Adelaide United claim 1-0 win over shoddy Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory’s decline may be a concern for the A-League but certainly not for Adelaide United, who took advantage of their rivals’ disarray to end their own four-game losing streak.
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Melbourne Victory have never been this poor not that Adelaide United really cared.
In the 15 years of Adelaide and Victory and 49 clashes the Victorians were anything but what you would expect from – what is in numbers at least – the biggest A-League club in Australia.
Victory are now officially Adelaide’s bunnies, losing now four consecutive times to the Reds.
The Reds arrested a four-game losing streak to claim a 1-0 win at Hindmarsh Stadium in front of 11,412 fans on Friday night.
Ben Halloran scored the winner when he was at the right place when Riley McGree’s shot was parried by Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas.
As the ball was spinning towards the goal, Victory defender Adama Traore turned and thumped a clearance into Halloran’s shins in the first half.
Andrew Nabbout summed up Victory in a nutshell when he had the goal beckoning after SA’s Elvis Kamsoba split the Reds in the second half.
The forward skied the ball over the bar from 8m with just goalkeeper Paul Izzo to beat.
HARDEN UP
Constructive criticism or was it destructive, perhaps Adelaide’s Ryan Kitto knows.
He was targeted last week, was benched before the clash and came on in the 84th minute hopefully brimming with confidence.
However coach Gertjan Verbeek claiming some of the Reds weren’t A-League standard last week after the 3-0 loss to Perth Glory appeared to have hit the mark in the first half against a Victory which at this point in time is unrecognisable.
Perhaps shocked by the axing of coach, former Reds boss Marco Kurz and his assistant Filip Tapalovic on Tuesday, the visitors made Adelaide’s return to the pitch after a Verbeek baking in Perth pleasant.
Adelaide used width to drag Victory apart and appeared to have lots more aggression in the first half but fell into holes in the second.
ONE EX CAUSED PROBLEMS FOR ADELAIDE
How did Kamsoba escape SA without playing an A-League game for Adelaide?
The former Playford City, Raiders and Croydon Kings’ brother Pacifique Niyongabire – on the Reds books but injured – must have been delighted after Kamsoba made his A-League debut at Hindmarsh in January 2019.
The 23-year-old, 165cm Burundian international toyed with the Reds for most of the 90 minutes with his neat skills, turn of speed and unselfish runs but luckily no one was on the same page for Victory.
VAR HOWLS LIKE A WOLF
A howler was averted in the ninth minute when referee Adam Kersey was premature, pointing to the penalty spot when Robbie Kruse’s cross hit Jordan Elsey’s upper body inside the box.
Video replays proved inconclusive and a lack of camera angles suggested Elsey never handled the ball.
Disaster avoided but the second call against Victory was doubtful when Kruse and Elsey clashed inside the box.
Kruse went to ground and gave Kersey a serve before VAR passed Elsey’s challenge as legal in the 24th minute.
IS GERALD SIBON THE REDS SECRET WEAPON?
Adelaide United’s Dutchman – listed as the performance coach – sits among fans on level five at Hindmarsh Stadium armed with a two-way radio.
It’s almost certain that if Sibon was in the same seat virtually in any stadium serious about the game he would have been harassed by fans but not so on docile level five.
And it’s evident the former Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Heerenveen, Sheffield Wednesday and Melbourne Heart targetman is relaying messages to Verbeek’s assistant Carl Veart’s ear in particular.
Sibon has a bird’s eye view of the action.
He makes his way to the dressing room just before the break probably to relay the message about what he had witnessed in the first half before returning for the second half.
WHERE TO NOW
On Australia Day the Reds face Western United at Whitten Oval – the home of Footscray in the old VFL and Western Bulldogs’ AFL training ground.
ADELAIDE UNITED 1 (Ben Halloran 33m) MELBOURNE VICTORY 0 at Coopers Stadium
Adelaide (4-3-3): Izzo; Strain, Marrone, Jakobsen, Maria; D’Arrigo (Boland 73m), McGree, Blackwood; Halloran, Opseth (Kitto 84m), Mileusnic
Victory (4-3-3): Thomas, Traore, Donachie, Broxham Roux (Athiu 84m); Basha, Poulsen (Hope 68m), Barnett (Lauton 55m); Kamsoba, Kruse, Nabbout
REFEREE: Adam Kersey
CROWD: 11,412
Originally published as Adelaide United claim 1-0 win over shoddy Melbourne Victory