Soccer: Hometown jinx may favour Knights

John Adshead does not pin his hopes on anything but hard work as he attempts to turn the NZ Knights' A-League season round.

But he must have a sneaky hope that the hometown blight that has struck all eight teams tips it his way at Olympic Park on Monday night in the clash against Melbourne Victory.

The visiting sides won all four games last weekend. The away-team victories far outweigh home-team success, 12-6, as clubs head into the last matches of the first round this weekend.

Only leaders Adelaide have won more than half their games to head a still-congested table. With just three points, the Knights are at the bottom but still only a couple of results away from getting into the mix.

Their task in Melbourne will be difficult even if the Victory are down on strike power, with Archie Thompson in London for the friendly international against Jamaica on Sunday.

The Knights are also without their leading goalscorer, with Simon Yeo out for a match after his sending-off in the farce at North Harbour Stadium.

Adshead continues to front with a brave face.

"It is no good looking back. We have to be positive and believe that we can turn things around," he said.

"There is no point in going out and eking out three draws. That would do nothing for our position on the table. We have to go out and try to win."

Without Yeo, Adshead will have to make changes. That might go further than just personnel, with a hint that he could look at changing the system even to the extent of playing three up front.

"On the injury front we have no new concerns, and apart from Yeo, Danny Hay and Frank Van Eijs, we have a full squad to select from."

One of the more positive features from the heart-breaking loss to Adelaide was the form shown by Neil Emblen.

He looked more comfortable dropping from midfield to join John Tambouras in the centre of the defence.

With Hay still sidelined, Emblen is certain to take that role again at Olympic Park, especially if Adshead decides to go to something like a 4-3-3 formation.

The squad travel tomorrow morning, which will allow a good preparation and the opportunity to watch Sunday's top-of-the-table clash between Sydney and Adelaide on television.

That promises plenty, with many still prepared to wager that Adelaide's time at the top might be short-lived.

However, with the Hyundai A-League still dominated by well-organised defences, it would be a brave bet to go against the John Kosmina-coached side, who have renowned goalscorers in Fernando Rech and Shengqing Qu, as the Knights learned to their dismay last Sunday.

Adelaide's record on defence, too, remains unsurpassed in the A-League.

They have conceded just three goals in six games.

John Adshead does not pin his hopes on anything but hard work as he attempts to turn the NZ Knights' A-League season round.

But he must have a sneaky hope that the hometown blight that has struck all eight teams tips it his way at Olympic Park on Monday night in the clash against Melbourne Victory.

The visiting sides won all four games last weekend. The away-team victories far outweigh home-team success, 12-6, as clubs head into the last matches of the first round this weekend.

Only leaders Adelaide have won more than half their games to head a still-congested table. With just three points, the Knights are at the bottom but still only a couple of results away from getting into the mix.

Their task in Melbourne will be difficult even if the Victory are down on strike power, with Archie Thompson in London for the friendly international against Jamaica on Sunday.

The Knights are also without their leading goalscorer, with Simon Yeo out for a match after his sending-off in the farce at North Harbour Stadium.

Adshead continues to front with a brave face.

"It is no good looking back. We have to be positive and believe that we can turn things around," he said.

"There is no point in going out and eking out three draws. That would do nothing for our position on the table. We have to go out and try to win."

Without Yeo, Adshead will have to make changes. That might go further than just personnel, with a hint that he could look at changing the system even to the extent of playing three up front.

"On the injury front we have no new concerns, and apart from Yeo, Danny Hay and Frank Van Eijs, we have a full squad to select from."

One of the more positive features from the heart-breaking loss to Adelaide was the form shown by Neil Emblen.

He looked more comfortable dropping from midfield to join John Tambouras in the centre of the defence.

With Hay still sidelined, Emblen is certain to take that role again at Olympic Park, especially if Adshead decides to go to something like a 4-3-3 formation.

The squad travel tomorrow morning, which will allow a good preparation and the opportunity to watch Sunday's top-of-the-table clash between Sydney and Adelaide on television.

That promises plenty, with many still prepared to wager that Adelaide's time at the top might be short-lived.

However, with the Hyundai A-League still dominated by well-organised defences, it would be a brave bet to go against the John Kosmina-coached side, who have renowned goalscorers in Fernando Rech and Shengqing Qu, as the Knights learned to their dismay last Sunday.

Adelaide's record on defence, too, remains unsurpassed in the A-League.

They have conceded just three goals in six games.

Top goalscorers

4: D. Yorke (Sydney), B. Despotovski (Perth).
3: A. Thompson (Melbourne).
2: S. Yeo (NZ Knights), Shengqing Qu (Adelaide), S. Petrie, N. Spencer (C Coast), W. Moon, M. Baird (Queensland), S. Corica (Sydney), A. Milicic (Newcastle)