Adelaide’s National Youth League team cemented a mid-table finish after rounding out their up and down season with a commanding 3-0 win over Perth Glory on Saturday evening.
A goal before half-time and a brace after the interval settled the issue and left the Reds sitting in fourth position on the ladder.
Adelaide (31 points) pushed past the AIS (29) although the Canberra team still has a match in hand.
But Brisbane can sneak ahead of the Reds if they knock over champions Gold Coast in their final fixture.
The home side was keen to sign off for the year with a win over the struggling Glory but things didn’t go to script early.
Perth were by far the better side in the opening 20 minutes, Stephen Walmsley and Adam Taggart casing all sorts of problems up front.
But despite their dominance the visitors couldn’t find a way through, slowly inviting Perth into the contest.
Adelaide hit the post through Perry Mitris and brought out a number of fine saves from ‘keeper Tim Doyle before grabbing the breakthrough on 38 minutes via Francesco Monterosso.
The second half was all Adelaide as they pressed higher in the search for more goals.
A soft penalty, which led to Glory stopper Sam Mitchinson being sent off for a second bookable offence, was converted by Evan Kostopolous.
It was a harsh call by the referee and there was no way back for the visitors from there.
Strike partner Kym Harris completed the job for Adelaide after a poor pass out of the Glory defence was cut out and relayed up front.
Harris showed great composure to take the ball into the box and fire home the match-sealer.
The Reds finish the season with nine wins, nine losses and a draw.
