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03/13/2010		Sydney FC down Phoenix
Sydney FC booked a spot in the A-League grand final with a controversial, but ultimately convincing, 4-2 win over Wellington in the preliminary final at the Sydney Football Stadium

03/13/2010		Fien may return before NRL finals
St George Illawarra hooker Nathan Fien is determined to return before the NRL finals after scans confirmed the New Zealand Test star broke a leg in the Dragons` win over Parramatta

03/13/2010		Troubled Knights stun Bulldogs
Newcastle Knights put their off-field dramas behind them to hold-off Canterbury-Bankstown 20-16 in a major NRL upset at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night

03/13/2010		Kiwis hand Aussies a hiding
Ricky Ponting made a controversial first-ball duck as Australia suffered a 51-run loss to New Zealand in the fifth one-day international

03/13/2010		Storm hold off Sharks
Melbourne launched an effective if unspectacular defence of their NRL premiership by overcoming a committed Cronulla side 14-10 at Toyota Park on Saturday night

03/13/2010		Hall shines as Dogs win Cup
Western Bulldogs have claimed their first AFL trophy in 40 years, with a seven-goal haul from star recruit Barry Hall spearheading a 40-point NAB Cup grand final win over St Kilda

03/13/2010		Brumbies scrape past Sharks
The Brumbies won a Super rugby thriller Saturday night, beating the Sharks 24-22 at Canberra Stadium

03/13/2010		Tander wrecks Whincup`s streak
It seems even when things go wrong, they end up going right for defending V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup

03/13/2010		Bart Cummings wins Guineas
Bart Cummings has won the Group I Crown Guineas at Flemington for first time, his gelding Rock Classic causing a major boilover as hot favourite Denman missed the placings

03/13/2010		Palu cleared of serious injury
The good news just keeps on coming for New South Wales Waratahs, with barnstorming No.8 Wycliff Palu cleared of a hamstring tear in the aftermath of their record breaking 73-12 Super 14 victory over the Lions

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Sydney FC booked a spot in the A-League grand final with a controversial, but ultimately convincing, 4-2 win over Wellington in the preliminary final at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The Sky Blues will face arch-rivals Melbourne in next Saturday`s decider at Ethihad Stadium after ending the Phoenix`s fairytale run in front of a disappointing home crowd of 13,196.

Teenaged substitute Chris Payne, who went on after an early injury to John Aloisi, scored twice before Sydney`s `killer Bs` Alex Brosque and Mark Bridge sealed the win with a goal each in the second half.

Wellington substitute Eugene Dadi added a late consolation goal to captain Andrew Durante`s first-half effort, but the Phoenix couldn`t muster the magic they had shown to reach the preliminary final against all expectations.

The match was not without controversy, Payne finding himself the centre of a handball controversy reminiscent of Diego Maradona`s `hand of God` and more recently Thierry Henry`s `hand of Frog` goal.

With scores locked at 1-1, the young striker put Sydney in front after 30 minutes with a goal that appeared to find the back off the net off his forearm.

Referee Peter Green let the goal stand, much to the disbelief of the Phoenix players and their coach Ricki Herbert, who was visibly angry at halftime.

But Sydney cancelled any doubts they weren`t deserving of a shot at adding the Championship to their Premiers Plate with a sublime second-half performance.

Brosque gave the home side some breathing space with a brilliantly-taken goal in the 62nd minute, after Bridge had put him into space with a deft through ball.

Brosque returned the favour in the 70th minute, unselfishly squaring the ball to set up his strike partner for an easy tap-in.

Most of Sydney`s best moves involved Slovakian midfielder Karol Kisel, who shook off an illness to be one of Sydney`s best.

The Sky Blues dominated the early stages but couldn`t put the finishing touch on several good moves and it appeared they might be in for a frustrating night when Aloisi succumbed to a hamstring strain.

But Payne showed composure and strength in netting his second A-League goal after some brilliant lead-up from Kisel and Brosque.

Durante scored his first A-League goal against the run of play, heading in from close range after Vince Lia had flicked on a Leo Bertos free kick in the 26th minute.

Payne`s controversial second rattled the Phoenix though they almost equalised just before halftime through Paul Ifill, who had a quiet match by his high standard this season.

Herbert couldn`t his hide anger at Payne`s goal after the match, hitting out at officials, Sydney FC and even the player.

“It`s dreadful, come on,” Herbert said.

“Who`s going to apologise for that? At the end of the day it`s just not acceptable at this level of football, irrespective of what the result might have been at the end of the day.

“It`s poor and I think for a player to do that is unacceptable as well.

“You`ve got some comparisons around the world now, but that one`s three times as bad.

“I don`t know as a club you`ve got to consider what your ethics are like and if accepting of that then so be it.”

Durante said he believed the incident changed the course of the match but did not want to put too much of a dampener on what had been a fine season for the Phoenix.

Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka said Payne admitted to a handball but said it was unintentional.

“I didn`t see it but we spoke about it a couple of moments after the game in the changing room and he said he missed the ball with his head and played an unintentional hand ball,” Lavicka said.

The Czech coach said he was thrilled to be through to the grand final, but admitted Aloisi was in some doubt for the match.

“It`s trouble ... But we all hope Johnny will be ready for grand final,” Lavicka said.

AAP

Sydney FC down Phoenix 03/13/2010


	03. 2010

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