Melbourne crashed to a 4-1 defeat in Adelaide tonight despite having a period of dominance at only 2-1 down early in the second half.

Adelaide proved far too strong in the end however, you can read the full match report here.

Travis Dodd, no stranger to scoring against Melbourne was the tormentor-in-chief with a double.

Melbourne fans will be far more focused on their own team, frustratingly bad through the midfield with Carlos Hernandez particularly lacklustre.

Ernie Merrick rang the changes from the bench but Adrian Caceres and Daniel Vasilevski proved ineffective while Kaz Patafta's small stature is proving a serious hurdle to him having an impact in this league.

Sound negative? It's just a product of the high standards Melbourne fans seem to be setting. After a frustrating opening five games of the year (all draws) it looked as though Melbourne had turned the corner with two straight wins.

Now the team must re-focus on consolidating its spot in the top four after this wake-up call defeat.

If it's any consolation Archie Thompson did take his one chance for the match well with a neat finish, but Melbourne just couldn't produce attacking chances.

After a reasonable game last week Matthew Kemp put in the proverbial 'mare against his former club, his night getting off to a bad start with a nasty challenge and then second foul earning a yellow card within three minutes.

Victory is likely to take a hit from this defeat and a home fixture against Perth next week is a double-edged sword.

On one hand, Victory will be facing the least talented and cohesive unit in the A-League.

But that will only raise expectations of a win - and Perth are notorious for closing Melbourne down regardless of the defenders at its disposal.

Until next time, come on Melbourne.

Sydney were eliminated from the Asian Champions League this evening after drawing 0-0 away to the Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan. It officially ends Australia's involvement in the competition, Adelaide's dead-rubber game against Dong Tam Long An of Vietnam a 3-0 win courtesy of a Travis Dodd hat-trick.

 The focus on Sydney's exit won't get a great deal of coverage, given it fell on the same night as State of Origin rugby league, but it's likely that what will be said will be sympathetic to the Bling's cause. Sydney should be disappointed that they couldn't find a way through against a Urawa team only mildly interested in winning the match, and succeeding with a safety first approach.

Sydney's best two chances of the match were poles apart in terms of quality. In the second half David Carney hit the outside of the post with a brilliant left-footed shot from outside of the area. David Zdrilic's miss in the first half was considerably less impressive. Unmarked ten yards from goal, Zdrilic headed a cross from the right flank nowhere near the goal. How heavily that miss is criticised may be swept away by the "brave" Sydney team, who stood up to an always-singing throng of Urawa fans, and seemed less than daunted by the atmosphere and occasion.

 In other A-League news, Melbourne finally signed off on a new stadium agreement today at the Olympic Park site. For now, it will be opened in 2009 with a seating capacity of 31,000 seats. The debate about "safe standing" seems set to continue, with a chance the actual capacity of the venue may be around the 35,000 mark by the time the stadium opens. And in a win for the club, an agreement was reached where blockbuster games can be moved to the Telstra Dome - although one hopes that by 2009 the A-League season will be longer than 21 home and away games (meaning today's breakdown of 7 at OP and 5 at the Dome will be irrelevant).

 And keep an eye on the Australian page at OleOle because the "revenge" friendly between Australia and Uruguay is coming soon.

It's been a bad matchday round for Australian clubs in the Asian Champions League, with Sydney losing, and Adelaide's destiny in the competition out of their own control. Adelaide lead 2-0 before being pegged back to 2-2 by Korean side Seongnam, while Sydney lead before losing 2-1 to Indonesian outfit Persik Kediri.

 In fairness to Sydney, Persik are a much improved side on the one that lost 15-0 the last time they participated in the Champions League, and the conditions in central Java were oppressive. Persik are playing weekly league matches, while Sydney have been in a domestic offseason since February. Damage to Sydney's pride does take a back seat to the fact they are now a very serious underdog in terms of qualifying from their group. Having conceded twice in their home match against Urawa (a 2-2 draw) there was every likelihood they had to beat the Reds in Japan in order to finish ahead of them on the table. Now they will have to, unless Urawa conspire to drop points themselves in their other two remaining games.

 Adelaide started the Champions League on a hiding to nothing given their end to the A-Leauge season, and the entertaining football they provided at Hindmarsh Stadium on Wednesday was a vast improvement on their dire, workmanlike performance against Dong Tam. Not holding a 2-0 advantage means that even three wins from three in their remaining matches will put Adelaide top of the gorup and through, without other results going their way.

 Still, the conspiracy theorists who believe that Australia winning too much too soon will lead to a revolt, and expulsion from Asia, are now being tested by the unfavourable run of results for the Aussie clubs. In brief news from Melbourne, the Victory have signed former Chelsea player Joe Keenan, and Adelaide defender Matthew Kemp. The signing everyone is interested in however, the replacement for Fred/Kristian Sarkies, is still yet to happen, with no rumours doing the rounds as to whom it could possibly be.

Melbourne's squad is likely to undergo further changes in the coming week, with out of contract midfielder Kristian Sarkies set to leave the Victory.

 Speculation has been rife about Sarkies since version one, when most fans felt he was underplayed in the Victory's season of struggle. Sarkies started just 6 matches in the 2006/7 A-League season and failed to prove himself worthy of a spot in attacking midfield ahead of Fred.

 The end for Sarkies was almost certainly sealed when the club's management and administration failed to annoint him the successor to Fred when the Brazilian left the club for DC United. The signs were clear that Sarkies wasn't the ideal replacement, fellow young Socceroo Leigh Broxham had moved level with him in the pecking order and his being substituted on before Sarkies in the Grand Final may have been the final straw.

 Sarkies would be a quality pick up for any other A-League team, provided the coach can keep him happy with game time. He's dominating for the Olyroos, scoring again in Australia U23's 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia last night. Adelaide United appear favourites to capture his services, but interim coach Aurelio Vidmar has denied any deal has been done yet.

 As for the fans? Sarkies was a devisive force, and those who felt he wasn't ever good enough for Melbourne have lead the charge to boo him on his return to Telstra Dome.

It's been a good week for football in Australia, Sydney drawing 2-2 with Urawa Reds and Adelaide beating Dong Tam 2-0 in the Champions League. But the entire nation will take far more interest in Saturday's friendly between the national team and China.

 It won't be the strongest Australian team taking the field, far from it, but with coach Graham Arnold still considered an interim manager by the fanbase, a good performance against Asian opposition could allay some fears going into the Nations Cup in the upcoming european offseason.

Worryingly, some star Socceroos such as Mark Viduka and Lucas Neill have criticised future friendlies against Uruguay and Argentina to be played in Sydney and Melbourne respectively in June. It's ridiculous that the word "boycott" is even being used. While the club-vs-country debate is an old chestnut, the chance to play in front of 180,000 fans against two of the most decorated teams in the world sems unrefusable.

In Melbourne, the Victory have undergone some changes to their squad, with the likes of Mark Byrnes and Simon Storey leaving to pursue their careers elsewhere. Brazillian recruit Fred has also left the club, apparently on his way to DC United in America.

 And finally, the FFA have decided New Zealand will get their third crack at a franchise in Australia's national league, this time from the city of Wellington. No name or concrete player details about the team yet, and opinion is still very much divided about whether it will be third time lucky, or third strike and out for the Kiwis.