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A few weeks back I wrote about form. My thesis was that irrespective of squad depth, the reputation or number of marquees, injuries, representative duties or what a team achieved earlier in the season, the only thing that really mattered was current results.
I drew up a mock ladder of the points accumulated over the five weeks from Round 21 to twenty five. The graph showed clearly that the Victory, Roar and Glory were the hottest teams in the land.
Sure, Sydney were hanging around, still battling the challenges of ACL travel commitments, but this can hardly be offered as an excuse, as the Victory’s improvement coincided with their own Champions League campaign.
Perth Glory continued their run at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night against a Newcastle team that appear to be wandering in a vacuum, unsure exactly of what it is they are trying to achieve.
In the unenviable position of losing touch with Sydney three rounds back, the Jets have been assured of second spot for quite some time and it has negatively impacted their football.
It seems that Newcastle could finish the season with as small a gap as one point over third placed City, unless they can manage a win against the Mariners in Gosford.
Either way, they look doomed to fail when the big games come around in a fortnight’s time considering their terrible run, unless Ernie Merrick can once again find the magic.
Perth have slowly but surely dragged themselves from the depths; rung by rung, up the A-League ladder. Four wins and a draw from their last six matches and in the running for the last and coveted spot in the A-League finals, they deserve to be there.
It could not have played out more dramatically with the Brisbane Roar their direct opponent at nib Stadium late Saturday, a club that has performed a similar miracle throughout the second half of the season. Unfortunately for Brisbane a belting at the hands of the Wanderers on Saturday and a recent draw with Wellington has slowed its charge.
In short, the equation is clear. Perth and Brisbane will fight it out in the west on Saturday. A win for either team sees the Wanderers in a must win situation against Adelaide the following day. A draw in the west and a win for Adelaide throws up another scenario which sees all three teams tied on 33 points.
(Photo by Stefan Gosatti/Getty Images)
With Perth looking like shot ducks at different stages early in the season, thanks to continued defensive issues, it is hard to believe what we are seeing. Manager Kenny Lowe came under immense pressure, some still unconvinced he has the tactical and technical nous to lead this team in the long term, yet the Glory have steered the ship away from the iceberg and found open water.
Similarly, John Aloisi promised us late season wins and he has delivered in spades. It did seem obvious that things would improve as soon as import Eric Bautheac arrived and a stack of players returned from injury, however, it took so long for the Roar to get going and finals were long odds for much of the season.
Throw in the rise of the Melbourne Victory and the A-League has changed face after some early patterns caused concerns for some of Australia’s biggest clubs. It has made for one of the best seasons in recent memory in terms of parity.
Unfortunately, as we enter the final weekend of home-and-away action, there is a real chance that both Perth and Brisbane will miss out altogether and the Wanderers hold all the aces when it comes to their destiny.
While that would be a solid achievement for Josep Gombau and his team after a disrupted start to the year, Western Sydney have bumbled their way through with inconsistent results and football that potentially sees them making up the numbers if they were to qualify.
A far more exciting prospect for the finals, would be the involvement of both the Glory and Roar.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Let’s face it, both clubs have stronger claims than Western Sydney, probably Adelaide and maybe even Newcastle, who are dragging themselves to the finish line with no momentum at all.
Now, before you accuse me of being mathematically challenged, I do realise that only one of the two can be involved but in terms of interest, I would love to see them both there.
Sure, their fates sit in the hands of the Wanderers and that is their own fault essentially. Dropped points, late goals and poor early performances have created the situation in which they now find themselves.
However, part of me longs for an American style ‘wildcard game’ where we could squeeze in at little more game time from them both. Their presence in the finals would be a bonus.
I’m not sure how that would work in practicality. I’ll leave it for the FFA to organise for next year, they are pretty good at those sorts of things.