Soccer: Melbourne derby delayed by AFL

Victory goalkeeper Glen Moss. Photo / Getty Images

It had long been touted as the must-see game of the season but fans looking forward to the first A-League clash involving teams from the same city will have to wait a little longer.

Newcomers Melbourne Heart were set to play Melbourne Victory in the much-hyped clash at AAMI Park on Saturday night. That is until the unthinkable happened when St Kilda charged back from a 24-point deficit to finish 68-68 with Collingwood in last Saturday's AFL grand final.

Under the rules the match will be replayed and it made no sense for soccer people to even think about playing at a nearby park after the Rules-mad city had turned out for the replay at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Luckily the delay will only be a week with Heart and Victory now to play on October 8, the only game of the weekend in what had been scheduled as a break for a Fifa window.

The Heart will probably welcome the extra time off as they attempt to regroup after being thrashed 4-0 by Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.

It was a galling loss to a team who had scored only three goals in their first six matches of the season.

The Heart finished with 10 players after Dean Heffernan was sent off early in the second half.

Week eight was punctuated by red cards with a player sent off in four of the five matches.

Leaders Adelaide United beat Perth Glory 2-0 after the visitors were forced to play the last 15 minutes one short following Jamie Coyne's dismissal.

Adelaide, with two goals in three minutes, the second a penalty, from Sergio Van Dijk (who joined Mathew Leckie at the top of the golden boot standings with four) ended the round unbeaten and still six points clear of Brisbane and Central Coast who had the weekend off.

Melbourne Victory had a massive 19 shots (to Newcastle's six) and a 9-2 corner count in their favour but still failed to score and had to content themselves with a point from a 0-0 away draw - their fifth draw in nine outings.

It was just as bad for the other glamour club Sydney FC who had a 17-4 advantage in shots but finished 1-1 at home to Gold Coast United who were one short for the last 22 minutes after John Curtis was sent off.

The Wellington Phoenix will have another attempt at improving their abysmal away record when they fly to the Gold Coast to tackle United at Skilled Park in Friday's round opener.

In their previous clash, at Westpac Stadium in week two, the Phoenix led 1-0, 2-1 and then 3-1 before Gold Coast rallied to finish 3-3. Two of United's goals that night were scored by the now-departed Shane Smeltz.