Adelaide United ride their luck to A-League semi-final

Adelaide United edged closer to a grand final berth for the first time since 2016 after eliminating Central Coast Mariners at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.

Adelaide’s Craig Goodwin celebrates after opening the scoring against Central Coast

Adelaide United edged closer to a grand final berth for the first time since 2016, eliminating Central Coast Mariners at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.

Socceroo Craig Goodwin was the key to Adelaide’s victory, scoring one goal and creating a second.

Adelaide will host Premier’s Plate winners Melbourne City in the semi-final after overcoming an energetic Mariners 3-1.

The first leg of the home-and-away semi-final kicks off at Hindmarsh on Wednesday night before the return clash in Melbourne on Sunday for a spot in the championship decider.

Although it was far from a convincing performance from the home side in the knockout final Bernardo Oliveira sugar-coated the victory with a brilliant 20m strike that wrong-footed Mariners keeper Mark Birighitti in stoppage time.

“It’s an amazing feeling and scoring in the final is something I have always dreamed of since I was a kid,’’ Bernardo said. “I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.’

However, the Reds’ victory came after Adelaide lost individual battles across the pitch.

The Mariners’ decision to instruct right-back Lewis Miller shadow Goodwin looked to be a game-winning ploy before the tide turned for the home team.

A great ball from defender Alexandar Popovic turned into the perfect pass before Goodwin took advantage of some good fortune to give Adelaide a 1-0 lead after 26 minutes.

Popovic’s chip looked to have been covered by Mariners’ stopper Cameron Windust, but he slipped at the wrong time allowing Goodwin to run onto the ball and slide it past Birighitti from 15m.

The lead was far from deserved, as Adelaide’s key players were soundly beaten all over the pitch. United’s Lachlan Brook missed a sitter in the fifth minute before the Mariners ran the show until the break without a goal to show for the endeavour.

In an ironic twist, just seconds after Miller was forced off with injury, Goodwin supplied the perfect assist.

The Socceroos winger, enjoying his freedom in the absence of Miller, fired in a cross that Kusini Yengi sidefooted home from close range in the 67th minute.

However, the two-goal cushion wasn’t telling the true story, as Miller’s replacement Storm Roux found the back of the net in the 70th minute after a neat assist from Max Balard.

The Mariners quickly found gaps between stagnant lines, with Reds’ keeper Joe Gauci called into action numerous times.

Central Coast’s Scottish international Jason Cummings, Costa Rican international Marcos Urena and Frenchman Beni N’Kololo were running rampant in attack.

N’Kololo fired a solid warning in the 16th minute, forcing Gauci into a full stretch and brilliant save.

Adelaide rode their luck in the 56th minute when Balard slalomed his way past three banks of Reds’ defenders before releasing the ball to Cummings. He tucked the ball into the back of the net but was ruled off-side.

Adelaide fans then gasped when the fourth official held up what appeared to be an excessive six minutes of stoppage time.

Adelaide prevailed to reach the second phase of the finals campaign for a second successive season as the Mariners again crashed at the same hurdle, after losing the elimination final to Macarthur Bulls 2-0 in 2021.