Adelaide United eliminate Brisbane Roar with 2-1 win

Adelaide United brought Brisbane’s A-League finals campaign to a screeching halt with their 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Brisbane couldn’t recover from Adelaide’s two early goals. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Adelaide United is a game away from potentially hosting a home grand final after knocking Brisbane Roar out of the championship race on Sunday.

An injury ravaged Adelaide upset Roar 2-1 at Moreton Daily Stadium after Tomi Juric scored twice and played his best Reds game of the season.

However, Adelaide needs to beat reigning champion Sydney FC away at Nestrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday and hope that Macarthur beats minor premiers Melbourne City on Sunday to realise that home grand final dream.

Juric set Adelaide on its way when he scored his first in the 15th minute as Adelaide won an away final for the first time in history.

Juric scored his best goal of this season to equal injured Reds winger Craig Goodwin’s eight goals tally when Ryan Strain launched a 50m route-one ball which caught Roar’s centre backs off guard.

Juric chested the torpedo ball down, swivelled and drove the ball home from 15m in the 15th minute.

Another counter attack saw the Reds take a 2-0 lead. This time it was Ryan Kitto’s ball wide to Juric on the halfway line that caused Roar mayhem four minutes later.

Juric easily outpaced Roar’s English stopper Tom Aldred, dribbled for 40m before placing the ball beyond the outstretched arms of Brisbane goalkeeper Jamie Young.

Roar’s Alex Parsons pegged back the deficit when the half-time substitute leapt high to nod the ball past stranded Reds keeper James Delianov after a pin-point Corey Brown set piece 11 minutes after the break.

Adelaide survived a second half onslaught to beat Roar for the first time in 10 finals appearances at home.

Alex Parsons’ goal in the 56th minute gave the Roar a sniff. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Reds balance line up

An incredibly poor run of injuries again forced Adelaide coach Carl Veart’s hand before kick off which has become a common occurrence for the Reds.

Veart this time was to replace star Goodwin and hard running striker Kusini Yengi at the last minute.

The pair picked up injuries in Adelaide a day before the clash.

However, Veart’s side rose from a setback which could have had a profound impact on the Reds.

Kitto on the left wing complimented Adelaide’s game plan as he provided Juric much needed support during a superb Reds first half.

Adelaide’s starting 11 was seemingly very balanced.

It gained control of the opening stanza but it seemed to run out of stamina in the second half as players such as captain Stefan Mauk and Juande braved injury pain before being replaced.

Juric pleases Arnie?

Juric’s first half performance should have attracted welcome attention from Socceroos coach Graham Arnold as the national team prepares for the next stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

After Veart described Juric as the best striker in the A-League when he had signed for Adelaide before the season started, his form had been blighted by injury as some of his performances incurred the wrath of many Adelaide fans.

Juric’s international fate is in his own hands. Now he has a chance to again impress Arnold if he scores against Sydney on Saturday.

Bad news for Goodwin, but Carl a cool customer

Adelaide United Craig Goodwin’s season is in jeopardy but coach Carl Veart says it’s another hurdle his side must jump to be crowned champion.

A training accident on Saturday ruled Goodwin out of the stunning 2-1 elimination final win over Brisbane Roar away on Sunday,

Adelaide will now face reigning champion Sydney at the best possible time away on Saturday for a spot in the grand final.

The sides have met three times this league season with a win apiece — 1-0 for Adelaide, 4-1 for Sydney at Hindmarsh and a 2-2 draw in Sydney.

However, Sydney losing key players SA’s Ryan McGowan, Rhyan Grant and goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne to Socceroos 2022 FIFA World Cup duty hasn’t allayed Veart’s fears.

Sydney beat Roar 2-0 away in the final league game of the season without the Socceroos.

And Veart revealed his thoughts aren’t on the prospect of hosting a home grand final for the first time since 2016 - just yet.

If the Reds beat Sydney and Macarthur upsets minor premier Melbourne City — another side rocked by the loss of Socceroos on Sunday — Adelaide could play host to create A-League history again.

“The only thing we have to worry about is doing the job on Saturday against Sydney,’’ Veart said.

“As a one off game we’ll go there with a mindset to go and play our brand of football.

“We’ll take the game to them and all we want is a good result.”

Although Veart feared the worst for his winger before Goodwin has scans on an injured ankle after initial x-rays proved that no bones were broken, he was buoyed by Ryan Kitto’s performance against Roar on the wing.

“He (Goodwin) will have scans on Tuesday,’’ Veart said.

“The way he went down (at training) and the pain that he was in, it didn’t look good.

“We can keep our fingers crossed that it’s not too bad but he’s in a lot of pain so I think it will be very serious.”

With Veart regularly dealing with the loss of players during the training week, he wasn’t fazed by the prospect of more injury surprises this week.

He was particularly impressed by Kitto and Juric’s performances which set the foundation for the upset win over Roar.

“Kitto has been playing at left back for the last three or four games and he stood up and I thought he was tremendous in that first half and he did all the pressing right,’’ Veart said.

“It’s been a difficult season for Tomi, he’s had those injury concerns all season and we know the quality is there and we backed him all season.

“We were trying to get him isolated, in one v one situations, and tried to play off him and in the first half he did exceptionally well and Tomi just showed his quality.”

Kusini Yengi, who was destined to travel to Brisbane, was also forced out the squad at the last minute when he injured his hamstring during the final session on Saturday.

Veart was also forced to nurse Juric — after he scored two classical goals — captain Stefan Mauk and crucial defensive midfielder Juande during the Roar clash.

The trio failed to see out the clash.

A-League - Elimination final

Brisbane Roar 1 (Alex Parsons 56m) 2 Adelaide United (Tomi Juric 15m, 19m) at Moreton Daily Stadium - Referee: Alex King: VAR: Chris Beath