Round 24 of A-League action threw up another interesting batch of results with three different teams hitting the top of the table over the course of the weekend.
It begun with Gold Coast United starting on top but after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Central Coast Mariners on Friday night, fell from the top when reigning champions Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United 2-0 on Saturday night. Then, on Sunday, Sydney FC ensured they would finish the round at the summit with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory over the Newcastle Jets.
In other matches, Perth Glory moved to fifth on the table with a 2-0 win over the Wellington Phoenix at home whilst the North Queensland Fury and Brisbane Roar played out a 1-1 draw in Townsville.
Central Coast Mariners: 1 (Nik MRDJA 68' (pen)) Gold Coast United: 1 (Joel PORTER 66') Date: Friday 22 January 2010 Venue: Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Crowd: 5,724 Yellow Cards:CCM - Andrew CLARK 20', John HUTCHINSON 68', Nigel BOOGAARD 69'/90', Adam KWASNIK 72' GCU - Michael THWAITE 68', Zenon CARAVELLA 83' Red Cards:CCM - Nigel BOOGAARD 90'
Perth Glory: 2 (Danny MCBREEN 22', Todd HOWARTH 41') Wellington Phoenix: 0 Date: Friday 22 January 2010 Venue: ME Bank Stadium, Perth Crowd: 9,368 Yellow cards:PG - Naum SEKULOVSKI 72', Scott BULLOCH 83' WP - Tim BROWN 7', Eugene DADI 23', Manny MUSCAT 60', Vince LIA 72'
Melbourne Victory: 2 (Tom PONDELJAK 1', Kevin MUSCAT 90'+3 (pen)) Adelaide United: 0 Date: Saturday 23 January 2010 Venue: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Crowd: 20,361 Yellow Cards:MV - Adrian LEIJER 11' AU - Adam HUGHES 14', Mark RUDAN 39', Daniel MULLEN 46', Lloyd OWUSU 56', Eugene GALEKOVIC 61', Travis DODD 76', Robert CORNTHWAITE 90'+2
North Queensland Fury: 1 (David WILLIAMS 55') Brisbane Roar: 1 (Luke DEVERE 48') Date: Saturday 23 January 2010 Venue: Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Crowd: 7,610 Yellow cards:NQF - Nil BR - Michael ZULLO 2', Matt McKAY 35'
Newcastle Jets: 1 (Jobe WHEELHOUSE 32') Sydney FC: 3 (John ALOISI 45', Stuart MUSIALIK 50', Chris PAYNE 90'+3) Date: Sunday 24 January 2010 Venue: EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Crowd: 9,892 Yellow cards:NJ - Ben KANTAROVSKI 39' SYD - Stephan KELLER 69'
