3 minute read
Perth are tantalisingly close to clinching the Premiers Plate and may be able to do it before meeting their closest challenger Sydney in the penultimate round.
Perth could wrap up the A-League Premiers plate next week before a penultimate round showdown against their closest challenger at a venue still to be confirmed.
Glory entered and ended the round with a six-point buffer over second-placed Sydney, sweeping to a 3-0 away win over bottom of the table Central Coast in Gosford on Sunday.
Sydney had temporarily cut the gap to three points with a late Milos Ninkovic goal securing a 2-1 home win over third-placed Melbourne Victory on Saturday, ending the defending champions' hopes of winning the Plate, which is now a two-club race.
The Sky Blues won on an SCG surface labelled dangerous by Victory coach Kevin Muscat after the visitors' Terry Antonis suffered a knee injury.
Sydney are considering moving their April 18 game against Perth from that venue, possibly to Jubilee Oval, where they will host China's Shanghai SIPG in an ACL game on Wednesday
'"We haven't heard too much with the focus being on today's match,' Perth coach Tony Popovic said.
"But I'm sure next week there will be more clarity on what's happening with that fixture."
If Perth score a home win over Newcastle next Sunday they will effectively wrap up the Plate before meeting Sydney, as they have a vastly superior goal difference.
The Sky Blues will need to win an away derby against the Wanderers the night before to maintain any hope of catching Perth.
Pleased with the way his side rebounded from their 2-0 home loss to Victory, a pragmatic Popovic wasn't worrying about the permutations involving his team.
"They will focus on Newcastle and whatever happens in the other game happens," Popovic said.
"It's in our hands to just keep going week by week and producing the goods and getting the results.
"If that takes us to the opportunity to win a trophy so be it, whenever that is, I won't care when it is really."
Popovic is hoping scans on the shoulder that Chris Ikonimidis dislocated on Sunday will bring positive news and just a short stint on the sideline for the Socceroo.
Sydney's win pushed them four points clear of Victory, who will need the Sky Blues to drop points against the Wanderers and Perth to give them a chance of finishing second.
Just a point separates fourth from sixth and only seven teams have a chance to play finals, after the eighth-placed Wanderers' faint hopes were extinguished by a 3-2 loss at Newcastle, with teenager Angus Thurgate netting the winner.
That left the seventh-placed Jets still seven points adrift of sixth-spot incumbent Melbourne City and needing to win in Perth to maintain any faint chance of making the finals.
Fifth-placed Adelaide moved level on points with Wellington, who lead them on goal difference following a 3-1 home victory over Phoenix.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos scored a double for Adelaide before being sent off in first-half injury time.
Melbourne City returned to form with a 4-1 home thumping of Brisbane Roar.
