Sydney FC maintains unbeaten streak in 0-0 A-League draw

SYDNEY (AP) - For all the hype between often bitter A-League crosstown rivals Sydney FC and Western Sydney, it was a match that fizzled.

The scoreless draw Saturday between the two sides kept Sydney FC's unbeaten streak alive through 15 rounds. But it left the Sky Blues just five points ahead of second-placed Melbourne Victory, which beat Brisbane - and the Victory has a game in hand.

There were few good scoring chances in the derby match which attracted 40,000 spectators to Sydney Football Stadium.

"I'm not happy with the draw, but I'm happy with the performance," said Sydney coach Graham Arnold. "We've still got 12 games to go, we're in a fantastic position."

The 15th round concludes on Sunday when Newcastle hosts the Perth Glory.

Elsewhere around the league:

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MELBOURNE VICTORY 3, BRISBANE 2

James Troisi, Marco Rojas and Besart Berisha gave the Victory a 3-0 lead by the 27th minute and the Roar replied twice - Dimitri Petratos in the 30th and James Donachie's own goal in the 41st - before the half ended to conclude the scoring.

The Roar couldn't find the second-half equalizer despite playing with an extra man when striker Berisha was sent off with a straight red card for a high arm on Luke DeVere.

Victory coach Kevin Muscat thought Berisha's sending off was unnecessary: "I haven't come across anyone who said it was a red card. We were dominating with a clear intent to attack. In the end we had to do it the hard way."

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ADELAIDE UNITED 2, MELBOURNE CITY 1

Adelaide, winning for only the second time this season, came from a goal down after four minutes to beat City and prevent the third-placed Melbourne side from closing in on Sydney.

After Bruno Fornaroli gave City the lead, Dylan McGowan leveled in the 10th and substitute Mark Ochieng scored the winner in the 87th minute.

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WELLINGTON 1, CENTRAL COAST 0

The only goal of the match came early when Michael McGlinchey scored in the ninth minute. Strong winds and swirling rain in Wellington helped slow play so that the home side could record its fourth win of the season.