A-League Round 12: Adelaide United get past 10-man Wellington Phoenix in big Boxing Day win

ADELAIDE United played in front of its biggest crowd at Coopers Stadium this season as the Reds put on a perfect summer show for the Boxing Day holiday makers.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 26: United players celebrate a goal by Michal Marrone during the round 12 A-League match between Adelaide United and the Wellington Phoenix at Coopers Stadium on December 26, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

ADELAIDE United played in front of its biggest crowd at Coopers Stadium this season as the Reds put on a perfect summer show for the Boxing Day holiday makers.

The other upside is the Red have now ended the year without a loss in December which is comforting given the side was bottom for five rounds this season.

But Adelaide lacked genuine urgency and mongrel in front of 11,655 fans until Wellington Phoenix was reduced to 10-men for the final 35 minutes.

United threatened to disappoint the faithful and was at times on the verge of kissing a real chance of making up solid ground for the play offs goodbye after a dismal start to the season.

But thankfully own goal came to the rescue first before Adelaide claimed a solid 3-0 over Phoenix at Coopers Stadium on Saturday.

Craig Goodwin scored Adelaide’s second after a Glen Moss howler in the 73rd minute.

Moss misjudged Goodwin’s 25m shot which he should have saved before watching the leather trickle into the net.

Michael Marrone scored his first career goal less than two minutes later when Goodwin fired another shot which crashed against the upright before the defender tucked the rebound home in his 131st match.

Marcelo Carrusca and Michael Marrone of Adelaide United celebrate.

Albert Riera made Adelaide’s job easier of earning maximum points when he was expelled in the 55th minute after picking up a caution for fouling Jimmy Jeggo — 33 minutes after he was booked for bringing down Sergio Cirio.

But the game was evenly poised until own goal popped up again to score his third for United season to give the Reds a nice post-Christmas head start in the 42nd minute.

Wellington defender Manny Muscat managed to smack the ball into the back of his own net from 3m after a Goodwin cross.

Adelaide got what it deserved at the break despite Wellington having most of the ball in the opening 45 minutes as Wellington boss Ernie Merrick kept Sergio Cirio quiet for most of the first half when he deployed Jeffrey Sarpong as a wing-back.

Sarpong was Phoenix’s fourth defender when needed but became a free man when Wellington went forward.

That posed problems for Adelaide as Phoenix were mobile through Sarpong and the effervescent Roly Bonevacia.

But it was Adelaide which had the better first half chances.

Goodwin tested the waters when he fired a 20m shot well off target in the 13th minute before Muscat jolted Eugene Galekovic’s reflexes when his 10m shot from a Roy Krishna corner was tipped over the bar in the 21st minute.

The referee awards a second yellow card to Albert Riera of Wellington Phoenix.

Bruce Djite who hadn’t scored an A-League goal since February 21 then showed signs of being very frustrated man when he made all the right moves before his final effort — a 20m shot — fizzled meekly into the arms of Phoenix keeper Glen Moss in the 26th minute.

A minute later Sarpong had the ball in the back of the net after Galekovic spilled a cross but referee Chris Beath called the play back for a foul.

Jeggo had Moss at full stretch in the 28th minute with a blistering 20m shot before Jordan Elsey’s shot was saved on the line by Sarpong from the resultant corner.

Elsey dodged a penalty bullet when Beath allowed play to go on when the second half was three minutes old and Riera fell inside the box over what appeared to be an outstretched leg.

Just 60 seconds later Dylan McGowan somehow blocked what looked to be a certain Krishna equaliser when the ball crashed against his outstretched leg and sailed over the bar for a corner.

A-LEAGUE Round 12

Adelaide United 3 (OG 42m, Craig Goodwin 73m, Michael Marrone 75m) Wellington Phoenix 0 at Coopers Stadium

Referee: Chris Beath

Crowd: 11,655

Originally published as A-League Round 12: Adelaide United get past 10-man Wellington Phoenix in big Boxing Day win