Reds’ winning start continues

Adelaide United’s stellar start to the 2012/13 Hyundai A-League season has continued after a 1-0 win over the Western Sydney Wanderers at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The Reds picked up their second consecutive victory for 2012, consigning Tony Popovic’s side to their first loss in the franchise’s short history.

Jeronimo Neumann was the villain-turned hero for United as he made up for a missed penalty to fire home the decisive goal in the 69th minute.

The 26-year-old is quickly establishing himself as a fan-favourite after another industrious performance was rewarded with his first Hyundai A-League goal.

With Dario Vidosic out nursing a hamstring strain, the Reds looked toothless for much of the first half with neither team showing a cutting edge when moving forward.

The second half was a different matter entirely as the Reds looked to get off to the perfect home start by backing up their 2-0 win over the Newcastle Jets last Sunday.

The opening ten minutes tested the patience of the fans as both teams were culpable of losing possession easily. The tense atmosphere was on show for all to see as players slipped in possession and missed short passes to open teammates.

Jeronimo Neumann had the crowd on their feet in the 16th minute as his deft control carved out the first goal-scoring chance of the match. Speedster Iain Ramsay’s cross into the box was met by the Argentine import whose looping touch allowed him a free shot at Covic’s goals from a tight angle. Fortunately for the Wanderers, Neumann’s strike was just off target as he blasted it into the side-netting.

The Wanderers had their best chance of the first-half in the 32nd minute with a Poljak long-range strike almost catching Galekovic off-guard. The 23-year-old had time to size-up his shot which dipped viciously, causing the United captain to swat the ball up into the air. Fortunately for the Reds, Galekovic was quick to recover and stopped the ball from rolling over the line.

Adelaide were handed a golden chance in the 64th minute after Topor-Stanley brought down Ferreira as he jostled his way along the edge of the box. After conferring with his linesman, referee Brenton Hayward awarded the spot-kick despite the protests of the Wanderers defence.

Neumann stepped up confidently however his low strike to the ‘keeper’s left was parried away by Covic to keep the scores level.

The Argentine didn’t have to wait long to make up for his error however after a quick counter-attack in the 69th minute put the Wanderers on the back foot. With Topor- Stanley giving away possession in his attacking half, Cassio found Ramsay in the middle of the park with acres of space to run into.

As the defence began to recover, the winger’s sly through-ball unhinged the backline and put Neumann into a one-on-one with Covic. This time there was no mistake as his left-footed chip shot looped over the ‘keeper and ended up in the back of the net.

As the game entered the final five minutes both sides looked to their bench for fresh legs as they began their final assault on their opposition.

The Wanderers almost snatched a point at the death as Tarek Elrich’s curving cross teased the Reds’ defence with Labinot Haliti’s header well-saved by Galekovic.

The Reds managed to hold out in the end and put themselves in pole position on top of the table with six points from their opening two matches.

Goal(s): Neumann 69th minute (1-0)

Adelaide Starting XI: Galekovic (gk) (c), Malik, Boogaard, Cassio, Djite, Golec, Watson, Bowles, Ramsay, Neumann, Ferreira.

Subs: Carrusca, Barker-Daish, Kostopolous, Hall (gk).


Western Sydney Starting XI: Covic (gk), D’Apuzzo, Topor-Stanley, Beauchamp (c), Polenz, Poljak, Kresinger, Mooy, Hersi, Bridge, Ono.

Subs: Haliti, Elrich, La Rocca, Tyson (gk).

Crowd: 8950
Referee: Brenton Hayward