Farina bemoans Sydney’s football fundamentals

Adelaide United’s 3-1 win over Sydney FC has heaped pressure on coach Frank Farina as he fights to steer the Sky Blues to the Hyundai A-League finals.

Two simple errors allowed Adelaide to race to a 2-0 lead at Coopers Stadium as Fabio Ferreira and Sergio Cirio pounced to punish the Sky Blues.

Farina said it was disappointing that his side gifted United a two-goal lead through their inability to master the fundamentals of the game.

“One-nil and two-nil were direct mistakes from us,” Farina said.

“We were on the attack in their half and they were poor turnovers, either bad control of the ball or a bad pass.

“You go 2-0 down against any side in the league at the moment, they grow in confidence and you’ve got a mountain to climb,” he said.

A piece of magic from Marcelo Carrusca had the Reds in front after just 13 minutes when the Argentine slid the perfect through ball to Portuguese speedster Fabio Ferreira.

Carrusca’s pass cut Sydney’s defence wide open after a turnover in midfield, allowing Ferreira to run onto the ball, feinting past Ognenovski for an easy finish past Janjetovic.

Adelaide doubled their lead in the 54th minute when the ball was deflected fortunately into the path of waiting Spaniard Sergio Cirio. Sydney were caught in possession in United’s defensive half with the Sky Blues waiting for the referee to blow for a foul on ADP.

With no stoppage in play the Reds broke quickly with Carrusca allowed time on the ball, charging towards goal. His attempted shot deflected perfectly into Cirio's path who finished with aplomb to the delight of the 14,000-strong crowd.

Adelaide coach Josep Gombau said the win would build morale in the squad as they fight to maintain their place in the Top Six with just three matches remaining.

“To win this game at home gives us confidence and it’s a bit of an advantage, you can go play away (next week) and be more comfortable,” Gombau said.

“If we didn’t win today there would be pressure to get the result away.

“Of course we want to get the result away but now there isn’t quite as much pressure to do so,” he said. 

Sydney was granted a glimmer of hope in the 75th minute when Matt Thompson was picked out from the left wing, finding a way past the rest defence to pull a goal back in front of the travelling Sky Blue fans.

Substitute Thompson was fed the ball as he made a late charge into the box. His attempt to control the ball deflected off United's stopper allowing him to slot the ball into the corner, leaving Galekovic flat-footed and stranded between the posts.

United sealed all three points in the 88th minute with crowd-favourite Bruce Djite striking a fierce shot into the bottom corner.

The hard work was done by substitute Marrone who charged down the right flank to open up Sydney’s defence. The former Heart man then played the ball inside to Djite who turned his defender and hit a low, left-footed strike into the bottom corner.

When Djite scored Gombau ran to celebrate with his players, stating after the game that he was relieved by the result.

“I felt that Sydney were close to scoring and making it 2-2,” Gombau said.

“That was in my mind because last game we played against them was like this and for me this game was crucial.

“In that moment when we scored... I wanted to celebrate with my players because we are very close, we are a family,” he said.

United now face a tough away trip to the Phoenix with hopes of maintaining a place in the top six, whilst Farina must turn things around quickly if Sydney are to take anything from their away trip to AAMI Park where they take on the Victory.

Be sure to vote for The Football Sack in the 2014 FFDU Fan Awards.



Adelaide United: Galekovic, Boogaard, McKain, Isaias, Cirio, Carrusca, Djite, Watson, Zullo, Elrich, Ferreira.

Subs: Marrone, Jeronimo, Mabil, Izzo, Elsey.


Sydney FC: Janjetovic, Ryall, Jurman, Petkovic, Del Piero, Garcia, Ognenovski, Antonis, Abbas, Gligor, Urosevski.

Subs: Necevski, Gameiro, Chianese, Thompson, Calver.