Sergio van Dijk came to Adelaide United with a reputation of finding the back of the net with constant regularity, and after a superb double against Melbourne Victory on Sunday continued his scintillating recent goal scoring run, the Dutchman is not failing to live up to expectations.
His sensational brace in United-s 4-1 mauling of the Victory took van Dijk-s tally to 13 goals for the season and impressively gave him seven goals from the past eight games.
With United leading 1-nil at the break, van Dijk doubled the lead with a blistering free kick in the 56th minute before shutting the door on the contest with the Reds- fourth in the 78th minute as he put his body on the line to get the first and vital touch to the ball as he came head on with rampaging Victory keeper Michael Petokovic.
While pleased to again be able to contribute on the score sheet, particularly as it helped the Reds end a 10 game losing streak against the Victory, van Dijk concedes when it comes down to it, scoring goals is part and parcel of what strikers are paid to do.
“Of course I-m happy with the two goals, that-s what a striker is on the pitch for, but I think in general all over the park we were really sharp,” van Dijk said.
“Yeah I was happy with the first goal, the second one was a little bit lucky, but they all count.”
When Cassio was fouled well outside the penalty area but within range, van Dijk-s eyes would have lit up. The stage was set for something special and van Dijk duly delivered, unleashing a cracker that split the Victory wall and rifled past Petkovic and into the top corner.
Click here to see van Dijk-s strike against the Victory.
Fans, regardless of which side they were there supporting, would surely have watched on in awe at the quality of the strike as van Dijk ran over to celebrate with the pocket of United supporters that had been sent into elation.
“I hit it with the laces a little bit outside so it goes away…and my intention was to hit the target,” van Dijk said.
“Most of the times if you hit the ball that hard and it has enough speed, it-s already difficult for the goalkeeper, and if it goes to the top corner you-ve got an even better chance to score.”
And score he did, the stunning 30 metre drive one of the goals of the season and arguably the strike that broke the Victory-s spirit.
“I thought maybe I-ll just smash it at goal, and with a good wind speed and a little bit of luck it went in,” van Dijk said tongue-in-cheek.
“Sometimes it goes in and sometimes you miss, but if you never try then you-ll never know what-s going to happen, and yesterday was the right moment to score a goal like that.”
Van Dijk-s scoring exploits have seen him shoot clear at the top of the league goal scoring charts, reinforcing why the 28 year old marksman was in such high demand, and why the Reds were so thrilled to get him, when his contract came to an end with Brisbane Roar at the end of last season.
The 28 year old scored an average of a goal every two games in 50 Hyundai A-League appearances for the Roar, and he already well eclipsed the highest number of goals by a Reds player in a single Hyundai A-League season, which was previously held by Cristiano in 2008/09 with eight.
Playing in just his second Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory match, van Dijk pulled up sore from the physically bruising encounter, largely courtesy of his collision with Petkovic prior to his second goal. The contact left van Dijk having to celebrate the goal lying on the AAMI Park turf, but despite the pain, he says it makes the knocks feel all the better when there is a goal and a win on the end of it.
“For a win like this and a good goal, it makes it a lot easier to recover,” van Dijk said.
“In the end, everyone is happy, it was 4-nil (at the time). You get a little bit bruised but it-s all worth it.”
Van Dijk and the Reds will now enjoy a weekend break before preparing for their final five games, starting with a home clash against North Queensland Fury on Friday, January 21.
