Soccer: Bottom-dwellers unseat Perth from premiership throne

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The upset of the season cost Perth Glory the chance of a third NSL premiership in four years.

Outplayed and beaten 2-0 by bottom-placed Marconi Stallions, Perth slumped to second behind Olympic Sharks, who beat Adelaide City Force 3-0.

The loss could prove costly for the West Australians. They now take just three bonus points into the top six play-offs, whereas the Sharks take six.

Perth went into their last game of the season aware that one point would be enough for them to retain their premiership crown.

Instead, they bumbled their way to their sixth and most embarrassing loss of the season, to a Marconi team who took the chance to edge away from the bottom of the table on goal difference, leaving Wollongong Wolves as the wooden-spooners.

Tony Sekulic headed home a Luke Casserly cross to give Marconi their 16th-minute lead.

Joe Spiteri completed a miserable night for Perth with a second goal in the 53rd minute.

The Sharks had no such worries. A late first-half penalty and another goal early in the second spell for Ante Milicic gave his side a handy 2-0 lead over Adelaide. Tom Pondeljak added the third in stoppage time.

Sydney United had their best goal haul of the season in coming from behind to beat Brisbane Strikers 3-1.

It was Brisbane coach John Kosmina's last game with the club.

Fernando Rech gave the Queenslanders the halftime lead with a penalty.

However, second-half goals to Mile Jedinak, Michael Cunico and Louis Brain earned Sydney their seventh win of the season and eighth place.

Parramatta Power warmed up for the play-offs with a 5-1 home win over Northern Spirit.

Wollongong, grand final winners in 1999-2000 and again the following season, finished last for the second time in their 23-year history and for the first time since 1984.

After getting back to 1-1 inside 20 minutes, the Wolves went down 2-1 at home to Melbourne Knights, with the winner coming in the 86th minute from substitute Serkan Oksuz.

With their 5-4 away win over the Football Kingz, South Melbourne dragged themselves up to seventh, one point and one place outside the play-offs.

In the first round of the play-offs over three days this weekend, Adelaide are at home to the Sharks, Perth meet Northern Spirit in Perth and Newcastle United have the home advantage against Parramatta.