Soccer: Stats good, but Knights fail where it counts

The New Zealand Knights give belief to the adage which insists there are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics. Or something like that.

The 10th round of the Hyundai A-League tossed up some more of the bizarre but did nothing to lift spirits at the Auckland-based franchise.

Though they were on the wrong end of a 4-0 spanking from runaway leaders Melbourne Victory, a look at the post-match summary would have heads shaking.

According to the statistics, the Knights had more possession than Melbourne, had only two fewer scoring attempts and won the corner count 6-4.

Contrast that to Queensland Roar who warmed up for Sunday's transtasman crossing with a 1-1 home draw with Central Coast Mariners.

Queensland had a massive 27-8 advantage in shots on goal, won 12 corners to one and had 59 per cent of the possession yet had to come from behind in front of the round-high crowd of 13,727 at Suncorp Stadium to take a point with a 49th minute Reinaldo goal. It was much the same story in Newcastle where the Jets dominated Adelaide United but needed a spectacular last-minute Nicky Carle goal to win 2-1.

With 60 per cent possession and a 24-13 advantage in shots, the home side, who went ahead with a 26th-minute Vaughan Coveny strike, would have expected better.

They went close to missing out altogether when Carl Veart, who had brought Adelaide level with a 37th minute penalty, blasted a second shot from the spot over the goal just minutes from the end after Jade North had been sent off for hand ball.

In Sydney, and with a disappointing crowd of 12,316, Sydney FC were also denied despite the stats being very much in their favour.

Leading the shot count 22-6 and corners 11-2, the defending champions could do no better than a 1-1 draw against a Perth Glory side who are the team closest to the Knights on the points table.