Review: Sydney up for seventh or second

Sydney's Terry Antonis, Alessandro Del Piero and Vedran Janjetovic. Picture: Gregg Porteous. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Corp Australia

SYDNEY FC has gone from a team in crisis to being in with a shot of finishing second on the ladder, as a host of teams jostled for the all-important places in the top six during the penultimate round of the A-League regular season.

A thrilling weekend of action provided a real tease ahead of the finals. But the way the cookie crumbled, there's still a lot to play for yet.

The race for second — and a crucial first week off in the finals, especially coveted by AFC Champions League participants Wanderers, Victory and Mariners, is still up for grabs.

There's now one point separating second and fifth after Central Coast's loss to Perth, and draws for Western Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne Victory, with one round to play, while Sydney FC is a further two points back and could miraculously be playing for second spot next weekend if a few results go their way.

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ADP WALKS ON WATER ... AND FALLS OVER

Alessandro Del Piero was the undoubted star of the show in Sydney FC's 4-1 win over Wellington Phoenix, but it was a performance tinged with controversy.

The veteran Italian looked to go down rather easily to earn an early penalty for the Sky Blues, prompting Fox Sports football expert Mark Bosnich and injured Phoenix star Paul Ifill to suggest Del Piero was up to something sinister.

But upon reviewing the tape after the match, both admitted they'd been a bit harsh on ADP.

"I said at half-time it wasn't a penalty, I apologised after the game, and I'll apologise again," Bosnich said on Fox Sports' Shootout. "For me it was a foul. The only question was whether it was inside or outside the box.

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"I think he went down easily, I still do, but I'm going to have to apologise too," piped in Ifill. "I thought it was a bit of a dive, but looking at it … I think there was enough contact there."

Del Piero went on to beautifully convert a free kick and the win was sealed in the second half with a superb team goal finished off by Sebastian Ryall.

The victory means Sydney remains in the box seat to secure sixth spot, but incredibly the Sky Blues could finish as high as second if all the results go their way. It's a fact that Bosnich feels everyone at the club deserves some credit for, given the club was seemingly in crisis just a few weeks ago.

"It's a wonderful fillip for Sydney and their supporters," Bosnich said. It's been a very tough season.

"For them to come back from that and be on the verge of qualifying for the finals … if the results go their way, they could actually finish second. That shows unbelievable character from not only their manager and coaching staff but their players as well."

MORE OF THIS, PLEASE

What magnificent scenes at Wanderland for the 'home farewell' to Shinji Ono. In just two seasons, he's left an indelible legacy in the A-League and will be fondly remembered at Western Sydney.

Shinji Ono signed off in style on Saturday. Source: Getty Images

The home side couldn't quite ride the emotion home for three points, but if that's an entree to what's coming up in a fortnight's time, bring it on.

The 1-1 draw was a clash where both sides enjoyed periods of ascendancy at an energetic tempo, but overall, Wanderers — via Brendon Santalab and Tomi Juric in particular — had enough clear chances to prevail.

Meanwhile, Kwabena Appiah escaped sanction for a late challenge that left Thomas Broich in agony. It was a tackle that left Bosnich shaking his head.

Appiah is a marvellous player and is going to be a fantastic player, but he just doesn't have to do this," Bosnich said

"I know it was an accident — he definitely didn't mean it — but he could have really hurt Thomas Broich badly.

"He doesn't need to do that. If he can't get the ball, lunging in like that isn't going to help. He's a wonderful talent, so next time just stay on your feet."

There were wonderful tributes by Wanderers fans. Source: Getty Images

FINALS BOUND

Josh Mitchell, what were you thinking?

The defender's late foul on Archie Thompson in the box handed Melbourne Victory the point it needed to secure its finals berth — sparing Kevin Muscat's side a nervous wait to secure its spot next week had it lost, while keeping them alive in the race for second.

Mark Milligan slotted home the penalty — bagging himself a brace after his opportunistic first-half header, but Clayton Zane must be mortified his side didn't secure three points to really keep the heat on Sydney FC for sixth spot.

Even stevens at Hunter Stadium. Source: Getty Images

The Jets started with a fantastic tempo; David Carney had his best club game for some time, Emile Heskey plotted some dangerous attacks and Adam Taggart and Joel Griffiths were an enormous handful getting in behind as the Jets utterly dominated a Victory side who didn't turn up for the first-half.

But …

"If you can't finish off teams like that, at home, who are there for the taking, you don't deserve to be playing finals football," Bosnich said.

Tom Rogic hobbled off for Victory as he continues struggling with his groin niggles, but it ultimately proved a catalyst, as James Troisi was their most lively option.

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RACE FOR SECOND ALIVE

Central Coast has continued to defy belief for most of the campaign, but on an emotional night at nib Stadium, they came across a Glory side who did not care about the race for second spot.

The match was less than 24 hours after Jacob Burns announced his retirement from football — and it could potentially be the last home game for a number of Glory veterans.

The skipper was in the spotlight in the first-half — winning and then giving away a penalty.

Both looked soft, given by Stephen Lucas in his first A-League start.

"I didn't think either were penalties but at least he's being consistent. You can't touch people in the penalty spot," Bosnich said.

Rudan added: "They wouldn't be free-kicks if they weren't in the area."

On a tricky debut for Lucas, there was more controversy in the second-half, with off-side doubts over Perth's goals.

Central Coast skipper John Hutchinson became the first player to notch 200 games for one A-League club.

Congratulations, Jacob. Source: FoxSports

JOSEP'S HEART STARTER

Remember when people were giving it to Josep Gombau? At the moment, the Spaniard is the flavour of the month, with his Adelaide United side positioning itself for a genuine finals tilt by overcoming all sorts of obstacles — this week, coming back with 10 men to draw late with a gallant Melbourne Heart.

Adelaide United scored after 25 seconds and the bizarre nature of the match didn't end there. Tarek Ehlrich's send-off for a headbutt against Aziz Behich was the flashpoint before Heart went up 2-1.

Josep Gombau is enjoying Adelaide's run to the finals. Source: Getty Images

"Credit to Gombau, his substitutions, bringing in attackers, showed a statement to go out and win a game, as they vie for second position," Rudan said on Matchday Saturday.

"His intentions were clear — he wanted to finish second. A deserved draw in the end."

Bosnich added: "Rudes always says the manager earns his real coin at half-time.

"He must've said something fantastic to these guys; they were down to 10 men and they out-possessed Melbourne Heart in the second-half. They were an absolute force in the second-half ... phenomenal."

Referee Ben Williams has come in for criticism for his abrupt man management of players during games this year, but on Ehlrich's off-the-ball incident, Bosnich said he got it 100 per cent correct, adding "on a football pitch, you just can't do that".

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