Adelaide has endured a crazy rollercoaster of a fortnight and while it has forged new frontiers in terms of Asian club football with its success over Kashima Antlers in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, it is fair to say it’s Hyundai A-League form has suffered.
Date: Saturday September 27
Kick-off: 6:30pm local (7pm AEST)
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium
TV and Radio: Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 2 and Sky Sports 3. Hyundai A-League club radio is FRESH FM (Adelaide). To purchase tickets visit www.venuetix.com.au
Head-to-head
10 A-League meetings: Adelaide – 4 wins, Newcastle 4 wins – Draws – 2
Previous meeting
Newcastle 2, Adelaide 1, EnergyAustralia Stadium, Round 18, January 2008
Results so far
Adelaide:
Round 1: Adelaide United 1, Perth Glory 0, Hindmarsh Stadium
Round 2: Queensland Roar 1, Adelaide United 1, Suncorp Stadium
Round 3: Adelaide United 3, Wellington Phoenix 0, Hindmarsh Stadium
Round 4: Melbourne Victory 1, Adelaide United 0, Telstra Dome
Round 5: Sydney FC 3, Adelaide United 0, SFS
Newcastle:
Round 1: Newcastle Jets 1, Central Coast Mariners 1, EnergyAustralia Stadium
Round 2: Perth Glory 3, Newcastle Jets 3, Members Equity Stadium
Round 3: Melbourne Victory 5, Newcastle Jets 0, Telstra Dome
Round 4: Newcastle 0, Sydney FC 0, EnergyAustralia Stadium
Round 5: Queensland Roar 0, Newcastle Jets 1, Suncorp Stadium
Analysis
Adelaide has endured a crazy rollercoaster of a fortnight and while it has forged new frontiers in terms of Asian club football with its success over Kashima Antlers in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, it is fair to say it’s Hyundai A-League form has suffered.
A 1-0 loss to 10-men Melbourne was followed by a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Sydney. Considering those two teams are likely to be the yardstick this year, then Aurelio Vidmar would have been concerned by his lack of competitiveness. Although he left out several key players last week due to concerns over fatigue after the trip to Japan, the Reds looked helpless in that match.
His big challenge here is to try and have an energetic performance from a team which will be playing its fifth game in 15 days. He will want his team to get back to the sort of accountable football it played in the first three rounds.
In come Angelo Costanzo, Lucas Pantelis, Paul Agostino, Travis Dodd, Diego and Fabian Barbiero into a 21-man squad as Vidmar looks to keep his options open.
Over at Newcastle, things are looking up after the Jets’ first win of the season. The 1-0 success over Queensland may not have been pretty but it has given Gary van Egmond’s men some momentum back. They have only lost one match this year, albeit 5-0 to Melbourne, and they sit on the edge of the top four.
Jesper Hakansson comes back from injury while Noel Spencer has been included, Edmundo Zura will miss with a back injury.
These two have been pretty evenly match over the past few years, with Newcastle having the upper hand having one two and drawn one of their battled last year. The teams played out a 0-0 draw when they last met in the Pre-Season Cup in July.
Adelaide United Squad. 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 3.ALEMAO, 4.Angelo COSTANZO, 5.Michael VALKANIS, 6.CASSIO, 7. Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Kristian SARKIES, 9.Paul AGOSTINO, 10.CRISTIANO, 13.Travis DODD (capt.), 14.Scott JAMIESON, 15.Jonas SALLEY, 16.Daniel MULLEN, 18. Fabian Barbiero, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO, 22.DIEGO, 24.Paul REID, 25.Robert YOUNIS, 30.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk)
* six to be omitted.
In. Angelo COSTANZO, Lucas PANTELIS, Paul AGOSTINO, Travis DODD, Fabian BARBIERO, DIEGO.
Out. Nil
Unavailable. Daniel BELTRAME (knee – season), Isyan ERDOGAN (hamstring – indefinite).
Newcastle Jets Squad. 1. Ante COVIC (gk), 2. Adam GRIFFITHS, 3. Jade NORTH (C), 5. James HOLLAND, 6. Jesper HAKANSSON, 7. Kaz PATAFTA, 8. Matt THOMPSON, 9. Joel GRIFFITHS, 10. Jin-Hyung SONG, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 13. Adam D-APUZZO, 15. Jason HOFFMAN, 18. Noel SPENCER, 20. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 25. Daniel PIORKOWSKI.
*one to be omitted.
In. 6. Jesper HAKANSSON (returns from injury), 18. Noel SPENCER (promoted)
Out. 23. Edmundo ZURA (back – 1 week)
Unavailable. 14. Shaun Ontong (ankle – indefinite), 16. Ben KANTAROVSKI (Qantas Joeys duties).
