Adelaide United continued its unbeaten start under Carl Veart with a rampant 5-3 win over Perth Glory at Bankwest Stadium on Thursday night.
There were five different goal scorers for Adelaide with Michael Jakobsen, Lachlan Brook and Pacifique Niyongabire all bagging their maiden strikes in Reds colours.
Kristian Opseth was instrumental, scoring for a third consecutive match and notching two assists, while Ben Halloran was also on target.
Veart named an unchanged line-up from the 1-1 draw against Wellington Phoenix, looking to build some continuity in the side.
Adelaide took some time to get into the contest, and forced to absorb Perth’s early possession.
Adelaide were awarded a penalty in the 14th minute after Ben Halloran was adjudged to have been clipped by Jacob Tratt.
But the Reds could not capitalise as Riley McGree’s tame penalty was saved by Liam Reddy after guessing the right way.
The match then turned on its head with five goals in an 18-minute period before half-time.
A devastating Taras Gomulka corner was met by the glancing head of Captain, Jakobsen; running in at the front post to break the deadlock on 27 minutes.
Two minutes later another United played would open his Reds account. Opseth profited from a reckless back pass to play in Brook, and the 19-year-old kept his composure to score in stunning fashion.
Kristian Popovic pegged Adelaide back when he broke the offside trap to net past Izzo.
But in the 38th minute, United’s two-goal lead would be restored as Opseth took full advantage of a poor clearance from Reddy following another dangerous Gomulka corner.
It was 4-1 on the stroke of half-time when Opseth assisted Halloran for his eighth goal of the campaign.
Niyongabire was introduced on the hour mark and made an instant impact off the bench.
The speedster caused all sorts of havoc down the left flank with his pace and trickery and netted his inaugural goal with a sumptuous finish and celebrated in acrobatic style.
However, Perth kept Veart’s side on their toes and some sloppy defending allowed them to snare two consolation goals. Bruno Fornaroli was given too much time and space in the box, before Juande converted a penalty following a clumsy challenge.
Nevertheless, it was an impressive performance from Adelaide who prevailed triumphant in the crunch clash to keep alive its finals aspirations.
Key moments:
15’ | PENALTY SAVE: McGree sees his spot-kick saved by Reddy as he dives to his left and holds onto the ball.
27’ | GOAL! Jakobsen heads in Gomulka’s corner at the near post.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6176580081001
29’ | GOAL! Brook clinically dispatches his finish into the bottom corner past Reddy after being assisted by Opseth.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6176580289001
33’ | GOAL: Popovic halves the deficit when he connects with Kilkenny’s aerial ball.
38’ | GOAL! Opseth punishes Reddy’s poor clearance from the corner to head into an empty net.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6176580342001
45’ | GOAL! Opseth releases Halloran on the left wing and his right-footed finish deflects past a helpless Reddy.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6176581371001
63’ | GOAL! Niyongabire off the bench combines with Kitto before he evades his defender and fires his strike back across the goalkeeper.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6176585381001
74’ | GOAL: Fornaroli controls a cross with his chest before unleashing a classy finish inside the upright.
83’ | GOAL: Juande slots the penalty after Kitto’s foul.
Match details:
Thursday, 30 July 2020
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Season
Adelaide United 5 (Jakobsen 27’ Brook 29’ Opseth 38’ Halloran 45’ Niyongabire 63’)
Perth Glory 3 (K. Popovic 33’ Fornaroli 74’ Juande (p) 83’)
Venue: Bankwest Stadium
