Round 2 of the Hyundai A- League and it was an absolute pearler of a week. I mean come on, the Phoenix managed to get up over The Mariners and grab a 3 pointer. Asides from the Phoenix win though we did manage to see more goals then last week, some bloody great football and some truly impressive crowds. The first game of the week was between Adelaide United and The Melbourne Victory, both teams had come away with good wins last week so I was interested to see how this game would pan out.

The Game managed to attract a South Australian record crowd of 33,000 people and amongst 33,000 was Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood. The game was very close both in stats and in performance, but neither team really performed to their potential, which is no wonder why the Game finished in a 1-1 draw. Goals went to Sergio Cirio (Ade), and Mark Millagan (Mel). Both teams came out and played pretty tidy football, but neither really settled in to the game as well as they would have liked and I’m sure the majority of the 33,000 attending would have agreed with me on that one. Both had their fair share of chances, however it was Adelaide who really should have gone ahead just before the end of the 1st half, when they had 2 clear cut opportunities coming from corners and really should have done better with at least one of them.

It did seem as though the game was going to finish in the first stale mate of the 2014/15 season, I’m sure much to the disappointment of Ronnie Wood. However thanks to some classy dribbling and a good finish from Sergio Cirio, Adelaide were in front 5 minutes from time. The game was not over however and The Victory then managed to break the hearts of all the Adelaide supporters and steal a point when some sloppy Adelaide defending allowed Fahid Ben Khalfallah to get on the end of a corner with a nice volley which rocketed into the top of the net. A draw was probably what the game deserved as neither team really shone and it was a bit of a dull performance from both sides.

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast

The Nix got the 3 points! They came away victorious with a 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners. Goals to Thomas Doyle (OG, Wel), Michael McGlinchy (Wel) and Nathan Burns (Wel). It was definitely an improvement on last week’s game for the Phoenix however there are still a few too many errors creeping through especially early on in the game. However they really did impress me when they were able to dig deep and fend off a strong attacking Mariners side who towards the end of the match appeared certain to grab a second goal.

The Nix managed to score all 3 of the goals with the Mariners first goal going to Tom Doyle who looked as though he was in three mindsets with what to do, either shield off the oncoming player and let Glen Moss come and collect the ball, play a pass back to Moss to clear the ball or clear the ball himself. Now instead of choosing one of these valid options he decided to do a combination of all three and sort of awkwardly poke the ball in to the back of his own net thus earning him Ze Phibbers “knob of the week”. As I said it was a step up from last week’s performance and I am really enjoying the way that Burns and McGlinchy are playing together. I think that they are going to be a real threat for the Phoenix this year.

Sydney FC V Western Sydney Wanderers.

The Sydney derby was the game I was most looking forward to this week and it definitely lived up to expectations. The game managed to draw in a massive crowd of 44,000 screaming fans which created the perfect atmosphere for a close derby. The game was fiercely competitive and also brought with it 5 goals, a red card and a slight scuffle. Sydney FC came out on top 3-2. Goals to Mark Bridge (Wes), Vedran Janjetovic (OG, Syd), Corey Gameiro and Alex Brosque (Syd). A friend of mine attended the game and told me tales of Wanderers fans throwing flares into the crowd #GreenStreetHooliganStyle, and when Brosque scored the would be winner Sydney FC fans stormed the field and celebrated with the captain. Although the whole throwing flares carry on is slightly dangerous it is what the game needs, what we have been missing in past years is the crazy fan base which teams in other countries seem to have. I think it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing football factions starting to pop up around Australia and judging from what we saw in this game I think the first one will be the fierce group of football fanatics supporting the Western Sydney Wanderers called something like the Western Warriors, its catchy I like it.

Melbourne City FC v The Newcastle Jets

The 4th game of the week was between Melbourne City FC and The Newcastle Jets. The game finished in a 1-1 draw with goals to Edson Montano (New) and David Villa (Mel). I expected a bigger crowd to attend this game as it was a home game for City and there is only going to be a limited amount of time that we are going to be able to see the Spaniard David Villa in action. I mean do people not understand the great player that he is? Never the less the game was a close affair. It was good to see Villa starting this game and just like last week he looked dangerous both on and off the ball. However this time he was far more involved. It looks as though he is beginning to settle in to the team and getting familiar with the players around him.

City were definitely the dominant team out there and it did appear as thought it was going to be an upset win for the Jets when they managed to find the back of the net against the run of play. However Villa once again showed his worth when he was able to again put away a classy finish on the 18 yard box to finish the game 1-1. I feel the need to quickly shame City's Erik Paartalu with probably the worst miss I have seen in a long time, I mean the man nearly kicked the ball out of the stadium. He is lucky that Thomas Doyle scored a hideous own goal otherwise he would be receiving the Phibbers knob of the week. City are still not quite playing to the potential that they are capable of and I think there will be a game shortly where everything will click and they will destroy their opposition and Villa will grab 3, you watch, it will happen.

The Perth Glory v The Brisbane Roar

The Final game of the second round was between The Perth Glory and The Brisbane Roar. The match finished in a 3-2 win to the Glory and what a win it was. Goals to Mesur Kurtishi (Bri), Andy Keogh (Per), Henrique (Bri), Andy Keogh, (Per) and Andy Keogh (Per). Irish import Keogh managed to collect the first hatty of the season single handedly giving his team the victory. Keogh is a player to look out for this season, he has managed to grab 7 goals in 4 games for Perth. He seems to have a lot going for him, he's got pace, good strength and is definitely strong in the air. I think he will be a great asset for this Perth team. However, although his goals were good, it was Henrique who took out Phibbers goal of the week with an absolute stinger of a shot from the 18 yard box. Danny Vulkovic should never have even made an attempt as there was no way he was going to stop that from smashing the back of his net.

This game wrapped up the week’s A-league action, there was plenty of excitement all round and some pretty top notch footy played. There are definitely some games to look out for next week and I am eagerly awaiting the clash between the two Melbourne teams which should be an absolute cracker of a match. I’m predicting a 2-1 win to City.

Phibber out