Adelaide United’s A-League elimination final hero Ben Halloran reflects on extra-time winner

Adelaide United’s elimination final hero Ben Halloran says he was so overcome with emotion after his extra-time winner against Melbourne City he had no idea how to celebrate it as the Reds move closer to giving Marco Kurz the ultimate send off.

Ben Halloran of United celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Melbourne City. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

• Kurz keeps fairytale finish on track
• Reds avenge heartbreak, extend Kurz’s tenure

BEN Halloran has never played under a coach as successful as Marco Kurz who lost their job.

But Adelaide United’s elimination final hero said his teammates were focused on giving the German boss the ultimate send off in their quest for an A-League title.

The Reds attacker stroked home a 119th-minute finish to sink Melbourne City in dramatic fashion and send the Hindmarsh Stadium crowd into raptures on Sunday night.

Halloran said the last-gasp winner, which moved United to within one victory of the grand final, was a fitting way to extend the tenure of Kurz before his end of season departure.

Adelaide United attacker Ben Halloran celebrates after his elimination final winner against Melbourne City. Picture: Sarah Reed

“It’s a bit of an odd one,” said Halloran, when asked if he had previously experienced a coaching exit following such a fruitful campaign.

“Marco has done great things for the club.

“But he’s a very ambitious guy … and he wants to win the title more than anyone, so if we could send him off with a championship that would be a wonderful thing.

“After the game you could see it on his face.

“He was a bit sentimental and you could tell it meant a lot to him to win in that fashion in his last (home) game.

“It was probably bittersweet knowing he’s not going to be there next season.

“The players respect him as a coach … but it’s out of our hands.”

Halloran demonstrated composure under pressure when he clinically dispatched substitute Baba Diawara’s pass first-time to secure the tense 1-0 triumph.

He said his cool head disappeared the moment the ball hit the back of the net.

“It was just pure elation,” said Halloran, who described the goal as the best individual moment of his nine-year professional career.

“I’ve never scored a last-minute winner, so I didn’t know what to do (to celebrate).

“I just slid into the corner and got suffocated (by players) for a couple of minutes.

The Hindmarsh Stadium crowd erupts following Ben Halloran’s extra-time goal against Melbourne City. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

“It was like I was in a cave and there was a wall of heads yelling in my face … but eventually they piled off.

“We have an amazing group of players here. Everyone is down to earth and we’ve built a real mateship culture.

“It was a moment I’ll never forget.”

Halloran, who sat out rounds 17-22 with an ankle injury having won the FFA Cup in October, twice went agonisingly close to giving Adelaide an earlier advantage.

The Queenslander crashed a first-half effort against the crossbar, then had a late shot which squirmed through ex-Reds goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic’s legs and rebounded off the post.

He paid tribute to the passionate 13,232 home crowd for getting United over the line and firing them to Friday’s semi-final against premier Perth Glory in the west.

“There was a couple of chances I had, so I would’ve been pretty gutted not to score in the end,” said the off-season recruit, who joined from Japanese side V-Varen Nagasaki.

Adelaide United players stack on Ben Halloran in celebration following his last-gasp elimination final strike. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

“But playing here at Coopers (Stadium) makes a massive difference.

“We’re always so strong at home. Having these fans behind us makes all the difference.”

Adelaide had a pool recovery session on Monday and would train on Tuesday, before flying to Perth the following day.

Halloran said the five-day turnaround before facing Glory would be challenging, but remained confident his teammates would bounce back.

“Physically it will be a bit tough,” the six-cap Socceroo said.

“In the back end of the game against Perth, we’ll probably feel it a little bit.

“But carrying this feeling and momentum into the game is a really important thing for us.”