A-League Round One Preview
After months upon months of anticipation, the inaugural season of the Hyundai A-League is just a day
away and as the excitement hits fever pitch, James Willoughby provides an in-depth look at the first
week of the A-League season.
Australian Football is riding its last chance, but if the early reaction from the public is anything to go by
the league will be a raging success with all eight clubs having already announced high numbers of season
ticket sales.
17 months since the demise of the National Soccer League, comes the first match of the A-League with the
Newcastle Jets hosting Adelaide United at Energy Australia Stadium on Friday night at 8:00pm
EST (7:30pm CST).
The Jets have gone all-out this week in attempt to lure fans to the game on Friday night, with public
appearances staged throughout the week.
The home side bowed out of the Pre-Season Cup in the first round, not making it past the group stages,
likewise with their opponents this week Adelaide United.
United's star Chinese import Shengqing Qu will miss the game due to a minor calf tear but apart from that
injury United should be at full strength.
Young English striker Guy Bates plus Australian representatives Jade North and Nick Carle will need to fire
for the Jets to win, whilst United will be replying on new skipper Ross Aloisi and striker Carl Veart to
perform.
At the conclusion of the Jets vs United clash, Perth Glory host pre-season champs the Central
Coast Mariners at Members Equity Stadium, at 8:00pm WST (10:00pm EST).
This Round One clash is a replay of the pre-season grand final, which saw the Mariners emerge victorious
1-0 thanks to a goal from midfielder Stewart Petrie.
Both sides had successful pre-seasons and will go into the match brimming with confidence.
Perth will be buoyed by the arrival of their marquee player – Brian Deane. Deane arrived in Australia on
Monday, and has kept his fitness up by undergoing an intense program over the off-season break.
The Mariners will be lacking strike power up front as prolific striker Nick Mrdja was ruled out from the
trip thanks to a knee injury. Mrdja is also joined on the sidelines by Paul O’Grady who is set to miss eight
weeks after undergoing a hernia operation last week.
Mrdja’s absence costs him the chance of holding a very unique record. Mrdja scored the last goal of the
NSL, and had a slight chance to score the first goal of the A-League.
The first of Sunday’s games sees the Queensland Roar host the New Zealand Knights at
Suncorp Stadium, starting at 3:00pm EST (5:00pm NZ).
The Roar have already sold 11,000 tickets to the game with over a day to go – and are hoping for a crowd
of approximately 15,000 – 20,000.
The last time these sides met back in the Pre-Season Tournament saw Queensland thump the Knights 5-0.
The Knights had a horror Pre-Season tournament, scoring just one goal and conceding nine in the process,
whilst the Roar also struggled – winning just the one game, which was against the Knights.
For the Roar to emerge victorious, Alex Brosque and Spase Dilevski will have to be on their game whilst
key threats for the Knights are Chinese midfielder Xiaobin Xiang and Danny Hay.
The final game for Round One of the A-League season sees the ‘glamour club’ of the competition,
Sydney FC take on the Melbourne Victory, at Aussie Stadium – commencing at 5:00pm EST.
This match promises to be a mouth-watering encounter, with brilliant attacking options on each side.
For Sydney, Dwight Yorke and David Zdrillic will create plenty of attacking options, but with rock
centre-half Geoffrey Claeys in the Victory side don’t expect it to be an easy ride for the Sydneysiders.
For the visitors, Archie Thompson will pose plenty of problems for the Sydney defence and midfielders
Kristian Sarkies and Vince Lia will need to be on their game if Melbourne are to claim an upset victory.
For the best A-League coverage possible, stay tuned to SportsAustralia.com
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