Adelaide United has gone to the top of the A-League ladder after recording a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
Adelaide United has gone to the top of the A-League ladder after recording a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
Reds captain Travis Dodd, playing in his 100th game for the South Australian club, scored the only goal after a great attacking run in the 41st minute.
Taking possession in the midfield, Dodd flicked the ball up to Cristiano who then returned the favour by heading the ball back into the skipper’s path.
He charged forward, managed to keep a step ahead of Hayden Doyle before cracking a ball past the left hand of goalkeeper Frank Juric.
The home side tried to extend their lead immediately after the break but were then forced to defend in the final half hour against a determined but relatively ineffective Glory side.
It was a pleasing effort for the new-look United line-up who started four of its recruits on the pitch and got 70 minutes out of its injury-prone marquee player Paul Agostino.
Earlier it had been Adelaide on the front foot and they made three attempts on goal before Perth had got its game going.
But the Glory worked their way into the contest with Scott Bulloch proving the most dangerous player in attack.
At the 17th minute he slipped away from the Reds’ defence but his 20-metre kick went left of the target.
Four minutes later he found space again and had a clear path to goal. But a brave Eugene Galekovic came off his line and met him just outside the box to thwart the move forward.
He was also brought down in an Ang Costanzo tackle but the resulting free kick cannoned into a United wall and was cleared from danger.
Generally it was a fast-moving and attacking 45 minutes of football with both teams earning a couple of corners and giving the opposition-s defence the run around.
A nil-all half would’ve been a more appropriate outcome but Dodd had other ideas.
The Glory changed their line-up after the break with Nickolai Topor-Stanley and Nikita Rukavytsya replacing Doyle and Eugene Dadi.
The changes didn’t change the momentum of the game however with Cristiano, Paul Reid and Lucas Pantelis blazing away in the space of eight minutes.
Pantelis had two attempts with his second shot generated the most excitement among the crowd. A well-timed pass opened up the goal for the little left footer who kept the ball low but went just right of the target.
Perth didn’t give up however and in the blink of an eye it was the visitors showing the initiative. They earned a couple of corners and for 15 minutes they dominated possession.
United displayed signs of fatigue and were scrappy and edgy in defence.
But in that period the visitors managed just shot on goal, relieving some of the pressure on the Reds.
“I think we were a little bit rusty at times in the first half but certainly in the second half we got a little bit more cohesion. I was really pleased with how they finished off the game,” he said.
“Probably not a good day in front of goal we probably could have easily finished off the game two or three nil but that’s always the danger, if you are not putting those chances away they can go up a couple of time and nick a goal.”
Perth Glory coach David Mitchell said he was pleased with his players’ efforts in an even contest.
“The first half we fought very well and I thought we could have gone 1-0 up; we missed a very good chance and controlled the game in parts,” he said.
“Once they scored I tried to make a few changes at half time by bringing Nikolai Topor-Stanley on and Rukavytsya. With his pace I thought we couldn’t threaten them more in the second half but it didn’t pan out that way.”
Adelaide United 1 (Dodd 41)
Perth Glory 0
Crowd: 10,510
