Entries Tagged 'Adelaide United' ↓

The Melbourne Victory have their backs up against the wall as they prepare to play current front-runner Adelaide United in Hindmarsh Stadium tomorrow night.

The last time these two met, Melbourne went to 10 men but still managed to come away with a win. In the five matches after that, however, the Victory’s fortunes have dropped. After teetering at the top of the table for the last few weeks, Melbourne finally dropped from first last week.

In contrast, Adelaide United are riding high after topping the A-League and reaching the final of the Asian Champions League. Despite the extra matches, they’ve only sacrificed two points in the last four rounds.

We already knew Melbourne would miss Archie Thompson and Ney Fabiano tomorrow, but Carlos Hernández’ injury (which could keep him out for a month) further diminishes Ernie Merrick’s attacking options. Now would be a perfect time for Nathan Elasi to make his A-League debut… but he’s away on Young Socceroos duty. Instead, Matthew Theodore has been called up from the youth team to potentially make an appearance off the bench.

Adelaide aren’t without their injury problems, with both Eugene Galekovic and Paul Reid unavailable. But they have a squad with depth which has been tried and tested over the past month. And so far, weariness has not made them skip a beat.

My tips for the weekend:

• Adelaide United to lose to Melbourne Victory. Backs against the wall or not, I still feel obliged to believe we can do it. And we certainly can. Perth Glory almost beat Adelaide last week, but gave it away in the last ten minutes.
• Sydney FC to draw with Central Coast Mariners. Two sides coming off a win, I can’t pick a winner between these two.
• Newcastle Jets to beat Queensland Roar. This is an important game for both sides, with Queensland perched on the edge of the top 4 and Newcastle fighting to stay in the race. Newcastle need the win, and I think they’ll get it.
• Perth Glory to beat Wellington Phoenix. They’re 7th and 8th, both beaten last week, but recent form has seen an improvement for both sides. I’m picking a Perth win.

Adelaide United were unable to capitalise on being a man up for over an hour last night, eventually losing to the Melbourne Victory 1-0.

It was a solid, tenacious performance by Melbourne, who deserved the win.

Ney Fabiano picked up a straight red card for spitting at Robert Cornthwaite, a suspension that could well be lengthened by the FFA. The Perth Glory’s Dino Djulbic spat at a referee two weeks ago and has received a five-match ban.

Oddly, the red card, given just before the half hour mark, did little to upset the balance of the game. If anything, Melbourne rose to the occasion, applying heavy pressure on Adelaide and matching them physically.

Adelaide had their moments, mostly with balls from the flank sent in to the box, but their finishing was quite atrocious – particularly in the air. Maybe it was an off day for the Reds.

Melbourne got the goal it deserved in the 63rd minute, when Sasa Ognenovski held back Archie Thompson in the box. Kevin Muscat lined up to take the shot, and then we saw something we’ve never seen before in the A-League: he missed. Or, rather, Eugene Galekovic saved it.

Thankfully, the rebound fell nicely for Muscat to tap the ball in on his second attempt.

But still. Muscat missed a penalty. A new day dawns.

…

I thought it was an excellent, gritty performance by Melbourne. While the blockbuster win over Newcastle Jets showed a Victory side capable of destroying the opposition, last night showed that this is a Melbourne side that has the fitness and determination to grind out a result.

Anyway, here’s the goal:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybadkXjUpQo[/youtube]

The Melbourne Victory will have to do without Michael Thwaite and Jose Luis Lopez tonight when it hosts Adelaide United at the Telstra Dome.

Despite Melbourne’s strong run of form so far this season, this promises to be the sternest test of the Victory’s strength. Adelaide are on equal points with Melbourne, separated only by goal difference.

Melbourne haven’t beaten Adelaide United since the Grand Final. The last time the sides met was the Pre-Season Cup, when Adelaide managed a last minute winner to give them a 2-1 victory.

The absence of Michael Thwaite and Jose Luis Lopez is obviously a cause for concern, although Sebastian Ryall is available to slot in as Thwaite’s replacement. Earlier this week, Merrick indicated that Billy Celeski would take Lopez’ usual position as defensive midfielder.

Other than that, there’s very little reason to see why Merrick would want to mess with the line-up that was so successful against the Newcastle Jets. Personally, I relish the thought of 90 more minutes of Allsopp, Fabiano, Thompson and Hernández playing together.

My tips for the weekend:

• Melbourne Victory to grab a single goal win over Adelaide United. A somewhat tempered tip this week. Adelaide are one of the strongest sides in the A-League this year.
• Newcastle Jets to rebound with narrow win over Sydney FC. Nothing like an embarrassing 5-0 loss to make a team come to its senses.
• Perth Glory to draw with Queensland Roar. Neither of these sides has won a game yet this season, and I don’t think either will get their first this round.
• Wellington Phoenix to lose to the Central Coast Mariners. The Mariners looked poor before the last round, but sprang to life against Queensland. If they can keep that momentum, they’ll dominate Wellington.

Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United have played their fourth friendly, ending in a 0-0 draw. That’s three draws in a row, with Melbourne winning the first friendly back in February.

Steve Pantelidis was given a straight red card in the second half after a challenge on Matthew Mullen.

Judging by the report on Goal.com, Adelaide were the more dangerous side. Merrick gave a start to Leandro Love and Kaz Patafta, and lost Leigh Broxham early on to injury. Broxham’s injury isn’t expected to keep him out of next week’s match.

Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United fought out a 2-2 draw yesterday in Hindmarsh Stadium. With both teams missing a key striker (Adelaide are without Bruce Djite due to injury), the scoreline will provide encouragement for both coaches.

Adrian Caceres, who moved into a striker’s role alongside Danny Allsopp, opened the scoring in the 5th minute. A Lucas Pantelis goal brought Adelaide back on level terms, but Danny Allsopp made sure that Melbourne went into the break a goal up. In the second half, Adelaide had the better of play, but failed to capitalise on chances. Both Travis Dodd and Dez Giraldi missed penalties, though Young Socceroo Matthew Mullen managed to put one in the back of the net to ensure a draw.

With Carlos Hernandez and Archie Thompson expected to be out for the remainder of the ACL group stage, Ernie Merrick shifted Caceres up front and brought Nick Ward forward to act as an attacking midfielder just behind the strikers. While it’s encouraging to see this formula work (to an extent), the club must be looking to recruit a fresh, first-11 striker. With Caceres on his way to the Central Coast Mariners, and neither Nathan Elasi nor Leandro Love looking like first team material, Merrick’s options are starting to look rather thin.

Melbourne Victory drew its second friendly with Adelaide United yesterday, after beating the South Australians last week with a 2-1 win. 

A goal for Danny Allsopp and a penalty converted by Adelaide’s Cassio left the teams at 1-1. 

With Leigh Broxham away with the Olyroos, and Nick Ward and Carlos Hernandez injured, Ernie Merrick opted for a creative midfield line-up featuring Steve Pantelidis, Kaz Patafta and Leandro Love. 

The Herald Sun reveals that Tom Pondeljak will not be available for the Victory’s match against the Chunnam Dragons next week. The midfielder hasn’t moved to Melbourne yet. I suppose he didn’t expect to be needed. 

His absence, as well as the injuries to Hernandez and Grant Brebner, means that Kaz Patafta and Billy Celeski will be clamouring for game time, especially if Nick Ward does not recover from his groin injury in time. 

The Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United will be playing each other twice before the Asian Champions League begins, and then two more times during the group stage.

Hardly surprising news, but it is disappointing to hear that the matches will be behind closed doors, much like the Socceroos practice match on the weekend. I have no doubt that a friendly against Adelaide could draw a reasonable crowd – certainly enough to make Olympic Park come alive.

But alas, it seems the club are intent on making fans wait until March 12.

The dates

• Game 1: Wednesday 27th Feb in Melbourne (3.00pm kick-off)
• Game 2: Tuesday 4th March in Adelaide (1.30pm kick-off)
• Game 3: Tuesday 1st April in Adelaide (1.30pm kick-off)
• Game 4: Tuesday 15th April in Melbourne (3.00pm kick-off)

Source: The World Game

So it happened. The Newcastle Jets beat the Central Coast Mariners on Saturday, meaning that the faint dream of Melbourne reaching the finals is now over.

I published an article on Newsvine last week, called The Problem with the Asian Champions League (which has also been published on Pitch Invasion). As I pointed out in that article, the Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United are going to the ACL, supposedly as the best of the Australian teams – despite the fact that neither have reached the A-League finals this season.

As I wrote the article though, one question struck me: Is the fact that Melbourne hasn’t reached the A-League finals a blessing in disguise? Continue reading →

Talk of the town is that Lucas Pantelis has been discussing his options with the Melbourne Victory recently.

The 25-year old midfielder, who has been with Adelaide United since the start of the A-League, may be after a change of scenery when his contract runs out with Adelaide in January.

If he is signed, Pantelis would be a great boost for the Melbourne midfield. Left-footed and dangerous in attack, some Victory fans will remember the goal he scored against us in round 8 (if not, watch the video here – it’s the last goal). It hurts to get strikes like that against you, but it sure would be nice having a player capable of that on your side.

The Melbourne Victory has been drawn in Group G, along with Chonburi FC (Thailand), Gamba Osaka (Japan) and the Chunnam Dragons (South Korea).

Adelaide United, meanwhile, have been drawn in Group E with Changchun Yatai (China), Pohang Steelers (South Korea) and Binh Duong (Vietnam).

Here’s who we’re up against, and how they made it to the Champions League:

• Chonburi FC won the 2007 Thailand Premier League to secure their spot at the Asian Champions League. It will be their first appearance at the Champions League.

• Gamba Osaka came 3rd in the J-League and failed to beat the Urawa Red Diamonds in the final of the 2006 Emperor’s Club, but that was enough to pave the way for them to compete in the Champions League.

• Chunnam Dragons have won the Korean FA Cup the last two years, knocking out the Pohang Steelers earlier this month. In the K-League, however, the Dragons have only managed to finish 8th this year.

If you haven’t read it yet, check out my previous post about how the Asian Champions League works.