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A-League preview and talking points: Round 10

The Roar need a win against Melbourne City to keep their slim finals hopes alive. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
11th December, 2014
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The Glory and Victory roll on while the Wanderers’ nightmare continues. Round 9 of the A-League gave us lots to debate, with plenty of refereeing blunders – now Round 10 is upon us.

Perth Glory ended Sydney FC’s unbeaten run with a controversial 2-1 win, courtesy of some soft penalties, while Melbourne Victory heaped some more pressure on the Mariners with a one-sided 3-0 win.

It’s also tough going for Western Sydney and Newcastle, both are still looking to notch their first victory of the season after being convincingly beaten by Adelaide and Wellington respectively.

Adelaide United versus Brisbane Roar: Sayonara Smith
The hits just keep on coming at Suncorp. Things seemed to have settled down a little after Mike Mulvey was replaced, with a win over the misfiring Wanderers and then a draw with Perth.

But then came the news that skipper Matt Smith was set to leave the club. It came as a huge shock, as the defender had been an integral part of both Ange Postecoglou and Mulvey’s championship-winning teams.

It further shows that all is not right in Brisbane, who face a huge task against Adelaide. This game will be Smith’s last for the Roar, after more than 100 appearances, before he departs for Thailand.

Adelaide have the FFA Cup final next Tuesday but will be out for maximum points in this encounter.

They completely bullied and bashed a woeful Wanderers team, the 2-0 scoreline flattering the Sydneysiders.

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No Osama Malik is a blow but the Reds have enough class around the park to compensate. They bounced back beautifully after the slip-up against Victory and I can’t see the Roar with much of a chance of stopping them, especially on their home turf. Apart from Henrique, Brisbane just don’t offer enough attacking threat at the moment.

Perth Glory versus Newcastle Jets: Scottish salvation?
The Jets remain a curious one – they can take a lead but remain so fragile that they can’t hold one for more than a few minutes. Against Wellington they imploded in a matter of just 300 seconds.

Joel Griffiths opened the scoring in the first half and Newcastle were decent for their lead.

Then a lovely Roly Bonevacia through-ball found former Jets forward Nathan Burns on 73 minutes and he rounded the keeper and scored. A minute later and Michael McGlinchey had a tap-in after Bonevacia’s shot was parried.

Four minutes later and the Phoenix had three when Roy Krishna scored the pick of the strikes with a blistering shot.

Jets’ collapses are becoming expected and the club’s supporters are fed up. This week scenes of training ground bust-ups have been published while David Carney was reprimanded after telling a supporter – who had abused him – where to go.

You add it all up and things are far from rosy in the Hunter. Dundee United have been linked as potential buyers of the club and the question is – why? Stability is what the Jets need but it remains to be seen if the Tangerines can provide it.

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Newcastle heads to Perth with no wins in nine and a terrible record in WA. Considering the form of the Glory, who fought back from a goal down against Sydney FC to win 2-1, they’ll need a miracle to get the three points.

Perth are flying high and even without Youssouff Hersi, who is sadly out for the rest of the season, they have far too many in-form players. Danny Vukovic has been a rock at the back and is yet to receive his due plaudits after the Glory’s fantastic start.

Wellington Phoenix versus Central Coast Mariners: Burns breakout
Nathan Burns keeps on scoring and the Mariners keep struggling. The Phoenix showed guts to sucker punch the Jets with three quick fire goals, rescuing their situation at Hunter Stadium. At home they will be expected to win.

Jeremy Brockie may have left but Ernie Merrick is building a strong side that is afraid of no-one. Burns’ selection in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup training squad was well deserved.

With one win from nine games, only off-field events have kept the spotlight off Phil Moss team.

His team is in a dire way and probably a poor surface was the only thing stopping the Victory scoring four or five at North Sydney Oval.

Moss needs to find a way to get goals – Central Coast have scored five all season. He also needs to shore up the defence and surely going back to the reliable back four of 2013-2014 – Josh Rose, Eddy Bosnar, Zac Anderson and Storm Roux – if fit would be a star.

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With two of his foreign signings a bust, the Mariners could do with some reinforcements come January. Whether there is cash in the kitty for that remains to be seen.

Melbourne Victory versus Sydney FC: Big Blue is back
One of the disappointing parts of having only 10 teams in the league is the predictability and sameness of the draw. The Sky Blues and Victory lock horns again just four weeks after they finished up 0-0 at Allianz.

Sydney FC lost their first game of the season in the last round and will want to put a good show on against their old rivals. The Sky Blues are another team in need of some fresh blood in January, with Ali Abbas joining Corey Gameiro on the sidelines.

Shane Smeltz got on the scoresheet against Perth, which is good to see, and a win here would cement their spot in the top four.

Victory remain undefeated and there seems to be little able to stop them at the moment. Their movement off the ball, inter-linking play and communication is fun to watch, and combined with the enviable squad depth, gives Kevin Muscat many options.

With goals raining in from all quarters – Daniel Georgievski’s was a peach against the Mariners – I think they’ll get the cash over Sydney FC. Either way it should be entertaining.

Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson

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