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Muscat to learn fate

5th December, 2010
2

The fate of fiery Melbourne Victory captain Kevin Muscat will be known on Monday following the controversial end to a thrilling draw with runaway A-League leaders Brisbane Roar.

But former Socceroos ‘keeper Mark Bosnich reckons the veteran has nothing to worry about, describing the post-match incident as “just handbags”.

Muscat may face disciplinary action from Football Federation Australia for pushing Roar goalkeeping coach Fernando Vaz Alvez in the stomach in the aftermath of their 3-3 draw with Brisbane on Friday night.

He was a frustrated man after his side had fought back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, before conceding late controversially.

Matt McKay scored the equaliser after Roar goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos appeared to gather a ball well outside his area ahead of the move but was not penalised – clearly much to Muscat’s frustration.

Referee Peter Green is believed to have filed a detailed incident report – but Bosnich reckoned Muscat shouldn’t be losing any sleep.

“This happens at the end of all games,” Bosnich told Fox Sports.

“The only difference is that it happens in the tunnel and we don’t see it.

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“At the end of the day it’s just handbags – I have seen 100 times worse than that.”

Bosnich said Muscat and his Victory teammates had every right to be frustrated after going so close to ending Brisbane’s record unbeaten run that has now moved to 15.

“Melbourne Victory…were denied a victory by a poor decision at the end,” he said.

“But I don’t know why players mill around for so long at the end of the game.

“Passions are running high and you get that (because) it means that much to the players.

“If it’s going to get like that it’s best just to get to the tunnel … whatever happens in the tunnel stays in the tunnel.”

Muscat may not be the Victory’s only problem – Green’s report is also expected to mention the bottles and football being thrown from the crowd towards match officials after the match.

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The Roar (41pts) are sitting pretty following the gripping draw, seven points clear of nearest rival Adelaide United after the Reds were shocked 2-1 by Wellington in Christchurch on Sunday.

Adelaide United also have Gold Coast United (30pts) breathing down their necks after they moved into third spot with a 3-0 win over sixth-placed Melbourne Heart on Sunday in front of a near empty Skilled Park.

The attendance of 1658 was just 26 shy of the now defunct New Zealand Knights’ all-time A-League record crowd low set against Central Coast in September 2006.

But it was the lowest ever A-League crowd on Australian soil.

The Roar may have a healthy lead but United coach Miron Bleiberg reckoned it was still too early to talk about who would finish on top spot.

“Now I see the league is divided between the top four and the rest of them – it is open,” he said.

United goal scorer Bas van den Brink was more than confident his side could overtake the Roar, who have played three more games than their arch rivals.

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“I think we have the quality in the team to make the first spot,” he said.

“A lot of things can happen, maybe the Roar can get out of form, maybe lose a few games – it’s still too early to talk about position one, two or three.”

In Saturday’s matches, Central Coast thumped Sydney FC 4-0 while Newcastle won 2-0 over North Queensland in Townsville.

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