On Sunday afternoon the Young Reds claimed a hard fought victory over the Newcastle Jets winning one-nil at the Adelaide Shores Football Centre.
In tough windy conditions Newcastle Jets claimed early dominance of the ball forcing the young reds to work hard in pressuring Newcastle’s ball carriers.
Despite all of Newcastle’s early possession it was the Young Reds who made the initial breakthrough as a ball which fell into the box was impeded my marksmen Anthony Costa who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner of net giving the reds an early one goal advantage.
The Young Reds mounted confidence and pressure after the goal which saw them expose the flanks well through Samed Altundag and Alec Maiolo.
In the 16th minute a switching through ball by Young Reds Captain Jordan Pudler allowed Samed Altundag to latch onto the pass as he found Dylan Smith at the edge of the 18 yard box whose shot deflected over the bar.
As the half progressed the Young Reds stood up in defence ensuring stability which saw the Newcastle Jets not able to register a clear cut opportunity.
In the 24th minute, the Young Reds hit the Newcastle Jets on the counter which saw Samed Altundag’s shot denied by keeper John Solari who was able to get a hand on the ball to tip it over the bar.
Adelaide managed to hold the ball up for periods of the half as they looked for the final pass to latch onto, but to no avail.
Towards the back end of the first half Brandon Lundy was able to get through the Young Reds defence as he made space for himself which saw his shot expertly saved by Adelaide keeper John Hall.
As the teams returned from the break the Young Reds looked to have the better of the chances to keep up the scoreboard pressure.
In the 51st minute Adelaide went on the attack again this time an inside ball played by Samed Altundag found striker Anthony Costa whose shot fell straight into the arms of John Solari.
Despite Adelaide’s dominance Newcastle created an array of opportunities which saw John Hall and United’s defence stand up to keep their well-deserved lead.
The Young Reds almost doubled their lead at the end, as Anthony Costa was played in by Bruce Kamau whose shot flashed wide of the post.
At full time the Young Reds held onto their one goal lead which saw them outlast the Newcastle Jets winning 1-0.
“I think we created a lot of good chances in the first half which could have made our lives a little bit easier for the rest of the game but we didn’t take our chances but overall we played well,” said Head Coach Michael Valkanis.
“It was a good game because for the first time we saw youth against youth and that’s what the youth league is about, to give that opportunity to our boys and see what they can do.”
Match Details
Sunday, 8 December 2014
Foxtel National Youth League – Round 8
Adelaide United 1 (Costa 10′)
Newcastle Jets 0
Venue: Adelaide Football Shores Sports Complex
Attendance: 160
Adelaide United: Samed Altundag (Bruce Kamau 50′), Niko Apostolopoulos (Thomas Love 38′), Anthony Costa, John Hall (GK), Nathan Konstandopoulos, Alec Maiolo (Doni Pollock 67′), Jordan Pudler (C), Dylan Smith, Thomas Stokes, Ben Warland, Oliver Zafridis
