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Brisbane Roar can thank Jade North for their two dropped points

4th December, 2016
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Is John Aloisi doing better than his Victory counterpart? (AAP Image/David Crosling)
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4th December, 2016
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Jade North got exactly what he deserved on Saturday night, costing Brisbane Roar an important two points courtesy of an outrageous piece of play-acting.

North went down like he’d been shot by the proverbial sniper after going toe-to-toe with Melbourne City skipper Bruno Fornaroli in their rancorous 1-1 draw at AAMI Park.

Football Federation Australia would be well within their rights to throw the book at North, who cost his team a goal when City simply played on and set up Nicolas Colazo for his first ever A-League strike.

At worst, Fornaroli was guilty of grazing North’s chin with an open palm when the Uruguayan reacted angrily to North’s strong challenge.

Not only was North’s subsequent reaction a blatant case of simulation, it was also out of character for a veteran generally renowned as one of the cooler heads in the A-League.

North will be lucky to avoid a suspension from the Match Review Panel and he’s already been slammed by many Roar supporters online.

But before we skewer the former Socceroo – and sometimes with cases of simulation, there’s a tendency to overreact and make the situation seem worse than it was – it’s worth considering the context of the match.

Make no mistake, Saturday night’s showdown made for great theatre.

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And there was no bigger plotline than the bad blood between rival coaches John van’t Schip and John Aloisi.

But in delivering a series of stinging barbs before the match, did the two coaches go too far in the build-up to what has developed into an increasingly bitter rivalry?

City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was booked for his over-the-top celebrations following Colazo’s goal, after which the Fox Sports cameras caught Roar coach Aloisi aiming a string of expletives towards his rival bench.

Aloisi may live to regret his comments last month when he called for harsh punishments to help stamp out simulation.

John Aloisi Brisbane Roar

“That’s not in the Australian culture, we don’t want it in our game,” Aloisi said.

He’s right, and if the punishment fits the crime, then North is facing a suspension.

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But what was Aloisi originally referring to again? That’s right – Melbourne City midfielder Neil Kilkenny’s laughable play-acting against Adelaide United back in Round 4!

So it’s not like City have a leg to stand on, if you’ll pardon the pun, when it comes to complaining about players going down too easily.

At the very least it was good to see City play to the whistle and refuse to kick the ball out of play on the back of North’s antics.

We should also credit Nick Fitzgerald and Colazo for expertly timing their runs, with the latter showing signs that he could yet become a crucial player for City.

Like his Wanderers counterpart Nico Martinez, former Boca Juniors star Colazo has proved a welcome addition to a league in which the standard of foreign imports continues to rise.

The startling admission that Sydney FC star Milos Ninkovic recently turned down overtures from the Serbian national team proves yet again that the quality of the A-League is better than many give it credit for.

Sydney made short work of the Newcastle Jets yesterday afternoon – wasn’t it great to see Bernie Ibini back on the scoresheet? – but Adelaide’s 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix was the more entertaining affair.

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Henrique’s two goals were both from the top shelf, while Eugene Galekovic once again proved himself one of the A-League’s most reliable goalkeepers by saving Roy Krishna’s poorly-hit penalty.

The Reds may have only won their first game of the season, but there are plenty of parallels with the team that started so poorly last season before going on to win the championship.

Adelaide will travel to Suncorp Stadium next Sunday and they’re likely to face a Brisbane Roar side missing their defensive lynchpin, North.

The veteran centre-back isn’t known for engaging in gamesmanship, but he got exactly what he deserved on Saturday night.

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