Adelaide United defeats Perth Glory to record first win of 2015-16 A-League season

THE swashbuckling Adelaide United of old returned at Coopers Stadium, playing Perth Glory off the park to record its first win of the A-League season.

SOCCER - A-League - Adelaide United v Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium. Pablo Sanchez scores the first goal. Photo Sarah Reed.

THE swashbuckling Adelaide United of old came out to play as it moved off the bottom of the A-League ladder on Sunday night. Coach Guillermo Amor has now equalled former boss Josep Gombau’s record in his first season in charge in 2013.

Adelaide earned its very first win of the campaign, 1-0 over Perth Glory and has six points, the same tally Gombau had when the Reds crashed to its worst start ever before making the top six at the end of the season.

But Amor has had a much more pleasant introduction to the A-League bench because of his super class ranking in world soccer as a Barcelona legend - unlike his predecessor who was a no name and had lots to prove when he landed in Adelaide.

But the win came as no surprise as the introduction of Marcelo Carrusca for his first start in four matches and Pablo Sanchez for his second start of the season proved to be a masterstroke by Amor.

They eased into the XI and looked very much like they had been the missing links from Adelaide’s horrendous start to the season.

Carrusca used all of his Argentine wizardry and found Adelaide extra room in attack while Sanchez’s finishing skills are just a sheer delight.

Pablo Sanchez of Adelaide United competes for possession with Marc Warren of Perth Glory.

The Spaniard posted his third goal of the season when the clash was just three minutes old after he latched onto a straight lofted ball from Michael Marrone.

With Glory’s Marc Warren and ex-Red Antony Golec to beat Sanchez swivelled his hips and lost both men inside the box before chipping the ball over advancing Glory goalkeeper Ante Covic.

Carrusca then had Covic flapping away a sublime 6m effort in the 33rd minute when Sanchez started the move but Glory gave as well as it got in an entertaining first half which kicked off in 33C heat.

The visitors also regularly found room behind Adelaide’s twin stoppers with Eugene Galekovic forced to make a brilliant save in the 35th minute from a 12m angled drive from Diego Castro.

Ante Covic kept Perth Glory in the contest with a string of fine saves

But the fans that stayed in the stadium after the Red Army walked out on the half-hour in a protest which has affected all A-League clubs’ supporters groups found good voice when Adelaide started searching hard for a second goal.

Sanchez, Carrusca and Sergio Cirio had Glory under the pump with darting runs and clever use of the ball as Adelaide headed to the break with a 1-0 lead after Cirio forced Covic to make another brilliant save in the 45th minute.

Covic was again at his best two minutes after the break when he parried another Sanchez effort after Carrusca again played the ball into space for the Spaniard.

Members of Adelaide United’s Red Army walk out of the stadium at the 30 minute mark.

Not to be outdone Galekovic — just a minute later — was quick to react to a Richard Garcia 10m effort after the former Socceroo had time and space to pick his spot when Glory exposed Adelaide centrally.

Marrone’s miscued cross which crashed against the upright would have been an injustice for Covic as Bruce Djite peppered the Glory goal with three powerful shots which missed the target.

Galekovic made a super save in the 76th minute diving low to his left when Warren’s 15m drive was bound for the bottom corner.

Substitute Bruce Kamau should have at least had a shot on target when Carrusca found him in space 10m out from goal but the winger slipped before his effort sailed wide in the 78th minute.

Elsey saved what appeared to be a certain equaliser at the death with a brilliant tackle when referee Stephen Lucas played 27 seconds over the four minutes of added time.

ADELAIDE UNITED 1 (Pablo Sanchez 3m) PERTH GLORY 0 at Coopers Stadium

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. Marcelo Carrusca and Pablo Sanchez are crucial to the Reds. It took last night to prove they add another dimension to the Reds. They are just a class above most of their teammates.

2. FFA shifting the fixture from a 4.30pm kick-off to 7pm was brilliant after Sunday’s 41C temperatures. But the Lady Reds were then subject to a ridiculous 4pm kick-off only for that timeslot deemed too dangerous to play. They then played Glory at West Beach at 7.30pm. Discrimination?

3. Guillermo Amor fielded a very balanced starting XI, judging by last night’s performance. Although the McGowan/ Elsey stopper pairing does need some work and tightening, Galekovic behind them will help them adapt quickly.

4. Kudos to the dedicated fans - the “silent majority” who stayed in the stadium to support their team when the Reds needed it most, while the Red Army deserted the terraces. The team certainly owes their first win of the season and climbing off the bottom of the table to the ones that stayed back.

5. Credit where credit is due. Although Bruce Djite failed to score for his 15th consecutive A-League match, his work off the ball allowed Sergio Cirio, Carrusca and Sanchez room to make use of the leather in between Glory’s defensive lines.

Originally published as Adelaide United defeats Perth Glory to record first win of 2015-16 A-League season