Adelaide United’s James Holland can’t believe his leg didn’t break in shocking tackle

WHEN Adelaide United midfielder James Holland watched his first smartphone replay of that brutal Brendon Santalab tackle, he was gobsmacked.

WHEN Adelaide United midfielder James Holland watched his first smartphone replay of that brutal Brendon Santalab tackle, he was gobsmacked.

Holland saw just how lucky he was during United’s 1-2 loss to Western Sydney at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.

Santalab was issued with a caution before scoring his second goal of the night to win the game for the Wanderers.

“It felt bad, my leg is hurting and it doesn’t feel good — it’s the referee’s decision at the end of the day,’’ Holland said.

“I knew he (Santalab) was coming, but I thought he would pull out because he was two seconds late.

“I was clearly going to get to the ball. I’m just lucky I didn’t have my foot on the ground, to be honest, because if I had my foot on the ground I think I would have broken my leg.

“The knock is on my shin. I got lucky — I’ll be stiff for a couple of days but I’ll be fine.

“But look, that’s Western Sydney’s philosophy. They won the game, we threw it away.

“But if they want to play that kind of game, that’s their decision. It’s a lesson for us for the next time. It’s frustrating, I’m frustrated.”

Holland said he also was not impressed with the tackle which sent Sergio Cirio to the bench in the 11th minute of the clash.

Brendon Santalab takes out James Holland. Picture: Sarah Reed.

The Spaniard toughed it out for nine minutes but couldn’t continue after Jack Clisby’s attempted tackle inside the first two minutes sent shockwaves throughout the galleries.

“Cirio’s (incident) happened very quickly,’’ Holland said.

“I think it was borderline (red card) and I can understand why the referee gave him (Clisby) a yellow. Maybe if it was later on (in the game he would have been sent off).

“Obviously the fourth official was right there (Rick Schneider from SA) and I think he (referee Shaun Evans) went on his decision.”

Cirio had scans on his right knee on Saturday morning but the extent of his injury remains unknown.

Holland says Adelaide must now put all of its focus into Saturday night’s blockbuster at Hindmarsh Stadium.

United hosts Melbourne Victory which traditionally is a feisty rivalry that has seen a raft of expulsions.

They include one in the very first A-League encounter when former Red Richie Alagich was sent off in the 15th minute of a 1-0 win in 2005 at Hindmarsh.

“The atmosphere was great (at Hindmarsh),’’ Holland said. “But I think it’s good that we’ve got the eight-day turnaround.

“We’re hungry after a loss but a few of us have knocks and we have to figure out where we can get better and also eight days more of working together — we need as much time as we can.”

But Holland, who spent seven years abroad, believes the A-League has not changed that much in terms of physicality.

“Australian (soccer) has always been hard,’’ he said.

“It’s probably gotten a little bit more intense, the game is a little bit quicker.”