Adelaide United were winning 2-0 in its pre-season friendly clash against Para Hills at the Paddocks on Tuesday night before inclement weather brought a halt to proceedings 15 minutes from time.
Michael Marrone headed Adelaide into the lead inside four minutes from an expertly delivered James Troisi corner.
A second-half own goal, again from a corner, made it 2-0 to the visitors but with approximately a quarter of an hour remaining lightning stopped play.
The Reds had several chances to increase the advantage following Marrone’s header, but were denied spectacularly by Para Hills’ goalkeeper.
Troisi was again instrumental in finding space and threading perfectly weighted through balls, with Joe Caletti, Pacifique Niyongabire and Kusini Yengi all involved in the early action.
United controlled the majority of possession but as the half went on lacked conviction in the final third.
In the 49th minute, the Knights inadvertently scored an own goal, after heading Adelaide’s corner into the top corner.
Ten minutes later, Carl Veart made a plethora of changes with Adelaide still looking to dominate.
Overall, it was another solid hit-out for a side still looking to build fitness and gel as a team.
Team News
Carl Veart made two enforced changes from last week’s friendly against Adelaide Blue Eagles. Both full-backs in Ryan Strain (Olyroos) and Ryan Strain (ill) were absent so Marrone and Noah Smith superseded the pair respectively. George Timotheou was also a second-half substitute, having put pen-to-paper on a two-year deal with the Club hours earlier.
Key Moments
4’ | GOAL: Troisi swings in a corner at the near post which is forcefully met by Marrone’s head.
11’ | CHANCE: Following a wonderful exchange of passes, Marrone’s cutback finds Caletti at the top of the box and his shot is parried brilliantly by the Knights gloveman.
38’ | CHANCE: Jordan Elsey’s improvised volley from Troisi’s out-swinging corner almost finds its way into the top corner.
49’ | GOAL: An own goal from the Para player doubles the lead after heading into his own net.
Carl Veart’s Reaction
The Adelaide boss said he was content with facets of the team’s performance, though admitted they must be more decisive in attack which will arrive with more matches.
“There were some really good aspects of the game last night that I was really happy with,” he said.
“But just the quality in our final pass and our final decision let us down at times and I think that will improve with the match conditioning.”
Adelaide United (4-3-3): Ochsenham; Marrone (K. Konstandopoulos (T) 60’), Elsey (Abetew 60’), Jakobsen (Timotheou 60’), Smith; D’Arrigo (King 52’), Caletti, Troisi (Costanzo 59’); Halloran (M. Toure 59’), Yengi, Niyongabire (Dukuly 46’)
Match details:
Tuesday, 10 November 2020
Pre-season Friendly
Para Hills 0
Adelaide United 2 (Marrone 4’, OG 49’)
Venue: The Paddocks
