Finals Week 1 Preview
This is the first week of the A-League Finals Series. Teams that win will go on to face Central Coast and Western Sydney, the exact fixtures determined with Western Sydney facing the lowest ranked of the winning teams and Central Coast the higher.
Melbourne Victory vs Perth Glory - Friday 7:30PM - Etihad Stadium, Melbourne.
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Team & Ladder Ranking: Melbourne Victory finished 3rd. 13W 5D 9L. 44 Points.
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Last Result: 3-2 Win, away against Wellington Phoenix.
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Keep Up The Good Work: As you might expect in a 3-2 win, they were strong up front. Rojas, Connor Pain & Archie Thompson were all on song, and they were good at the set piece, scoring one goal from a corner and the winner from a smartly worked free kick.
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Things They Could Have Done Better Last Week: They conceded two goals agains the worst team in the league, and were turning the ball over quite badly in midfield. They can't afford these mistakes in a finals series.
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Team & Ladder Ranking: Perth Glory finished 6th. 9W 5D 13L. 32 Points.
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Last Result: 1-1 Draw, home against Adelaide United.
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Keep Up The Good Work: Perth have been revitalised under the stewardship of new manager Alistair Edwards who has turned his side from a rabble into a team with a plan. On the pitch Ryo Nagai yet again showed his quality, although his finishing was a let down, missing a penalty. Vukovic saved their season with his wonderful last kick of the game save.
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Things They Could Have Done Better Last Week: They should have buried this game, but butchered a number of chances. Finals punish anyone with a lack of cutting edge.
Prediction: Very tight game. Perth appear to have the edge in morale and form, while Victory have an arguably better team. This should be a very tight fixture. 1-1, Perth on Penalties.
Adelaide United vs Brisbane Roar - Sunday 5:00PM - Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide.
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Team & Ladder Ranking: Adelaide United United finished 4th. 12W 5D 10L. 41 Points.
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Last Result: 1-1 Draw, away against Perth Glory.
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Keep Up The Good Work: Adelaide were scrappy, but fought hard against a Perth team who really should have won the match by a couple of clear goals with better finishing. They'll need to fight to have a chance of winning this match.
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Things They Could Have Done Better Last Week: They were outplayed, and out coached by Perth and were lucky to escape with the draw. Need more enthusiasm and technical quality.
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Team & Ladder Ranking: Brisbane Roar finished 5th. 10W 5D 12L. 35 Points.
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Last Result: 3-1 Win, home against Sydney FC.
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Keep Up The Good Work:They demolished the woefully poor Sydney FC in their do or die clash, effectively playing an extra finals game. They had everything that Adelaide lacked, quality, determination, played without fear and were ruthless.
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Things They Could Have Done Better Last Week: They barely gave Sydney FC a sniff, only a dubious penalty call blotting their clean sheet.
Prediction: This should be a massacre in favour of Brisbane. They are on form, motivated, technically and tactically better than Adelaide have been, and their players appear more hungry to progress in an effort to win a 3rd straight A-League Grand final. Therefore I shall tip Adelaide on penalties after a 0-0 120 minutes in a massive upset.
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