Goodwin guides Reds to Original Rivalry win over Victory

Adelaide United continued its recent Original Rivalry dominance with a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park on Sunday night.

Craig Goodwin scored the all-important winning goal for the travelling side to secure Adelaide’s third win out of three fixtures against Victory this season.

The Goodwin finish came in the 39th minute when the Reds winger combined with Joshua Cavallo to split Victory apart. The pair played a one-two to send Goodwin steaming into the box; he took one touch to nick past Victory defender Dylan Ryan and a second to bury his shot into the back of the net.

There was nothing to separate the two teams in a goalless second half which could have ended in Victory’s favour if Ryan finished off a late cross whipped toward the back post off the right wing by Elvis Kamsoba, but the defender could only find the side-netting from a lunging volley as the Reds retained their clean sheet at AAMI Park.

Securing three points against Victory for the third time this season helped Adelaide jump Central Coast Mariners into third place on the A-League table. Carl Veart’s side are now level on points (38) with Sydney FC in second heading into their last two games of the 2020/21 A-League campaign.

Key moments

An early chance presented to an unlikely Reds scorer in Jordan Elsey as the visiting side looked to get on top at AAMI Park.

Elsey launched himself toward a corner swung towards the front post by Goodwin in the 7th minute of play. Elsey’s header had power and pace but lacked precision as it hammered the crossbar and deflected away from danger.

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The early Reds pressure continued to build when another Goodwin corner sparked a moment of danger which was quelled by Victory ‘keeper Matt Acton.

Pacifique Niyongabire got into a dangerous area after Michael Jakobsen won the ball back inside his attacking penalty box in the moments after Goodwin’s corner was cleared by a strong Jake Brimmer header.

Jakobsen wrestled back possession in the box and fed Niyongabire in on goal; the shot came from close range on a tight angle but Acton got off his line make a vital block.

Only one goal would come from the Original Rivalry clash at AAMI Park, and it took a moment of quality to produce it when Cavallo and Goodwin combined to lethal effect in the 39th minute.

Goodwin fed the ball to Cavallo in midfield before making a streaming run on the inside of Victory right-back Storm Roux to receive the ball inside the 18-yard box. Ryan got across to block the space but Goodwin breezed past him with a flash to apply the finish to a stellar Reds move.

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The home side had calls for a penalty waved away by referee Alireza Faghani with a quarter of an hour left on the clock when Rudy Gestede received a nudge in the box from Elsey.

The ball came into Gestede’s path off a brilliant corner swung into the box by Brimmer. The Benin international rose to meet the ball and fell forward under contact from Elsey – but no decision was to come for the trailing home side.

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Victory produced a late chance to level the scores when Ryan ventured forward to meet a Kamsoba ball whipped toward the back post.

Kamsoba connected with Brimmer on the left flank in the lead-up to the chance, cutting past Yaya Dukuly to craft space to cross off the right-hand corner of the penalty area. The precise delivery made its way to Ryan who put a lunging left boot on the ball, brushing the wrong side of the net as the home side’s final chance of the night slipped away.

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