Round 8 review: Victory looking ominous but Glory retain two point advantage

Brisbane Roar 2 Melbourne Victory 4

The home side were swept aside by the attacking trio of Kosta Barborouses, Ola Toivonen and Keisuke Honda. Toivonen even scored an own goal, the other Brisbane goal being a penalty. The Victory look in ominous form as they keep pressure on Glory leapfrogging them at the top. Advantage Victory.

Wellington Phoenix 2 Central Coast Mariners 0

Clinical finishing by the Nix was the difference in a scrappy encounter. Mariners now have the ignominious record of the worst ever start in A-League history. Back to back wins see the Kiwis reach the top six.

Western Sydney Wanderers 1 Sydney FC 3

A massive lightning storm causing transport chaos restricted the Sydney derby crowd to 18,000, instead of the expected 25,000. Wanderers looked comfortably in the lead before their keeper Vedran Janjetovic bizarrely made a save outside the box earning a red card. Babbel then sacrificed his best player, Alex Baumjohann, to make way for substitute goalkeeper Daniel Nizic, which proved to be the Wanderers downfall, if not the coach’s tracksuit. Will Babbel bring back his lucky lilac suit next week?

Newcastle Jets 0 Perth Glory 2

Glory have only lost 2 out of the last 21 in this fixture. The goal exploded to life as Jair missed an open goal after 14s seconds, only for Glory to counter attack and win a penalty on 46 seconds. You wouldn’t have guessed this was Neil Kilkenny’s first penalty as he stroked it away with aplomb. Deuce. Despite the Jets 21 shots on target to 4 advantage and 60% possession, the Perth table toppers kept a clean sheet for a 2-0 win. Advantage Glory.

Adelaide United 0 Melbourne City 2

City kept in touch with the top courtesy of two defensive blunders from the unfortunate Jordan Elsey, one an own goal and the other a botched pass back.

Your Prost tipster scored a PB 3/5 this round failing to anticipate the wins for City and Sydney but correctly predicting wins for Victory, Phoenix and Glory. Following on from 1/5 in Round 6 and 2/5 in Round 7, will the incremental improvement continue in Round 9?