Adelaide defeat Victory at Adelaide Oval

Adelaide United returned to winning ways with a 2-1 defeat of fierce rivals Melbourne Victory at the Adelaide Oval on Friday Night. Travis Dodd sealed the win for the Reds in the 78th minute in front 21,083 fans to set up an elimination showdown with either the Newcastle Jets or Wellington Phoenix.

Adelaide got their night off to the best possible start after Paul Reid netted the opener after just six minutes. The midfielder took charge of a set piece which found its way past Melbourne goalkeeper Michael Petkovic to give the Reds a crucial early lead. Petkovic seemed furious with his defenders for failing to deal with a simple free-kick delivery.

The first half was an entertaining affair with both Adelaide and the Victory having numerous opportunities to score.

Two Adelaide favourites combined in the 15th minute when youngster Matthew Leckie’s flat cross almost found Marcos Flores. The Argentine playmaker failed to gain contact with the ball which would have doubled the Red’s lead.

Returning from Socceroos duty at the Asian Cup, Robbie Kruse produced a trademark backheel which led to a promising opportunity for Melbourne. Despite being impressive for the majority of the season, Mate Dugandzic did not do enough with his finish sending his strike wide of Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.

Adelaide continues to push forward after the half-time interval, but failed to take advantage of numerous goal scoring opportunities.

The usual suspects Travis Dodd, Leckie and Flores launched continuous assaults on the Victory defence, but failed to break the deadlock.

Striker Archie Thompson returned from injury for Melbourne in the 57th minute and the former Socceroos front man was on the score sheet not soon after in 65th minute following some slack defending from Adelaide. Reds defender Dario Bodrusic failed to clear the ball gifting possession to Danny Allsopp who passed to Thompson who curled his strike into the top right corner of the goal.

The equaliser only galvanised the Reds who took the lead in the 78th minute when Captain Dodd scored with a long range header leaving Petkovic with no chance.
It was United’s second goal of the night from a set piece as Ian Ramsay perfect delivery found an unmarked Dodd on the edge of the box.

The Victory almost snatched it late on when Costa Rican international Carlos Hernandez’s long range effort deflected off Red’s defender Nigel Boogaard and skimmed off the post.

Adelaide managed to hold on for a crucial victory which guarantees a third place finish and a home final.