A blistering first-half Jeronimo Neumann brace has propelled Adelaide United to a thrilling season-opening 3-1 triumph over Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.
A blistering first-half Jeronimo Neumann brace has propelled Adelaide United to a thrilling season-opening 3-1 triumph over Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.
It was an exciting start to the Josep Gombau regime as the pass-happy Reds – who finished the match with nine men after accruing two red cards and an Hyundai A-League record eight yellow cards – moved the ball around with spellbinding composure and routinely denied the visitors possession, with Jeronimo ably providing the finishing touches in the front third.
The Argentine striker was left bloodied and bandaged after copping an incidental kick to the head from Steve Pantaledis late in the closing stages of the first half but not before he had already landed two lethal daggers well inside the first half-hour.
Fabio Ferreira’s goal in the 64th minute gave the Reds a virtually insurmountable buffer, which came in more than handy when new recruit Isaias and Nigel Boogaard were both red-carded in a heated second half, which left the home side playing with nine men in the last 11 minutes.
In a frenetic opening, Jeronimo opened the scoring in the ninth minute when his curling right-footer struck the near post and bounced in after he received a sweet Ferreira back-heel, set up by a sweeping Daniel Bowles cross.
Less than two minutes later, the Glory equalised through Ryo Nagoi.
Jet-heeled Brazilian signing Sidnei Sciola Moraes tore along the left flank where his pinpoint cross found Nagoi who was left unguarded near the penalty spot.
Catching United’s defence napping, the Japanese striker made it 1-1 with a deft header.
Despite Nagoi’s equaliser, the Reds remained undeterred and had the better of general play with their possession rate midway through the first half well over double Perth’s in what was a testament to Adelaide’s quick embracing of Gombau’s ethos.
They capitalised in the 24th minute when Jeronimo got on the scoresheet again.
Ferreira found some real estate and launched a header which was instinctively parried by Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.
The ball then bobbled to the feet of Jeronimo, who strolled in for the easy put-away and the Reds’ 2-1 lead at the end of a lively first half was well deserved.
Perth’s Jamie MacLaren had a couple of chances early in the second half but couldn’t finish off his good work.
MacLaren found an exit past Adelaide’s defence in the 52nd minute and beat Reds custodian Eugene Galekovic all ends up but his shot veered to the right before his 54th-minute header in traffic was fractionally high.
United made no mistake in the 64th minute when Michael Zullo’s cross found the busy Ferreira, who pushed a mid-riff ball past Vukovic and into the back of the net from close range to make it 3-1.
Isaias was given his marching orders a minute later, earning his second yellow card for time wasting, before Boogaard copped a disqualifying second yellow in the 79th for his challenge on Perth young gun Daniel de Silva.
Undermanned, the Reds suddenly were on the back foot and had to defend grimly.
But charged with slicing past a two-goal buffer, the Glory’s bid for a last-ditch heist was safely stymied.
Adelaide United 3 (Jeronimo 9, 24, Ferreira 64)
Perth Glory 1 (Nagai 11)
Crowd: 10,320 @ Coopers Stadium
