Adelaide United are now just one point behind second-placed Auckland FC heading into the final round of the season after a double from Anselmo de Moraes helped them defeat Macarthur Bulls 3-1.
Macarthur got off to a flyer at Coopers Stadium as Socceroos striker Mitch Duke continued his fine form with another well taken header as the Bulls took the lead inside seven minutes.
Running across marker Panagiotis Kikianis inside the box, Duke flicked Callum Talbot’s excellent cross beyond the dive of Adelaide keeper Joshua Smits and into the far corner to make it 1-0.
Reds youngster Ryan White almost levelled immediately at the other end but was thwarted by a smart save from Bulls keeper Alexander Robinson, who then produced two more saves to ensure his side maintained their 1-0 advantage at the break.
The home side were handed a double injury blow at half-time when defender Ryan Kitto was substituted with a foot injury and was later spotted sitting in the stand with a pair of crutches by his side, whilst Luka Jovanovic was also substituted due to injury.
Brought off the bench in place of Jovanovic in attack Anselmo made his presence felt almost immediately as he leapt highest to power home Jay Barnett’s cross into the box, bagging his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal.
Anselmo almost then scored with an incredible bicycle kick but was thwarted by Robinson who also then denied the Brazilian midfielder again, this time tipping a header round the post.
Now controlling possession and creating plenty of chances, Adelaide made it 2-1 in the 75th minute as Kikianis pounced on a loose ball to slot home the Reds’ second.
The three points were then sealed in the 90th minute as the excellent Anselmo bagged his second of the game as he outmuscled Tomislav Uskok inside the box to tap home Yaya Dukuly’s driven cross.
The result means the Reds now sit third on the ladder and are in with a shot of sealing second place on the final day of the season.
As for Macarthur, Mile Sterjovski’s team slump to their 10th loss of the season and sit ninth on the ladder heading into the final round of fixtures.
