Adelaide United’s 14-match unbeaten streak came to a crashing end after an insipid performance saw them suffer a 1-0 loss to Melbourne City at Coopers Stadium on Friday.
A sublime finish from Nick Fitzgerald handed City a first away win of the season since December, keeping alive their aspirations of an inaugural Premier’s Plate.
Adelaide started the brighter of the two sides, but it was City who had the better chances and should have been awarded a penalty when Bruno Fornaroli’s goal-bound header took a deflection off Iacopo La Rocca’s arm.
The hosts were fortunate not to have gone down to 10 men when an already cautioned George Mells pulled Fornaroli’s shirt, after he was dispossessed in midfield.
A surprise half-time tactical substitution from Guillermo Amor attempted to spark Adelaide into life with Marcelo Carrusca sacrificed for speedster Bruce Kamau.
However, the change was largely in vain as Fitzgerald put the visitors ahead cutting onto his weaker foot, before firing a stunning strike which curled into the top left corner.
The Reds continued to search for an equaliser with Bruce Djite’s looping header falling agonisingly wide in the dying embers of the game as Melbourne recorded its first back-to-back clean sheet since round 23 last year.
The result sees Adelaide provisionally hang on to first place, while City surge into equal second as just one point separates the top four.
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Formations
Amor was forced to make one change to his favoured 4-3-3 line-up that defeated Wellington Phoenix last week, with Iacopo La Rocca replacing the injured Tarek Elrich. It meant a defensive reshuffle as Jordan Elsey shifted to left-back from his more natural central position. The Spanish tactician also welcomed back Isaias to the bench, after missing the past two weeks with a knee injury, while Pablo Sanchez was not included in the squad as he sustained a slight strain to his hamstring.
Adelaide United Starting XI: Galekovic; Marrone, McGowan, La Rocca, Elsey; Mells, Mauk, Carrusca; Goodwin, Djite, Cirio
As for City, John van’t Schip reverted from his newly settled 3-5-2 formation which disposed Sydney FC 3-0, instead employing a 4-3-3 system. The Dutchman made two alterations from the previous week with Nick Fitzgerald superseding Anthony Caceres who was out injured and Michael Zullo was preferred over Jacob Melling, which resulted in Ben Garuccio slotting into left-back.
Melbourne City Starting XI: Sorensen; Franjic, Wilkinson, Kisnorbo, Garuccio; Malik, Mooy, Fitzgerald; Zullo, Fornaroli, Novillo
La Rocca demonstrates defensive aptness
La Rocca’s ability to read the game is a testament to his knowledge and experience. The pragmatic Italian was often exposed in one-on-one situations with the likes of Fornaroli, however he kept his composure to make several crucial interceptions. In the second-half, in particular, the ex-Wanderer committed vital challenges to deny City clear goal-scoring chances as well as protect Eugene Galekovic on his 250th appearance in all competitions for the Reds. La Rocca, whose season has been blighted by injury and suspension, will quickly endear himself to the Adelaide faithful if he consistently acquits himself in the manner he did against Melbourne.
Osama Malik puts on a clinic against former side
The ex-Adelaide fan favourite returned to his old stomping ground where he made a name for himself as one of the league’s most versatile footballers. Malik occupied the defensive midfield role, acting as a screen in front of the back-four and delivered with arguably the man-of-the-match performance. Although, a passing accuracy of 74%, according to Squawka, does not exactly capture the imagination it was what he did off the ball which was a sight to behold. Malik curtailed the involvement of Carrusca, while also executing the majority of his tackles, clearances and interceptions to perfection.
Adelaide struggle in transition
The Reds were overall rather sluggish and appeared jaded and lacking energy for much of the encounter, following the long journey home from Wellington earlier in the week. Amor’s troops rarely got out of first gear and this was extremely evident in transition from defence to attack. It was a facet of Adelaide’s play which gave them the impetus to expose opposition defences on many occasions. However, against City the ball movement was too slow out of defence and into the midfield. It was ultimately their downfall, as they were unable to muster any notable opportunities on the counter.
Adelaide United Conclusion
Despite Adelaide suffering their first loss in nearly four months, due to a rather lethargic showing, perhaps there is a silver lining. The Reds were due for a loss after a club record 14 matches unbeaten and with each passing match undefeated the pressure would have only increased. Therefore, although no loss is ever pleasant, maybe in this instance it was a blessing in disguise as they can ensure they are fully focused for the remainder of the regular campaign. Amor will be hoping the setback was just an anomaly as they travel to Wanderland – a place they are yet to taste success over the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Melbourne City Conclusion
It was certainly a massive statement to their title rivals from van’t Schip’s men as a defeat to Adelaide would have likely ended their endeavours of a first-place finish. However, City showed immense maturity and discipline in defence; something which has rarely been attributed to them. If Melbourne can create a resolute defence from now until the rest of the season then they should be considered the undisputed favourites for the championship, given they have by far the most potent attack in the league.
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