The SportingJournal

It’s almost that time of year again, the A-League Finals Series and this season the race for the title is tight as ever. But, there’s still one spot up for grabs and it is down to Newcastle and Sydney. Sydney look the hot contender to win their final game of the regular season, putting them into the finals. So, taking that prediction into consideration, let’s take a look at each team’s chances of taking out the competition this season.

Perth Glory

Perth’s form has been a bit unusual of late, with a hard-fought win over league-leaders Central Coast. Soon to be followed by a disappointing loss to bottom placed Gold Coast. Because of this topsy-turvy form, it’s hard to tell how they’ll perform against some of the better teams if they manage to get through the first fortnight of the finals.

Central Coast

Melbourne Heart

The Heart have managed to salvage 3 draws from their previous 3 matches. This isn’t exactly the form you want to be in going into the finals. Because of their position on the ladder, it will be do or die for Melbourne. Clint Bolton has been a life-saver recently for the Heart but though I’d love to say that they’re going to take out the league with ease, it is very unlikely for them to get past the first round.

Wellington Phoenix

Despite the fact that they suffered a heavy loss to Melbourne Victory last game, the Phoenix have played some good football recently and shouldn’t find it to hard to get past the first week of finals. After the opening finals who knows how could go all the way at this rate. Paul Ifill’s brilliance has been an important thing for Wellington. Could the New Zealanders make A-League history and take out the title? It’ll be exciting to see what they can serve up.

Sydney FC

Some decent performances lately may just give Sydney a chance to scrape a win or two during their finals

Sydney FC, Arm in Arm - Credit: 'ukalipt' Flickr

campaign. Their never-say-die spirit, highlighted in their draw with Melbourne Heart last weekend will give them the upper-hand coming into the final game. On the other hand though, they may find trying to beat Perth or Wellington an insurmountable task. It’ll be a close call for Sydney FC as they head towards the end of the season.

Brisbane Roar

Finally, we preview Brisbane Roar’s chances of winning back-to-back titles. If they pull it off, it would be the first time that it’s happened in the league’s history. The Queensland side have remained undefeated for the last 7 rounds, again. This should boost their morale quite a lot heading into the play-offs and this should hold them in good stead throughout. Besart Berisha’s recent goalscoring dominance should give the Roar an increase in confidence. There’s a definitely a good chance of Brisbane winning the two Major Semis against the Mariners to book their place in the Grand Final and it could very well give them the confidence they need to win the championship once again.

My Prediction (click link below):

So, as you may have seen, I think that it’ll be 3rd time lucky for the Mariners. Although I believe they’ll crumble under the pressure in the 2 Major Semis, as they have in previous years, they should be able to muster up the strength to come back fighting against a most probably complacent Brisbane. 

                    Griffin Sleigh

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