Adelaide United rout Melbourne Knights 5-2 in FFA Cup
New coach Gertjan Verbeek’s Adelaide United are one step closer to retaining their FFA Cup crown after dispatching Melbourne Knights 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Reigning FFA Cup champion handed new Dutch boss Gertjan Verbeek a perfect official start in a goal fest on Wednesday night.
Adelaide marched towards the national knockout competition’s round of 16 after a comfortable 5-2 win over Melbourne Knights at Knights Stadium, west of Melbourne, in front of 4097 fans.
Adelaide was cruising with first half goals from debutant Al-Hassan Toure and Ben Halloran but Knights’ Gian Albano’s opportunistic strike saw the Reds wobble until the break.
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A Nathan Konstandopoulos second-half goal steadied the Reds nerves before Riley McGree’s toe handed United a 4-1 lead.
Knights’ defender Ayden Brice’s morale boosting headed goal in the 72nd minute gave his side hope but it soon turned to despair when Halloran jagged a second goal from 8m.
“It was a bit of a slog,’’ Halloran told Fox Sports.
“We’re looking to win it (the FFA Cup) again.
“It was typical in these sorts of games and there was a lot of mistakes in the first half.
“The sharpness wasn’t really there.”
Toure’s 12th minute opening goal suggested Adelaide was serious about retaining its 2018 cup crown.
Promoted from the Reds youth team Toure gave the visitors the lead after impressing Verbeek in the NPL where he had bagged five goals in 15 matches.
Right winger Halloran did all the hard work before cutting the ball back to the 19-year-old Guinea-born marksman to leave the Knights stranded.
Toure snatched at his first attempt but the ball kindly fell at his feet before he smacked the ball home from 7m.
Halloran made it 2-0 when he rounded gloveman Jordan Gifkins after a super through ball behind the Knights defenders from left back Ryan Kitto in the 24th minute.
Three minutes later the Knights shocked the Reds when a Mohammad Awad shot cannoned against the upright off the fingertips of gloveman Paul Izzo before Albano tucked the rebound ball into the net.
Izzo was warned earlier, forced to make two fine saves from Awad and Hamish Watson before Albano’s goal.
Konstandopoulos handed the Reds a two-goal buffer 11 minutes after the break with a rasping 15m drive when he was alert to a nervous Knights defence.
German midfielder Mirko Boland’s 18m goal bound drive was touched into the back of the net by McGree’s outstretched boot to sink the two-time national soccer league champion and four-time premier’s hopes at home.
However Adelaide’s defenders were caught napping for Brice’s goal before Halloran’s neat finish saw the Reds run out easy winners.
Full-time: Melbourne Knights 2 (Gian Albano 28m, Aydan Brice 72m) Adelaide United 5 (Al-Hassan Toure 12m, Ben Halloran 24m, 75m Nathan Konstandopoulos 56m, Riley McGree 60m) at Knights Stadium. Referee: Lachlan Keevers. Crowd: 4097.