Bruce Djite’s double lifted Adelaide United an impressive 4-1 semi final against Melbourne City infront of 14,589 spectators at Coopers Stadium.
The win propels the Reds to a third A-League grand final, the first on home soil.
Nick Fitzgerald pulled one back for the visitors in the 73rd minute to set up a tense finale after Djite had put his side into a commanding position, but it was too little, too late, as Adelaide defender Dylan McGowan volleyed home from a set piece with three minutes remaining while substitute Pablo Sanchez put the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
After a bright opening for the visitors, Guillermo Amor’s team took full control with an aggressive pressing game, denying the likes of Aaron Mooy and Bruno Fornaroli to enact their regular level of influence.
City’s exciting 2015-16 campaign comes to an inconsistent end, while Adelaide march on step closer to the pinnacle of Australian football.
A-League – Player Ratings – Adelaide United 4 Melbourne City 1
Cirio comes into his own
The diminutive Spaniard was easily the standout performer of the first half. City midfielder could not get to grips with his decisive and swift movement, allowing the speedster to drift in between the lines with Carrusca relatively quiet, at least by his standards.
Cirio made a number of surging runs, creating highly presentable chances for Bruce Kamau and Bruce Djite, who could not find the net with Thomas Sorensen standing tall for the visitors between the posts. Simiarly to the resurgence that Carrusca has undertaken in the second half of the season, Cirio has been a contributor, albeit a less spectacular one.
Djite’s breakout season could quite easily end with silverware
After squandering a great chance in the first half, Djite made amends, scoring twice in the first 15 minutes after the restart to put the hosts in the box seat for a grand final berth. While his second was a routine penalty conversion, his first effort was the stuff of dreams. The burly striker pounced upon a loose ball 25 yards from goal, and dispatched an unstoppable curling effort past Sorensen into the side netting.
48' | GOLAAAZZZOOO! Bruce Djite goes BANG from 25 yards, curling it past Thomas Sorensen. (1-0) #ADLvMCY #ALFinals
— Outside90 (@Outside90) April 22, 2016
The striker, even throughout a long goalless run, remained quietly confident that firstly, the run would end, and his team had the right elements to push for the title. He was certainly correct regarding the first point, and he is 90 minutes away from securing the second.
It all came crumbling down for City
After an indifferent ending to the regular season, a comprehensive 2-0 victory to knock out the dangerous Perth Glory suggested that City had turned a corner, and was ready to take this finals series by storm.
The ending to the 2014-15 season, a 3-0 loss to Melbourne Victory was arguably a better performance than tonight’s showing, raising further question marks over the mental fragility and overall progress of John Van’t Schip’s outfit.
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