FFA Cup: Adelaide end Bentleigh’s fairytale to book final berth

Adelaide United brought an end to the fairytale FFA Cup run of Bentleigh Greens.

Adelaide United’s Jordan Elsey, right, is congratulated by teammates after scoring against Bentleigh Greens in their 2-0 FFA Cup semi-final win. Picture: Getty Images

Adelaide United brought an end to the fairytale FFA Cup run of Bentleigh Greens with a 2-0 victory that sends the Reds to a second successive cup final.

Former Socceroos midfielder Ben Halloran and defender Jordan Elsey netted the goals in a typically professional showing from the Reds at Kingston Heath in Melbourne’s southeast.

The Victorian side, conquerors of A-League side Wellington Phoenix in an earlier round, made Adelaide work hard throughout the 90 minutes but an upset seemed unlikely once the deadlock was broken by Halloran in the 21st minute.

The Reds dominated goalscoring opportunities against the part-time opponents, yet it was Bentleigh who created a golden opportunity to open the scoring but Paul Thurtell was unable to fully connect with a volley after a mistake from Reds goalkeeper Paul Izzo.

From there on it was Adelaide who had the best sights of goal, leaving Izzo a spectator for long periods.

Adelaide were without key attackers Ryan Kitto and Craig Goodwin, the latter a scorer in all three previous rounds of the cup.

Papa Diawara should have given Adelaide the lead, before Halloran converted from close-range after George Blackwood had set up the opportunity with a penetrating run into the penalty area. There were further opportunities for Diawara and Halloran before halftime, and Bentleigh goalkeeper Ryan Scott was forced to pull off an athletic save on the stretch.

Defender Elsey doubled the advantage four minutes into the second half after Scott was unable to hold an awkward free kick from Isaias.

“Bentleigh pushed all the way in the end and credit to them,” said Halloran. “We didn’t do too well (in the early stages) trying to get control of the midfield and the match went back and forth.”

The first team to reach three cup finals, Adelaide will face the winner of the derby semi-final between Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC.

AAP