Daal Screamer Wins it for North Queensland

A left-foot screamer by perennial second half substitute Dyron Daal has secured North Queensland FC a deserved inaugural home victory over Perth Glory in Townsville this evening. North Queensland's habit of conceding cheap first half goals continued as Dutchman Victor Sikora scored for Perth in the 25th minute. A sense of 'this is all too familiar' clouded Dairy Farmers Stadium as Perth took their 1-0 lead to the half-time break.

Notorious for securing results in the second half, North Queensland came out of the half-time break a much better outfit and asked plenty of questions of the Perth defence. Star striker Robbie Fowler scored his sixth goal of the season on 65 minutes with a cheeky quick free kick which lifted the spirits of the home faithful. Minutes later coach Ian Ferguson emptied his bench by bringing on big Netherlands Antilles international Dyron Daal. Daal has been an impressive contributor off the bench in recent weeks, but tonight would be his most significant contribution for a club desperately looking to stay in touch with the rest of the competition.

Daal began on the right before moving up forward alongside Robbie Fowler. On 71 minutes, with his second touch of the game Daal received the ball in the penalty box. He turned onto his left foot before unleashing a left-foot drive past Perth goalkeeper Tando Velaphi which sent the green-clad stands into delirium. His goal was just reward for his recent performances and handed North Queensland hope of a first home win. The Greens held on to the 2-1 advantage and secured their first ever home victory - a deserved result and badly needed for the club's off-field credibility as well.

Daal is on a short-term contract replacing Karl Dodd. Once Dodd regains his fitness, it remains to be seen what will happen to Daal although I think he would be a loss for North Queensland. His chances of securing a full-time deal in the A-League have surely increased thanks to his history-making strike this evening.

In the other match of the evening, Thai international Sutee Suksomkit made his debut for Melbourne Victory in their 3-1 defeat of Adelaide United in front of more than 21,000 fans.

Suksomkit to Melbourne and other A-League Movements

As posted last week, it was strongly rumoured on various internet forums that Thai international and current Tampines Rovers player Sutee Suksomkit was on his way to the A-League to link up with fellow Thai Surat Sukha at Melbourne Victory. Suksomkit's signing was confirmed by the club earlier this week and he will stay for three months on a guest player deal. The Thai language sources were on the money and again Melbourne supporters were able to gather information about a potential club signing before official club press releases. Suksomkit's presence at Victory may help Sukha settle in a little more and the A-League champions may perhaps look at signing Suksomkit for its upcoming AFC Champions League campaign.

In other A-League player movement news:

Newcastle have signed 2007 Asian Cup winning Iraq international Ali Abbas for the remainder of the A-League season as an injury replacement player for Shaun Ontong.

Former Leeds United striker Michael Bridges will return to the A-League after signing with Newcastle for the remainder of the A-League season. Bridges' first stint in the A-League was with Sydney FC in the 2007/08 season.

North Queensland FC have managed to hang on to big Netherlands Antilles international Dyron Daal for a further 6-8 weeks on yet another injury replacement deal. The big Dutchman's willingness to remain in Townsville has been rewarded with a second stint at the club, although when this current deal expires it remains to be seen how Daal can remain in Townsville should coach Ian Ferguson be willing to sign him to a full-time contract.

Thailand's Suksomkit to Melbourne Victory?

I have been alerted to a rumour that Thai international Sutee Suksomkit is set to join countryman Surat Sukha at A-League Champions Melbourne Victory in October on a three month deal, presumably as a guest player.

This scoop first surfaced on an edited Wikipedia page, however it seems some Melbourne supporters have done some digging and uncovered a more credible source from a Singapore football forum:

http://kallangroar.com/asean-footbal...otball-94.html "Sutee Suksomkit sign Melbourne Victory in A-League. Sutee became the thai player in Hyundai A-League next to Surat Sukha last night when he signed a contract at Melbourne Victory After, terminate contract for Tampines Rovers He will go to Australia on October 5th.The Thai Midfielder,will be paid $15,000 AUD per/month for 3 month."

For those that can understand Thai, this source seems to confirm suspicion that Suksomkit, currently with S-League outfit Tampines Rovers, is on his way to the A-League. While I could only catch Suksomkit's name, Melbourne Victory, and the A-League mentioned, others have had native speakers of Thai confirm the content of the video.

It is not unusual for the signing of Melbourne players to be announced in foreign media first, as we saw with the signings of Carlos Hernandez and Surat Sukha. As always nothing is confirmed until Melbourne Victory themselves confirm Suksomkit's signing.

Watch this space.