Smeltz heads Adelaideover the edge

January 10th, 2010

If there was one moment when you just felt certain Adelaide United was going to record a shock away win on the Gold Coast, it arrived in the 47th minute.

When Jet-heeled teen star Matthew Leckie sprinted from deep in the Reds attacking half to tackle Jason Culina five yards out from the Adelaide goal, not only did it deny the Goald Coast skipper a certain goal, it set a bar for the rest of the team to aspire to.

From then on Adelaide looked REASONABLY comfortably and fully deserved to win, but ultimately it was the same old story, an inability to score, and the Reds have one more chance to keep themselves in play-off contention.

Dodd had chances, so did Leckie, Cristiano and others, but as we have seen this so often this season none were converted and Adelaide paid the ultimate price

Travis Dodd’s goal so nearly made the difference, but its construction also demonstrated the regards Matthew Leckie is held in.

In supplying the pass for Dodd to score his first goal from open play this season, three Gold Coast defenders were drawn to him leaving Dodd unmarked to angle his shot past van Stratten.

It would have been easy to imagine Adelaide just shutting up shop from there but after rather comfortably negotiating to remainder of the first half, Aurelio Vidmar had time to plot the expected onslaught from the home team.

But aside from Culina’s chance there wasn’t really much of an onslaught.

 Not only did Vidmar cope with the loss of Iain Fyfe just four minutes into the second half, but he also nullified the Coast wide men and as a result the pressure on the United rear-guard was managed ALMOST to perfection.

 Just a little space was all Jason Culina needed to fire in a wonderful cross for Shane Smeltz to head home from a tricky angle deep into injury time.

The effect that goal has on the Reds remains to be seen but providing a crumb of comfort is that the Mariners are on a shocking run and won’t be fancying the trip to Adelaide on Friday night.

That said, the Mariners also need a win and know that United’s confidence is fragile at best.

At this early stage, Fyfe looks likely to miss the crucial clash, and Reid may force his way back in, but based on what we saw there’s no real need to change much more.

Dodd, Leckie, Cassio and Marrone looked confident up until Smeltz’s killer goal and Rudan and Mullen look good enough at the back.

So bring on Friday, because until the numbers say so Adelaide can’t give up, but based on what we saw on the Gold Coast, Smeltz’s equaliser may have been the fatal blow.

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Where to from here then?

December 18th, 2009

So after watching Adelaide United fail yet again to win at home, are their chances of play-off action finally over?

Mathematically with such a small spread of points between the bottom six sides of course not, but looking at the draw then you’d have to say it’s unlikely.

Two away games are next on the calendar, against Sydney & Gold Coast, then it’s consecutive home games against Central Coast and Perth.

Melbourne and Wellington follow in two (at this point in time) impossible looking away trips, before the final home game against the Roar and a season ending trip to Newcastle.

Ignoring the fact that United has the worst away record in the league, they have only once won in Sydney, are yet to play on the Gold Coast, have no idea how to beat the Victory, but generally do well in New Zealand where the Reds are yet to lose to the Phoenix.

Adelaide does have a decent record at home to the Mariners and Perth, and despite two home defeats to Brisbane, generally gets results against the Roar.

That leaves a trip to Newcastle where United has had mixed results, but has not won there since season one of the A-League.

So based on those stats, United could quite possibly:

Lose to Sydney, lose to the Gold Coast, beat the Mariners and Perth, lose to Melbourne, draw with the ‘Nix, defeat Brisbane and draw with the Jets.

Tally up the points from those eight games and the total reaches 11, and add that to what the Reds have now and the magic number is 32.

Melbourne has already surpassed that and Sydney needs another point, with Gold Coast five points shy.

The club currently in 6th is Perth with 23 from 18 games played and aside from the game in Adelaide the Glory’s run home reads:

Gold Coast (a),  Jets (h) , Sydney (h), Victory (a), then Adelaide,  Wellington (h), Mariners (h), Sydney (a) and Brisbane (h).

It’s not an easy draw but wins at home to the Jets, Wellington and Brisbane are definitely good bets, and that would give them 32 points.

The Mariners 5th (24 points) should also rack up another eight points against:

Bris (h),  Sydney (a),  Wellington (h), North Queensland (h), Adel  (a), Gold Coast (h), Perth (a) and Jets (h).

And just to be sure, the Jets (4th, 25 points) have these remaining nine games to contemplate.

Fury (h),  Perth (a), Victory (h), Gold Coast (a), Bris (a), Sydney (h), Fury (a), Mariners (a), Adelaide (h), Wellington (a).

To be sure this is a tough run, so the game against Adelaide looks key, but with two matches against the Fury confidence must be high that the Jets can also surpass 32 points.

Of course, Adelaide could go on a massive run and rack up more than 11 points in their remaining eight games, but after the draw against the ‘Nix, it’s hard to see it happening.

There was, as per usual, plenty of endeavour but no real end product, and if Matthew Leckie’s dicky knee really flares up then it that might just be the end of the road for the Reds.

Aurelio Vidmar looks like he has some major work to do before the ACL starts in February.

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Lambs to the slaughter?

December 11th, 2009

Aurelio Vidmar certainly isn’t going to die wondering.

Five changes–four unforced and one because of injury—is a big call within the space of seven days, especially when so much is at stake.

North Queensland’s gutsy win over Perth has only emphasized the importance of the trip to Suncorp, with the Fury now four points clear of the beleaguered Reds.

A win for Brisbane will at the very least leave Adelaide four points adrift, but given the club says it has tried everything else to address its six game winless run, then why not throw the kids in.

Sarkies’ injury is disappointing but Alemao can replace him in midfield, but three changes to the back four has a real death or glory feel to it.

On the positive side, five teams including Melbourne have conceded more goals than Adelaide this season, while the Roar has only scored 11 goals from 10 home games.

On the negative side, United’s revamped rearguard might not run like a well oiled machine, but may have a little more pace if, as you might expect Marrone is placed outside of a Fyfe & Mullen central pairing, with Jamieson on the left.

Vidmar today said he wants the back four to play out a little quicker than they have recently, well for most of the season really.

As he showed last season, Marrone can beat players and is a decent crosser, which gives the Reds an option that Iain Fyfe has not really been able to provide.

Mullen deserves a chance after injury and international duty cost him at the beginning of the season and in Fyfe he has good experience alongside him.

Rudan (definitely) and Cornthwaite(arguably) haven’t really done anything wrong, but with goals going in at the wrong end and not going in at the right end, something had to give.

Rudan and Mullen might have been a decent combination too, but for the moment Fyfe gets another chance to win a number of skeptical fans over.

The other inclusion Shin, looks likely to come off the bench, and if he has regained his confidence could work ok against tiring legs.

Brisbane actually has the worst home record in the league with just 11 points from 10 matches, but Adelaide cancels that out by having the worst away record (five points from seven games).

But what Brisbane does have is a goal-scorer.

Sergio van Dijk scored twice against Adelaide when the two teams last met and will be anticipating testing out a new-look defence.

Henrique and the returning Murdocca will also be looking forward to running at the boys in black.

Adelaide has a good record at Suncorp, winning three and drawing the remainder of their six clashes, and that will be a confidence booster, but whether it’s enough to instill some seriously missing self-belief is another story.

Simply it will be a case of who wants it more.

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It is a big hole

December 4th, 2009

 

“It’s a big hole…can we get out of it from here, I think we can.

“There’s some soul searching, there’s some questions that need to be asked.

“Some honest answers need to be forthcoming if we are to get out of it.

So what are the questions Phil Stubbins was referring to at the press conference after another dismal Adelaide United performance?

Well given how many times Adelaide has been in this situation this season, presumably a lot of questions have already been asked.

Either way, Stubbins response was that there’s a lot of them, a  lot of cutting questions, but he couldn’t provide any more light into what the questions are

Stubbins also refused to get too negative about player’s performances believing negativity regarding individual performances will only result in more negativity.

Travis Dodd suggested one question everyone should ask themselves is whether they wanted to be at Adelaide, because if they do its imperative to stick together and not start blaming each other for the shocking series of results.

And while the coaches and players continue to insist that the mood remains positive, it certainly doesn’t look like that on the pitch after a fourth 0-2 home loss this season.

Sure, players are down on confidence and couldn’t/didn’t take the opportunities they had in the first half.

And then they succumbed to a sucker punch with a goal in first half stoppage time, which Stubbins said they never really recovered from.

The crowd isn’t receovering too with just 8500 rolling up and many left as soon as Song put his 79th minute penalty into the net.

So where to now?

Well it’s Brisbane next where another team close to United will have a chance to put some daylight between themselves and Adelaide.

There was a suggestion to try and do something a bit different in the build-up, something out of left-field to try and break the routine, but after so much talking and no real change in results, what left is there to try?

Perhaps a stop at a pharmacy might be in order for a few shots of passion and commitment because judging by how some player’s played tonight, that’s what’s needed.

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The new line in the sand

December 3rd, 2009

There have been a lot of things said by Aurelio Vidmar and his team about Adelaide United’s worrying form slump.

In hindsight most of it has sounded fairly empty and shallow simply because the results have continued to deteriorate.

But maybe this week things have changed, because finally, perhaps, the penny has dropped.

Twelve months ago Adelaide United was top of the A-League, and about to play in the Club World Cup.

Now as anyone can see, the Reds are bottom, a massive 13 points behind league leaders and arch rivals Melbourne Victory.

Reds supporters can only hope this is the jolt the club needs to resurrect a campaign that while disappointing and frustrating, certainly isn’t beyond salvaging.

And without doubt the signs are encouraging….well the verbal signs are that is.

Following the shocking performance in Townsville, Mark Rudan became the first player to speak out in really angry terms about United’s historically low position.

An “embarrassed” Aurelio Vidmar apologised for the team’s form and accepted full responsibility for the fall to the bottom of the table, admitting;

“I’ve made some mistakes.

What I’ve done has been in the best interests of the club and the team and sometimes I get things right and sometimes I don’t.

“Fortunately I still have to make decisions and sometimes they one way and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.

“That’s how it is at the moment.

And the hugely popular Cassio, shared his pain but pleaded for the fans to keep the faith, and gave a 100% guarantee the team would turn the season around.

“Everyone knows we have not been good enough.

“We have to keep playing, keep training well like we did this week, and if we do that I tell you 100%, the results will come.

“I ask the fans to keep trusting us because we can turn the season around.

“I give you my word, we have good quality players here.

“What’s happened has happened.

“The season starts now for us against Newcastle.

So how are they going to change things around?

Well for one there will be changes in personnel.

 If the Blue bibs at training today are any guide then Hughes, Leckie, Pantelis and Alemao will not be starting against the Jets, but Reid, Barbiero, Jamieson and Cristiano will be.

Vidmar also hinted at positional changes.

So perhaps Cassio will revert to midfield, well he actually admitted it at the press conference, and Cristiano will lead the line.

 Assuming Leckie doesn’t play that will surely be in partnership with Dodd, even if the captain is better suited to midfield.

It’s hard to imagine Vidmar will revert to his preferred one up front formation when the team so desperately needs to score goals.

And then it’s down simply down to attitude, to not lose a single contest in any part of the pitch.

It’s about staying positive and as Vidmar said “not fracturing.”

Here at least Vidmar wants to lead from the front, suggesting he is not worried about his job security, only the job at hand.

And it would seem, quitting is not on his agenda either.

“When you sign on the dotted line it comes with the territory all these sort of things.

“Every coach and player will go through some tough times and some great times and this is just part of it.

“Mentally it’s hard but as a player I never threw in the towel, and I’m not going to give up.

“I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me, and I know the players still got a lot of fight left in them.

“We’re gonna fight, fight and fight until we get out of this.

As Vidmar also said, this is a like cup final for Adelaide, and as expectations have been raised with the success the team has enjoyed over the past five years, it’s now about how everyone “handles the situation.

Most importantly though, playing the Jets is about one thing, three points.

 And while it’s been encouraging to hear a little more anger and desperation this week, it will mean nothing if Adelaide fails to win.

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Blah, blah, blah

November 30th, 2009

Blah, blah, blah, on the track.

Blah, blah, blah, during the game.

Better lines of communication, blah, blah, blah.

Much better movement and finishing, blah, blah, blah.

Rock bottom.

Talk is officially cheap at Adelaide United after yet another frustrating and impotent performance by the Reds left them bottom of the league with just 11 games to play.

Well at least the only way from here is up, but hell, how many different things can the club say they are trying in an attempt to end this slump, before we all conclude that they actually don’t have any new ideas in the locker?

A few weeks ago Aurelio Vidmar said he had one more thing he was going to try.

It would be a new approach to try and “change the culture, change mentality, change the whole thinking behind our club.”

Shortly after saying that, Vidmar chuckled it was all a wind-up, and there was actually nothing new, it was just some fun to have with the media.

Well how we all laughed, just as we did at his Saudi Arabia heads-off gibe.

Well who is laughing now, except all the teams and rival fans in the league laughing at Adelaide’s situation?

Bottom of the league after 16 games.

Hilarious.

After playing 16 games last season Adelaide was top with 27 points, 25 goals scored and 18 conceded.

Those eight wins, three draws and five losses would be good enough for second right now with an attack ranked second and a defence ranked third.

Instead, with four wins, five draws and seven losses, 14 goals scored and 20 conceded, United is bottom and has the worst attack, but somewhat bizarrely the equal fourth best defence.

This week we were told that “as a vote of confidence“ the starting 11 would be the same as the previous game for the first time since Round 9.

 

This week we were told that the lines of communication had been opened so that senor players could offer feedback on training sessions and other issues of importance, (except selection) in an attempt to improve on-field leadership and thus performance.

This week we were told that this football “perestroika” had already had an effect on the training track.

Well, after the 2-1 defeat in Townsville, where is the evidence that any of these ideas paid dividends?

Where were the leaders of this new democratic Adelaide United?

Where was the sign that this group of 11 players was motivated by the vote of confidence so publicly given to them by their coach?

Where was the sign that there was even motivation by fear?

United knew that defeat coupled with other results would see them drop to the bottom of the table, but that seemed to provide no extra motivation.

While the admirable Barbiero did charge into the net when Cristiano scored the Reds (deserved on the 2nd half performance) injury time consolation goal, where was the anger, or outward sign of passion when McBreen and Fowler scored?

What comments have you heard or read from an Adelaide player or official that can only be interpreted as an expression of real anger or deep pain at the club’s dismal position?

With Sarkies, Owusu and Cristiano all apparently leaving in January and rumours that Cassio and Aleamo will follow them, maybe no one cares about this season anymore.

One shudders to think what might happen in the ACL if things don’t improve.

Of the team that won in Perth in United’s 16th game of the 2008/9 campaign, eight finished on the field against the Fury; Galekovic, Cornthwaite, Cassio, Sarkies, Dodd, Barbiero, Cristiano and Jamieson.

Ogenenovski, Reid and Mullen were the other three.

So the personnel is largely unchanged, and really only Reid hasn’t been adequately replaced given Rudan and Fyfe are not dissimilar to the Og monster and Mullen.

Taking all this into account it’s hard to work out what, if anything Aurelio Vidmar can say at this week’s press conference(s) that will be any different to what we’ve heard over the past couple of months.

Is there even any point in fact in having a pre-match chat to the media except to say what players might be in or out?

No, there isn’t.

So maybe Adelaide should cancel all media commitments this week because from now on, only actions count.

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where there’s life

November 27th, 2009

 

While Aurelio Vidmar’s two match suspension could not be more poorly timed as Adelaide’s season lurches towards the edge of the cliff, just maybe something good could come of it.

Normally, in Travis Dodd’s words, the players just do “what the coaches tell them” so taking this season in isolation that ain’t working, why not try something new.

And this week they have with the players being encouraged to speak out more not only during review sessions but also during training.

 The hope of course is that it will lead instantly lead to crucial three points against North Queensland and then many more in remaining dozen or so games.

 The theory is that feedback sessions will lead to a more collective sense of leadership on the field.

 This in turn might help produce more 90 minute performances, and not just the 20, 30 or 40 minutes which have typically summed up United’s frustrating 2009-10 campaign.

Travis Dodd, still by his own admission growing into his captaincy role will appreciate the extra vocal support although he admitted the idea is something that will take time to get used to.

But if Aurelio Vidmar is to be believed then just maybe it has worked.

If it’s possible, training has again been better, with better movement, better quality finishing in front of goals and a higher intensity to the routines.

Of course it’s all about translating training ground routines into match play, and so far United have essentially failed to do that.

But as the Reds mount the latest attempt to resurrect their season, at least they are going to a place with happy memories.

Townsville is where the A-League’s latest starlet Matthew Leckie scored his first goal, United’s second in a two-nil win.

As United fly in to try and the repeat the result, Leckie will be boosted by that memory but also the vote of confidence given to him by Vidmar who this weekend looks set to name an unchanged 11 for the first time since Round 9.

Vidmar said he doesn’t see the point in chopping and changing each week especially after an encouraging performance against the Gold Coast which he said demonstrated United’s “fighting spirit.”

So we will get to see whether the partnership of Dodd and Leckie continues to develop, although Vidmar insists there is no pressure on Leckie.

“We’re not hanging our season on Leckie…He’s got attributes that not many others in the league have, but there’s no pressure on him, he’s an 18 year-old kid.”

 That may well be the case but it’s a different situation for the team which simply must return with three points.

Most United fans will be watching from afar, as will Vidmar, somewhere in the stands and unable to communicate with the bench for the next two games.

He’ll certainly get a different view, but with consecutive home defeats on the cards, Fury coach Ian Ferguson will be determined to ensure it’s not a happy one.

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It was the same old story

November 21st, 2009

 

You can’t argue with the numbers.

Nineteen shots on goal to four, six shots on target to two, 40 (yes 40) penalty box entries to 20 and 12 corners to five.

Throw in 62% possession in the first half which included 68% in the opposition half, and playing for an hour against 10 men and you could be forgiven thinking that one team thrashed another in a game of football.

But think that and you’d be wrong because it was the same old story for Adelaide United.

So much possession, so many shots, so little reward.

A point was better than nothing and there’s no way Adelaide deserved to lose, but they also could not afford to not win.

Two more points dropped and despite changing the team around, you have to ask is Aurelio Vidmar any closer to knowing what his best 11 is?

Leckie and Dodd aided by the recalled Cassio, Pantelis and Sarkies caused massive problems for Gold Coast in the high intensity first half.

But by their own admission United knew they couldn’t play like that for the entire 90 minutes and so there must have been some disappointment that the first half was scoreless especially with the Coast down to ten men from the 34th minute.

More about that later.

Predictably Adelaide lost its way a little after half time and sure enough conceded a  goal.

Credit to them that they didn’t give up, but for how long can they rely on a 19 year old to save them?

For how long can Lloyd Owusu be kept in the Youth League?

And for how long can Vidmar say he is satisfied with a performance  when once again his team has not put a score on the score-board that the statistics suggest they should have done?

No pressure, Vimdar says, insisting it goes with the turf when results are not going their way.

And it’s clear, the rub of the green does not favour Adelaide at the moment.

Those lose balls you see pinging around in the penalty area are not falling kindly for Adelaide, and opposition players are not being sent off when they could easily be seeing red.

You could argue that the Kristian Rees was unlucky to be sent off as he did get a foot on the ball, but if that offence warranted a red card then how come debutant Zac Anderson didn’t follow him down the tunnel?
You could day referee Chris Beath got it wrong on both counts.

Either way Adelaide couldn’t capitalise and needed an injury time goal to rescue a point.

And disturbingly you could see times when the players did not know where to run or how to play in their position.

Why?

Because each time Vidmar changes the line-up and formation in his search for a winning combination, the player’s understanding of what to do during a game can suffer.

Seeing Alemao bawl out Matthew Leckie late in the second half as the youngster tried to find his place Adelaide switched to a 3-4-3 formation showed that the player’s are not all on the same wavelength.

Based on that, how can Adelaide progress this season when trying to work out what it’s best 11 is and what formation is best to play?

Vidmar remains convinced that eventually the luck will change as long as the effort is there.

He may be right but the fact is the games are beginning to run out.

Something has to give.

Let’s hope for the sake of Vidmar’s head that on-field fortunes are the first to change for the better.

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The same old story?

November 19th, 2009

 

Aurelio Vidmar says he’s not feeling the pressure, and neither for that matter are his players.

He also says the only way to silence the fast growing number of critics is to start winning games.

And with just six home games left, that means starting on Friday night against the Gold Coast.

But how many times have we said that, that Adelaide has start wining games now?

Probably about as many times as Aurelio Vidmar has said something like, the team has had a great week on the track; it’s just about taking it into a game.

This was what he said today:

“The last couple of weeks we’ve changed it up a little bit and got them a bit more refreshed and we’ve worked quite hard on finishing and making sure we’re doing that under pressure and it has worked quite well. Now it’s about making sure we translate what we’ve done at training onto the pitch.”

It’s a familiar comment from the embattled Reds coach but one that sounds less convincing every time he says it.

Vidmar didn’t sound too convincing either when asked whether he and the team are under pressure.

It was a one word answer, “No,” but the half giggle which accompanied it suggests there must be some doubts in Vidmar’s head.

 And if that unconvincing response doesn’t suggest he’s feeling the pressure, then his latest verbal gaffe might do

After all, it’s not the first time.

From the “pissant town”rant , to rather publicly bollocking certain players, (Sarkies & Bajic to name just two), Vidmar today when questioned whether he was too soft on players, responded with a suggestion that maybe instead he should chop off their heads “like they do in Saudi Arabia.”

 Vidmar later apologised for his latest case of foot in mouth disease, but  with the AFC Champions League draw just around the corner, he will be hoping that United doesn’t end up facing a team from there.

Of course that could only happen if United got through the group stages, which on current form is not looking likely.

But apology or not this gaffe, and the way the exchange with the journalist was handled suggested Vidmar is feeling the pressure.

And why shouldn’t he be?

John Kosmina has put his oar in this week saying that the punters are getting restless on the terraces and the team is “lacking direction”.

Direction of course comes from the top

In response Vidmar says everyone is entitled to their opinion, and rightly so, but it’s not like he is a 20 year veteran of coaching.

It has to hurt a little.

And what will hurt more is knowing that all the good performances in the world won’t change anything unless the goals start going in.

And that will be difficult if as it appears the player’s are not doing it for him on the park.

 As Vidmar has said, he can’t score the goals, so what can he do?

But that’s not the question, the question is, why aren’t the players doing it for him?

Are some of them not motivated to do so?

Or are they just bereft of confidence?

Talk to a few people and they will tell you the players will play when they want to play.

They motivate themselves, and seemingly don’t go out into a game inspired by what the coach has told them.

There’s even talk that if new owners come in then Vidmar will be gone.

Of course it will be some time before new owners come in and by then Vidmar may have turned the team around.

So it’s just one step at a time, starting with the Gold Coast.

It won’t be easy, but the first step never is.

Either way in 24 hours we’ll know whether it was the same old story.

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Sometimes it just ain’t your night.

November 7th, 2009

Anyone who’s watched a reasonable amount of football will know that sometimes the best team doesn’t always win.

That’s not to say Brisbane deserved to lose, but a draw would have been a fair result.

Of course the brutal truth is that Brisbane took their chances and Adelaide didn’t, and that was largely due to Griffin McMaster’s stellar performance between the posts.

One save from Cristiano, a second half penalty save from Owusu, and another parry to deny Dodd a goal (in one of his best games of the season) almost single-handedly denied United three points.

But it was a case of the same old for Adelaide as numerous entries into the penalty area resulted in precisely nothing.

Aside from the missed penalty, and Cristiano’s gilt edge chance inside the first half hou,r Dodd blew two chances from inside the six yard box, the ever-improving Sarkies volleyed wide, and Cornthwaite and Owusus both saw their bouncing headers fail to find the target.

Brisbane certainly got a very dubious penalty, but van Dijk was clinical in scoring his second and then there was the goal that wasn’t.

How everyone saw the ball cross the line except for one person, the assistant ref on the grandstand side, can only be explained by assuming he was caught out of position

Midway between the penalty box and the half-way line the non-decision was a stroke of luck for Adelaide, but nicely counterbalanced the dodgy pen in the opening stanza.

So where to now for the Reds?

You can only assume the players are hurting, although there are no obvious outpourings of anger and frustration

They can’t aim to resurrect their season for two weeks because of the international break, so must sit and brood on an opening half of the season that has brought just four wins and four draws from 14 games.

Maybe we need to see some red raw passion, instead of the controlled media message that we consistently get.

Maybe we need to a bit of a blow-up to show how much the player’s are hurting.

It’s a point to debate about just why Cassio only got 15 minutes off the bench when Adelaide had been two-nil down since six minutes into the second half.

Vidmar said at the post match press conference that he was wracking his brains trying to figure out a way to change things around, but ultimately he only gave Owusu 25 minutes and Cassio the final quarter of an hour.

It’s a game of opinions but why didn’t he at least bring Cassio or Pantelis on when van Dijk scored his second?

Why too, didn’t one of those two start the game?

The decision not to meant Adelaide looked unbalanced and Jamieson had little protection.

Brisbane exploited this in the first half and it was Jamieson who was (harshly judged) to be responsible for the penalty as he scrambled back on his unprotected left side to quell the threat of Reinaldo.

Maybe if he had some more support he may have judged the situation a little better, although the foul was obstruction at best and would have only been an indirect free-kick.

But that’s an “if”, and there’s also a “could’ve” and a “maybe” in there somewhere too, none of which means anything of course except that as a result of losing Adelaide is in danger of falling to ninth place by the end of the round.

If that does happen, when hostilities resume on the 20th, Adelaide can almost literally go one way from here and that’s up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The break will hopefully allow Reid to get closer to full fitness, and they might need his services because the next team in town on the 20th is the Gold Coast.

With a top six the season is hardly on the line, but United only has six more home games and with three  wins in front of the Hindmarsh faithful another defeat just can’t tolerated.

 

 

 

 

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