Glory Edge Roar in Heated Rematch.

Brisbane's Besart Berisha attacks the Perth goal (3news.co.nz)

The Hyundai A-League concluded it's first week of fixtures with a rematch of the last Grand Final: Perth Glory vs Brisbane Roar.  If you took in that match about six months back, you remember it being a fairly heated affair.  Folks that were wanting more of the same from this match pretty much got their way, as it appears that a heightened rivalry between these two clubs really is on the way.

The match started very wide open and it didn't take long for a certain amount of controversy to brew.  In the 3rd minute Perth forward Shane Smeltz went down in the area and both he and the Perth crowd appealed for a penalty.  The referee was unmoved and the teams played on.  Replay showed that while the defender did come in from behind, there wasn't much if any contact, and it looked like a good non-call.

The Roar would have the first prime chances of the match though, both of them coming off of set pieces.  In the 5th minute Erik Paartalu got his head to a Brisbane corner, but couldn't get it on target.  Then in the 11th Paartalu got another chance on a free kick and got his header closer, but it still flashed inches wide of the near post.

Perth had their best chance of the first half early on as well.  In the 14th minute Smeltz picked up on Brisbane blunder and charged head long into a 1v1 situation with Brisbane 'keeper Michael Theo (as he's known now).  Theo came charging out and hit the deck in front of Smeltz, who managed to get some kind of a shot away, but it ended up having little power and rolled wide of the mark.  It was great stuff from the Roar shot stopper.

Both teams got their tempers up late in the half as well.  In the 35th minute Brisbane's Besart Berisha was fouled near the edge of the penalty area.  Berisha went down and the Glory's Liam Miller came in rather late, bascially tripping into the prone Brisbane man, and not really trying to avoid falling on top of him.  The Roar's Mitch Nichols took obvious exception to this and charged into the fray, pushing Miller and getting in his face.  The referee managed to clear the madness, and gave both Miller and Nichols yellow cards for their trouble.  Then, right before the half, Berisha was given a yellow after causing a bit of a ruckus on a Brisbane corner kick.  The first half ended with no goals, but a decent few yellow cards.

The fact that it was only week one really began to show itself in the second half, as both teams began to look a little leggy.  Chances were few and far between.  The yellows kept coming though as both Jacob Burns and Travis Dodd would earn cautions for Perth in the stanza.

The Glory would ultimately have the last laugh this day though.  In the 88th minute Scott Jamieson sent a cross into the Roar eighteen, where it found the head of newly subbed in Glory attacker Billy Mehmet.  Mehmet executed a brilliant header to the back post, and the ball slotted into the net to give the Glory the 1-0 win.  It was pretty much a perfect shot and there wasn't much Theo could do about it.

On the day, the Roar probably felt a little hard done by, as they certainly gave as good as they got on opposing turf.  Though they dominated possession, a lot of their play was really sloppy, and they gave the ball up more than a few times.  One could also tell that the defense was bending more than it probably should have, though to be fair, in the end they were just beaten by a fantastic football play.

The Glory showed that they're more than ready to stand and go toe to toe with anyone in the A League this year, and they put forth a really great effort, in the end a winning effort.  It won't make the fans forget the last Grand Final, but knowing they've started the new season off on 3 points isn't a bad way to begin moving on.

Congrats to Brisbane Roar: 2011-2012 Hyundai A League Champions

The Puddle would like to congratulate the Brisbane Roar, who last night won the Hyundai A League Grand Final to take their second straight title.  The Roar also came from behind late in their second straight Grand Final, using two goals in the closing stages to overcome Perth Glory 2-1.

The win was not without some controversy, however this isn't the place where I'll comment on that.  Certainly the Roar are deserving champions when you look over the whole season.  Sure, I would have preferred Melbourne Victory, but the Roar got it done again this year, and good on them.

Congrats to the Roar and their supporters.  Enjoy the celebrations.

A League Action: Wellington Phoenix vs. Brisbane Roar

There was a lot of well deserved hype coming into this match. Two versus three in the Hyundai A League table. Brisbane is starting to find their form again after going through a real rough patch midseason, and Wellington has been one of the hotter teams in the league. I was excited because it was early enough that I could watch it live and not have to stay up all night.

The action took place in front of 13,009 in attendance at Westpac Stadium, and the Phoenix faithful were in fine voice. Unfortunately, they didn't have much to cheer about, at least in the first half. Still one of the first real chances of the match came to Wellington as Leo Bertos got free up the wing and dribbled toward the eighteen. However, he held on to the ball for far too long, cutting down his angle, and his shot ended up being rather easily saved in minute thirteen.

After that, most of the chances for the first half fell to the Roar. Wellington played a bit of a version of park the bus, letting Brisbane control and do their passing game in the back of the Wellington half, and attempting to choke off the space further up the pitch. This worked for 42 minutes. At that point, the Roar found Besart Berisha with a ball over the top, which he volleyed into the goal to give Brisbane the 0-1 lead. The goal was controversial though as replays showed Berisha was most likely offside.

So the Phoenix knew they needed to take a different tact coming out for the second half trailing by a goal. They got a plumb chance in the 49th minute as Paul Ifill broke free and got one on one with the Brisbane 'keeper. Theoklitos made a great play on the shot though, preserving the Roar lead. Ifill would have another such chance in the 73rd minute, only to be saved again.

Despite the fact that the Phoenix did much better in the second half, the Roar were able to put away the match late. Mitch Nichols checked into the match for Brisbane in the second half. He had been suspended for the Olyroos next match, and returned to his club. In the 80th minute he hit a strike from around the top of the area into the top of the net to make it 0-2, which would be the full time result.

Certainly the Phoenix had a right to feel hard done by tonight from the refs, but Brisbane deserved the points, The final ball was never quite good enough for the Phoenix, and despite their positive play in the second half, they failed to really carve out more than a couple quality chances.