Adelaide United and Sydney FC’s top-of-the-table National Youth League clash has ended in a tough 1-1 draw at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
The Sky Blues were on track for victory after taking the lead in the 32nd minute of a dominant first half before creating opportunities after the break.
But the Reds rallied and improvised to find the equaliser midway through the second half.
Both teams pushed hard for the match-winner but they had to settle for a point each in the grand final rematch.
Sydney took the lead when Kerem Bulut made the most of a short cross by Kofi Danning.
Reds goalkeeper Nicholas Munro did smother the close-range shot but the deflection rolled into the left hand corner of the net.
Reds striker Francesco Monterosso thought he had found the reply four minutes later but the linesman deemed him off-side.
In the end it was the dangerous striker who got Adelaide on the scoreboard, although the plaudits should go to Perry Mitris who created the opportunity in the 73rd minute.
Mitris received a short corner kick, beat an opponent and dribbled the ball parallel to the end line before crossing to Monterosso who made no mistake from close range.
Adelaide coach Joe Mullen was pleased his team lifted in the second half against the ‘benchmark’ NYL side.
“They are an honest group of players, they don’t stop, they are very committed to their football careers and they like winning,” he said.
“They battled very well, and played some good football at times as well against what is the benchmark, a very good football team in Sydney. I couldn’t be more proud of the way they went about their efforts.”
Sydney was clearly the better side in the first half and it was only a matter of time before it claimed the lead – the Sky Blues created several scoring opportunities while their pressure on the Reds’ ball carrier was immense.
In the eighth minute, a clever Danning pass was squandered by Sam Munro who scooped his attempt over the crossbar.
Three minutes later Chris Payne tried to get through traffic and almost went one-on-one with a distressed Munro.
And at the 25-minute mark Bulut got on the end of a corner kick but was denied by an alert Munro while Adam Casey slid a ball across the face of goal closing in on half-time.
Danning and Bulut joined forces three minutes into the second half and the Sky Blues thought they had doubled their advantage. But the linesman came into play again with an off-side call.
Adelaide United 1 (Monterosso 73)
Sydney FC 1 (Bulut 32)
@ Hindmarsh Stadium
