it against a resilient but tired-looking City.
Alex Badolato needs to back himself and start shooting again rather than worrying about pass completions. If he does, City might not keep up.
Sydney’s unbeaten streak was ended in a spicy derby at Parramatta where the Sky Blues had chances to do damage but seemed intent on trying to walk the ball into the back of the net (Joe Lolley aside). The Mariners are defying expectations yet again (how many times have we heard THAT in the last few seasons?)
Moon-Ball is settling into Gosford but a wounded Sydney FC are a dangerous prospect. If the home team sits back and tries to soak up the pressure, it may be just the invitation Sydney’s potentially great but recently ordinary attack need.
The Roar are, well, roaring, getting in the trenches and getting dirt under the fingernails. They don’t win pretty but they do win. That said, in Lord Craig, Adelaide have the kind of conductor to navigate through the battle lines and they do love being at home.
Form-wise, it would be wise to pick Brisbane but please refer to the first sentence of this review and put your money on Red (but don’t gamble, it never ends well). So your predictions this week come with a community service announcement too (will that upset any sponsors…?)
Texi Smith
Macarthur, Western Sydney, Auckland, City, Sydney, Adelaide
Melbourne Victory’s Friday nights of horror continue in Campbelltown, Macarthur FC recovering from their no show against Perth Glory last week to heap more misery on this year’s surprise wooden spoon contenders.
The league’s biggest gamble of the season, Juan Mata, is again thrown on to try and spark a reaction, but with the Bulls already 2-0 up at the break through Rafael Duran and Harry Sawyer, the game is sewn up when Callum Talbot bends in a shot that Roberto Carlos would be proud of. Victory in all sorts of trouble as the winning combination completely deserts them again.
Western Sydney Wanderers follow up their derby win last weekend with a trip to buoyant Perth Glory, and the home team continue where they left off, playing some fabulous football in a first half dominated by the home team.
Welshman Tom Lawrence cancels out Bozhidar Kraev’s deflected opener almost immediately as the second half springs to life on the hour, Kosta Barbarouses pounces as the Wanderers retake the lead, and they settle the result with an impressive third from distance from Steven Ugarkovic.
Kosta Barbarouses of the Western Sydney Wanderers. (Photo by Texi Smith).
Alen Stajcic has lit the touch paper for the A-League and for his club, and the revival now has a head of steam.
What, it’s derby day again? This isn’t the Scottish Premier League is it? A simply mind-bending home defeat for Auckland FC last week was coupled with Wellington’s rise to the top half of the A-League ladder, so what a time for these teams to meet.
An unthinkable defeat would send the Phoenix above their powerful rivals. Auckland were unlucky not to score at least one more goal against Newcastle last week and they will be smarting after their embarrassing home reverse. Time to put it right, and Jesse Randall leads the way, followed by a hatful of goals for the home side as they right last weekend’s wrongs with a superb performance.
Two false results last week will be put right this round when Newcastle Jets host Melbourne City on Saturday evening. The hot conditions and the monsoonal second half allowed the Jets to stun Auckland on their own patch, while Melbourne City had chances galore against the Mariners only to come away with a single point in an entertaining goalless draw.
No such nonsense here today as Max Caputo drills home the opener. Andrew Nabbout adds a second as the Jets are forced out of their shell, and Medin Mehmeti completes the scoring with a cheeky backheel. The Jets still to find any consistency in a troubled start to the season.
The Gosford beach party gets underway with a bang on Saturday night as Central Coast Mariners take the game to Sydney FC, Ryan Edmondson grappling with Alex Grant in a ding-dong aerial battle in front of the palm trees.
Mariners fans will need to be out in force when their team takes on Sydney FC on Saturday night. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)
Storm Roux goes closest but the Mariners fail to take their opportunities and are made to pay in a massive turnaround in the second half. The man of silk, Paul Okon-Engstler, fires home from the edge of the area as the Mariners fail to clear their lines, Victor Campuzano adds the second with a near-post poacher’s finish and Rhys Youlley spins to curl in the third as Sydney FC disinfect themselves after last weekend’s derby loss.
A strange late Sunday game at Coopers Stadium could be the one that finally breaks the home win / away loss sequence of Adelaide United. Brisbane Roar are responding to their pre-season billing as the team to watch this season, but they lose concentration this evening and are given a football lesson in Hindmarsh.
Justin Vidic brilliantly levels the scores on half time after Luka Jovanovic’s early opener, and an exciting game seems to be heading for a draw until Dylan Pierias races the length of the field to slide home a Craig Goodwin cross to seal a massive win for the hosts in front of a pumped-up crowd. A fantastic advert for A-League excitement and the Adelaide population turns out in force to enjoy another home win.
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