A younger, inexperienced Adelaide United youth team outclassed a physical Adelaide Olympic 3-0 on Sunday, much to the delight of Head of Youth Football, Airton Andrioli.
United were without regular starters, Musa Toure and Luka Jovanović, who travelled to Newcastle with the Isuzu UTE A-League side.
Jovanović started and scored his maiden professional goal against the Jets on Saturday night, which is the perfect fulfilment for Andrioli and his role at the helm of the Club’s youth set-up.
United midfielder, Luke Duzel who joined the Reds from Western United in February, made it to the NPL match to start in the nick of time and scored the first goal of the game.
Midfielder, Jake Porter, also started in his first Seniors game and looked right at home with a debut goal which was just reward for the way the newcomer approached the occasion.
“I was really proud the way we performed on the weekend, especially considering we went in with a very young squad and we were missing some players to the A-League team, which again is what we are really about,” Andrioli said.
“Jake is a good kid and had a few issues last year in terms of injuries and the way his body is developing and adjusting to the speed of the level, but he’s still young and it was great to see him score with some real potential there as well with some continuation he has the potential as well.”
Nathan Amanatidis rounded out the scoring with a coolly dispatched penalty.
The Reserves played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw in positive signs that the team is building towards their second win of the season. Goals for Giorgio Parhas and Mohammed Hassan highlighted the game.
Power of youth:
Andrioli has worked in detail with Jovanović throughout the State programs, and it fills him with great job satisfaction to see him shine on the big stage.
Pair that with the ever-entertaining Nestory Irankunda, and Adelaide is firing on all cylinders in the youth department.
“I’m really excited at the moment, watching Luka start and score his first goal on Friday night amongst all the young boys making an impact in the A-League is really why I do this job,” Andrioli admitted.
“We do it for those young players to reach their goal and I think we have a fantastic system here.”
Duzel’s dash:
Luke Duzel was summoned at the last minute to play for United’s NPL team on Sunday after landing from Newcastle mere hours before kick-off.
The midfielder had to quickly rush into a taxi from the airport to Coopers Stadium to fetch his car, and he made it to ServiceFM Stadium in the nick of time for a last-minute team talk before he had to take to the field.
Despite the rush, he delighted the crowd with an audacious volley on the edge of the box to give United the lead after 38 minutes.
“I felt for Luke who had to make a real mad rush to make it to our game and he made it just in time for a quick chat before he had to start,” Andrioli said.
“To do what he did with a great goal and another 45 minutes under his belt, is a great credit to him.”
Up next:
Adelaide United’s NPL Seniors will have the week off due to the Federation Cup, but the Reserves will face Modbury Vista on Saturday at 2:30pm at Newspot Stadium in the city’s north-east.
Andrioli will head out to watch the match against the State League 2 team on the weekend.
It will be a decent opportunity for the Seniors squad to rest and reset after a busy period with players moving up and down the A-League squad frequently.
“It’s just another game and we know with Cup competitions anything can happen, so our younger squad will get a lot out of the atmosphere, especially away to Modbury which always has good support throughout their teams,” said Andrioli.
“I’ll be there and it’ll be a great opportunity for some younger players to show what they can do.”
Round 5 of the RAA NPL returns for United on Saturday, 25 March away at Karinya Reserve to Sturt, when United’s Reserves will play at 12:45pm, and the Seniors at 3:00pm.
Upcoming match details:
2023 RAA NPL SA – Round 5
Sturt Lions vs Adelaide United
Saturday, 25 March 2023, Kick-off: 3:00pm (ACDT)
Karinya Reserve
