Back in March, Adelaide spoilt the Glory’s homecoming at HBF Park after a five-month gap between home games. On the weekend, the Reds had their own homecoming at the revamped Coopers Stadium. The perfect chance to exact a bit of revenge, but we couldn’t quite do it.
A bright opening 10 minutes was followed up by a 20-minuterough patch where we conceded twice and barely got a sniff in Adelaide’s half. It took a wonder strike to get us back within one and inject some life into the contest, but even after that we didn’t look like nabbing an equaliser.
No changes were made to the starting side that beat the Mariners the previous week, and this time around there was no drama regarding Bruno Fornaroli after it was announced his contract had been terminated by mutual consent last Thursday.
He’s now been signed by the Victory and could appear for them against the Jets on Friday night. I’m surprised at how quickly the whole thing unfolded, but also glad because it means we can move ahead and avoid more off-field drama.
Fornaroli leaves behind big shoes to fill, and it appears the club will look to bring in a replacement in January. It’s much needed as finding the back of the net has been the biggest struggle over the opening five weeks.
Not only would a striker be handy, but a little more creativity in the middle if Salim Khelifi continues to play on the left. He’s very unpredictable and skilled, and I feel his talents would be more suited playing behind the likes of Ben Azubel, Luke Ivanovic or David Williams.
The options we’ve got in the wide areas are stronger than the few attacking midfielders at our disposal. Khelifi moving to the middle frees up a spot on the left for one of Matt Hatch, Joseph Forde or Jacob Dowse, all of whom have shown upside when they’ve been on the park.
If we were more effective on the flanks, maybe this wouldn’t be such an issue. Almost 90% of our play in the first 40 minutes came down the channels, but nothing came as a result of that. Crossing was again an issue against the Reds.
The accuracy was poor just like it was against Newcastle Jets, both from open play and from set pieces. We had two corners in the last five minutes of the first half; both times Adelaide had eight players in the area where the cross was getting delivered and we had just four. Both times the ball in caused no trouble. Whatever the plan was, it made no sense to me. Hiroshi Ibusuki got the clearing header four times from corners in the first half, and he was the first man in the box for all of them. The delivery also needs improvement.
The best chances we created came when the ball was not on the touchline. Colli’s goal came from a little chip by Khelifi; Colli had open space to run into and when no one closed him down, he went for it and scored one of the best goals I’ve seen by a Glory player. Luke Bodnar had a shot from just outside the box and we won a free kick in a great position when McEneff made a good run forward and got fouled by Isaias.
On the defensive end, this was our weakest for the season thus far. Twenty-one shots conceded and we were lucky to only concede two. Adelaide missed a lot of big chances and on a different day, or against a more potent side, we would have been punished for our mistakes.
A tangle in the box between Mitch Oxborrow and Johnny Koutroumbis led to the first goal. They got in each other’s way and didn’t clear the ball. Craig Goodwin slipped in behind, was played in and in one swift motion turned and fired low into the far corner.
The second goal came shortly after from a set piece after we needlessly gave the ball away in our own half. Goodwin’scross was met by the outstretched leg of Ben Warland. Reddy went to collect but bailed and was left in no man’s land. Ibusuki was waiting in the middle and got the easiest tap in of his career.
One final note for the Glory in this game, I was very glad Luke Bodnar got a good run out. He lost the ball in dangerous areas on a few occasions and was a bit rusty, but I would prefer to see him in the middle than Mitch Oxborrow. With Mustafa Amini out, our midfield lacked a bit of solidarity; a bigger body who can shield the ball and move it up the pitch. Bodnar offers that and I believe can be more effective for us in both an attacking and defensive sense.
The Reds got a much-needed win playing in front of a home crowd for the first time this season. Craig Goodwin was heavily involved and is every chance of getting game time at the World Cup in a few weeks. The midfield duo of Isaias and Louis D’Arrigo were very solid throughout, especially in the period where Adelaide got their two goals.
More lessons learned from this game and a goal which we’ll look back on fondly. An outrageous strike got us back in a game we were fortunate to be fighting for a draw in until the very end. The Glory have one final hurdle to jump over before the World Cup break, and it comes in Melbourne against the side on top of the league. The last time we played City before a big break, it turned out pretty well. A repeat of that would do nicely to round off our first month of the new campaign.
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