Reds fans ultimately left frustrated from a stale derby clash with Melbourne Victory on Friday night, though there were some new positives on show.
Adelaide’s rookie coach Guillermo Amor was “satisfied” with the effort his players displayed in his first ever league game as a manager.
Both the hosts and the Victory looked bereft of the sharpness that only comes through competitive league football for much of the sparsely attended clash at the Adelaide Oval. A tick over 19,000 fans were in the stands – just 2,500 more fans than would have packed a hysterical Coopers Stadium to an intimate capacity. But that is an argument for another day.
Gui Finkler struck a post and Kosta Barbarouses had a goal rightly ruled-out for offside. Conversely, Adelaide struggled with their cohesiveness in the final-third before new Melbourne goalkeeper Danny Vukovic salvaged a point for his side – clawing away a gilt-edged Pablo Sanchez effort in the dying moments.
A Leigh Broxham red card with 18 minutes remaining swung the tie in Adelaide’s favour, yet for the eighth consecutive game, the Reds were unable to topple the Victory.
Though the overriding positive should be the clean sheet.
Adelaide’s defence was much, much more sound than it has been in years past against the reigning Champions. The offside trap frustrated Victory’s star-studded front three all night long and the Reds were able to play out from the back with a greater ease than a fortnight ago against a similar Melbourne outfit that ended their FFA Cup defence.
If Amor is able to apply similarly effective changes in that sort of time frame all season long, the Reds faithful should be comfortable in their new Spaniard’s ability to swing the changes.
This was the first 0-0 result between these two since 2007 and Adelaide’s first clean sheet against their fiercest of rivals since a 1-0 win in February 2013.
Aside from Amor’s predecessor – the fan-adored Josep Gombau, being unable to shut out his side’s greatest rivals throughout his tenure, there were a few other noticeable changes in Adelaide’s style of play.
READ MORE: A-League – Fan Reaction [VIDEO] – Adelaide United 0 Melbourne Victory 0
The long, diagonal ball appears to be extinct
The departures of Nigel Boogaard (Newcastle Jets) and Awer Mabil (Danish side FC Midtjylland), Adelaide’s best long passer and their quickest player, respectively, appears to have abolished a previously ineffective Red tactic. Gombau’s possession-based play, continually linked to his roots from FC Barcelona, evolved into a style which sucked their opponents to defending compact and narrow, enabling the long, diagonal ball out from the back where appropriate.
This was a ploy which would very rarely pay dividends and Reds fans will be pleased to see this sent to the back of Amor’s playbook.
The predictable reliance on Isaias is over
Adelaide’s style of play in the last two years has been all about using Isaias as the side’s pivot point when in possession, he was the man who made things happen, who moved the ball to the left and to the right and back again, as the Reds were hell-bent on keeping control over opponents.
On Friday night, however, the Reds used the flanks more. Craig Goodwin and Michael Marrone advanced with the ball beyond Isaias on multiple occasions, while Cirio, Jimmy Jeggo and Marcelo Carrusca spent more time on the ball than the fleet-footed Spaniard.
It was only in the final 5-10 minutes that Adelaide sent the ball to Isaias more regularly, his talents more effective when Melbourne were sitting deep and clinging onto a point after the red card.
This means the Reds are likely to be multi-dimensional under Amor and less predictable. The better sides in the league were able to press onto Adelaide and dominate the game by shutting down just Isaias last season – the early signs are this will not be able to happen this year.
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Lots, lots more ‘Chelo
Once Adelaide had advanced into the final-third via Goodwin, Marrone and then Cirio, the Reds looked for their most talented and creative player to cause the most damage.
Carrusca’s 2014-15 was down a little from the heights he set from when he arrived in Adelaide the year before, this was in part due to injury, but also due to form and the types of service he received in different areas.
On United’s season opening night his teammates looked for him for the finishing touch or final pass with more regularity, the ball ending at his feet on the edge of the box throughout the second-half. He failed to make the most of a couple of opportunities, but if Adelaide can continue to accommodate his talents in as much space as he had last night, it will not be long until ‘Chelo’ reaches the form he has in years past.
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