Young Jets hold Reds to scoreless draw

Updated January 05, 2013 23:34:35

Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond was relieved to throw the clean sheet gorilla off his back as his young defence held high-riding Adelaide to a scoreless draw at Hunter Stadium on Saturday.

Second-placed Adelaide looked the more fluent and dangerous team early in the first half, which featured a drinks break after 22 minutes due to the heat.

Dario Vidosic had a shot stopped by former Adelaide goalkeeper Mark Birighitti in the sixth minute and a few seconds later Bruce Djite shot wide.

The Jets, who have not kept a clean sheet in their previous 14 games, took over from about the half hour mark and dominated the second half.

Newcastle's marquee player Emile Heskey was replaced at half-time by Adam Taggart after suffering a minor quadriceps injury.

"It wasn't a monkey mate, it was like a gorilla," van Egmond said on the clean sheet issue.

"It was hanging over us. It is a good feeling, and it's great for the fact that the players can get some real confidence from keeping that clean sheet and creating the number of chances."

It needed some fine stops from Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic to keep his side level.

He used his legs early in the second half to keep out a shot from lively substitute Adam Taggart, who came on at half-time for Heskey.

Adelaide coach John Kosmina was unsure after the match if it was a point gained or two lost.

"We made two really good chances in the first half, we had a long period where we probably dominated the first half and maybe did enough to get a couple of goals and go on with it," Kosmina said.

"We switched off a little bit and let Newcastle back in the game and they did pretty well.

"Then second half we were all over the shop, we turned the ball over too easy."

Both coaches praised the youthful Jets defence for containing Vidosic, Djite and Marcelo Carrusca, who will have an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of a groin injury.

Kosmina singled out Newcastle's Taylor Regan for the job he did on the much bigger Djite.

Heskey revealed his substitution was a precautionary measure.

'"Early in the first half my thigh felt tight and while it didn't get worse I could still feel it there, he said.

"It was one of those ones where you have to decide to come out or carry on and see if you can make it through the match.

"I thought it was best to pull out in case I made it worse. Hopefully it will be OK."

Newcastle Jets: 0

Adelaide United: 0

AAP

Tags: sport, soccer, a-league, newcastle-2300, nsw, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted January 05, 2013 19:47:18

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Sky Blues, Heart go scoreless

Updated December 02, 2012 20:01:10

The battle of the A-League cellar-dwellers has ended in stalemate, after Sydney FC played out a goal-less draw with Melbourne Heart at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Heading into the match the Sky Blues were bottom of the ladder with just six points from eight matches, while the Heart were second-last on eight points.

With newly-appointed Sydney coach Frank Farina watching from the stands and caretaker coach Steve Corica in charge, Sydney produced far more chances than the visitors.

But despite several clear-cut opportunities, neither side could get the finish it needed.

The Heart tried hard to contain Sydney's Alessandro Del Piero, with a series of physical challenges that led to yellow cards from referee Strebre Delovski.

Sydney nearly took the lead in the 56th minute when Del Piero beat Patrick Gerhardt on the left then swept the ball across goal, narrowly missing the feet of striker Joel Chianese.

A minute later at the other end, a great Fred header forced a fine fingertip save from Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic.

Rhyan Grant then came close for Sydney with half an hour left, with a ripping left-foot drive that went just over the bar.

Del Piero was substituted with just over 20 minutes left, replaced by Blake Powell.

The Heart's David Williams and Sydney's Yairo Yau both blazed over the bar with late efforts, but the defences held out leaving the points shared.

Sydney FC: 0

Melbourne Heart: 0

Tags: sport, soccer, a-league, sydney-2000, nsw, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted December 02, 2012 19:56:29

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Reds, Bunyodkor scoreless in Adelaide

Updated May 02, 2012 22:52:35

Adelaide United edged closer to the Asian Champions League's second round with a scoreless draw against Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor on Wednesday night.

The Reds earned one point for the Hindmarsh Stadium stalemate, enough to keep them top of their group in the rich Asian competition.

With one match remaining, United is a near certainty to advance to the group of 16 despite failing to break Bunyodkor.

Adelaide winger Iain Ramsay had the best scoring chances against the Uzbeks, who showed rare attacking intent.

Ramsay, a frequent threat along the left flank, was played into range by an insightful Bruce Djite through ball in the 13th minute but shot over the bar.

Some nine minutes later the Reds speedster's opportunistic 10-metre shot was blocked by a Bunyodkor body on the goal line to the dismay of the parochial 7,794-strong crowd.

After half-time, Bunyodkor enjoyed their most dangerous patch with captain Viktor Karpenko and midfielder Lutfulla Turaev each forcing saves from Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic within five minutes.

The Reds, who entered the fixture with three wins from four ACL matches this campaign, then failed to grasp two more genuine opportunities.

Defender Iain Fyfe, substituting for Osama Malik who was labouring with a knee injury, missed a close-range header in the 66th minute.

And Fabian Barbiero's speculative 15m drive deflected from a team-mate and landed wide some four minutes later.

Adelaide's final group match is away to Japan's Gamba Osaka in a fortnight.

United will now finish first or second in the group but will look to lock up top spot in order to claim a home fixture for the round of 16.

"Obviously we have confirmed our spot now in the second round," United's acting coach Luciano Trani said.

"The objective was pretty much achieved tonight, so that is a good thing."

Bunyodkor coach Mirdjalal Kasimov said the draw was a fitting result, while remaining hopeful of advancing to the next stage with a win in his side's final group match.

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia, uzbekistan

First posted May 02, 2012 22:00:10

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Heart and Victory finish scoreless

Updated February 04, 2012 23:07:23

For all the tension, nothing gave way in Melbourne's A-League derby on Saturday night as the Heart and Victory played out a thrilling 0-0 draw at AAMI Park.

It was a result which provided little clarity for either side with their form in question - Heart still winless in their past seven matches and Victory without a triumph in five under new coach Jim Magilton.

But Heart will feel aggrieved not to have taken all three points.

They dominated the first half and had the two best opportunities in the second as Victory were reduced to 10 men with Grant Brebner sent off with 15 minutes left.

Heart shredded their rivals for the first 45 minutes, coming closest when midfielder Jonatan Germano hit the crossbar with a close-range header after just 13 minutes.

The Victory looked devoid of ideas, and were given a clinic by first-game left-back Craig Goodwin as the 20-year-old ran riot going forward, and looked assured in defence.

The Victory looked better in the second half - especially a 15-minute patch before Brebner's send-off for a rash challenge on Heart striker Eli Babalj.

The Scotsman's red card swung momentum back the Heart's way.

Ex-Victory player Kristian Sarkies had the best opportunity of the match soon afterwards, put in on goal by a great David Williams run and square ball, only to blast his chance over the bar.

Then Victory goalkeeper Ante Covic produced a world-class save on 80 minutes to deny Goodwin a dream debut - the youngster's long-range thunderbolt forcing Covic to dive full length to his left to stop.

Heart also went close in the dying minutes with a long-range Michael Marrone shot.

Heart remain in the top six despite their inability to post a recent win, while the Victory creep to seventh place with their point.

Yet again, Victory coach Jim Magilton dwelt on the positives despite the Victory's inability to win in his tenure.

It was their fourth draw from his five games at the helm since Mehmet Durakovic's sacking last month.

"When you go down to 10 men and your back's against the wall, we showed grit, we showed determination, all the characteristics you need," Magilton said.

"They're positives for me. We need to build on this, carry that through ... it's the first clean sheet in how long? They're the positives we've got to take out of this."

Heart coach John van 't Schip lamented his side's lack of cutting edge in the front third.

"Looking at the way we played, the possession we had ... we didn't get out of it enough of what we wanted," he said.

"Overall I thought we were well organised and I'm very proud of how the team played in general. We just weren't decisive enough up front."

Melbourne Heart: 0

Melbourne Victory: 0

AAP

Tags: sport, soccer, a-league, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

First posted February 04, 2012 21:50:34

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Socceroos, Serbia in scoreless thriller data threatens Obama's re-election hopes

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Tags: soccer, sport, australia

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