The Etihad Stadium pitch is not up to state league standard let alone good enough to host the Hyundai A-League grand final in ten days time, Melbourne Victory striker Archie Thompson says. Thompson said the Docklands' surface was "the worst I've ever seen it" during the club's 2-0 loss in the AFC Champions' League against Korean side Seongham Ilhwa on Tuesday night. So bad is the condition of the ground - which is also being used for NAB Cup AFL matches and recently hosted major concerts in AC/DC and George Michael - that Thompson said the only way teams could score was from set pieces as the Koreans did twice during their 2-0 win.

Jon McKain and Ben Sigmund are vying for the centre back spot alongside Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante for Saturday night's A-League preliminary final against Sydney. McKain was unavailable because of suspension for the extra-time win against the Newcastle Jets last weekend and Sigmund will return from New Zealand international duty to play the full 120 minutes at Westpac Stadium. Coach Ricki Herbert said a decision was unlikely to be reached until after Friday afternoon's training session in Sydney. But McKain would appear to be the front-runner after forming a strong partnership with Durante in recent weeks.

Adelaide United will use lessons learnt during 2007 when it attempts to upset Shandong Luneng at the Shandong Sports Centre in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night. After beating ACL champions the Pohang Steelers 1-0 in the first group match, coach Aurelio Vidmar said his team was poised to spring another upset victory in its second match. Shandong, the Chinese Super League's 'Real Madrid', narrowly beat the Reds 1-0 back in March 2007 before the teams drew 2-2 in the return fixture in China. In 2007, Shandong was a quick moving side that enjoyed maintaining possession and attacking ferociously on the counter.

Steven Whittaker's impressive goalscoring form continued as Rangers restored its 13-point advantage at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 2-0 win at Kilmarnock. The Ibrox full-back netted his 11th goal of the season before Kenny Miller doubled the advantage for the Scottish champions at Rugby Park. Killie had held Rangers to a draw here earlier in the season, before wrecking Robbie Keane's debut with a win over Celtic, but failed to overcome the Old Firm on this occasion. Motherwell extended its unbeaten run to 11 games against St Mirren in their clash but had Buddies' substitute Andy Dorman to thank for their point at St Mirren Park.

Darren Bent chose the perfect moment to score his first hat-trick for Sunderland, with owner Ellis Short on Wearside to check on his investment, as the Black Cats recorded a 4-0 win over Bolton. The 10million-pound striker lifted the pressure on the club and manager Steve Bruce with a well-taken treble which helped lift the club six points clear of the relegation zone and into 13th place in the Premier League. Bolton was the fall guys on a night when the home side ended its wait for a league win at the 15th attempt, a run which dated back to November 21 last year.