A stunning brace from in-form Reds striker Bruce Djite has helped Adelaide United clinch a stunning 3-1 away victory against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium in the second quarter-final of the FFA Cup.
While a controversial red card was brandished towards Sydney’s Nikola Petkovic and undoubtedly swung the momentum back towards Adelaide midway through the second period, a blistering first half performance from the Reds had them on their way.
Argentine playmaker Marcelo Carrusca was in inspired form throughout the contest and proved too much to handle for the Sydney defence on a number of occasions, however it was defender Nigel Boogaard’s pinpoint through ball which set-up Adelaide’s first goal.
Boogaard weighted his pass expertly, before Sergio Cirio latched onto the ball and finished comfortably past Ivan Necevski in the 27th minute, scoring for the second time in as many matches for the Reds.
The Reds were undoubtedly in control for the bulk of the half, though Ben Williams’ half-time whistle perhaps came at the wrong time for them as the commencement of the second-half saw a rejuvenated Sydney enter the playing field.
Sydney’s marquee signing and Austrian captain Marc Janko made way for Alex Brosque, who scored the winning goal for the Sky Blues in their dramatic derby win on the weekend, and the substitution by Graham Arnold proved to be an effective one shortly after.
Neat combination play between Sydney’s Chris Naumoff and Milos Dimitrijevic peppered the United goal, before a ball in from Nick Carle fell into the path of Brosque, who managed to sublimely chip the ball past Adelaide captain Eugene Galekovic.
The majority of chances fell Sydney’s way after Brosque’s equalizer, though the red card shown to Petkovic proved to entail consequences for the hosts as the clash became more bound for extra time with valuable minutes passing by.
Late chances fell to Tarek Elrich and Jimmy Jeggo for the Reds, however the duo both failed to capitalize which resulted in the encounter progressing to extra time.
Just moment’s into the first period of extra time, a dangerous low cross from Carrusca slid past a tiring Sydney defence and into the path of the dynamic Djite who did well to squeeze in a neat finish, giving United the lead once again.
Eight minutes from time, Djite completed his brace when he dispatched a difficult chance by acrobatically volleying the ball into the net of Necevski’s goal to nail the coffin closed on Sydney.
The Reds now join the Central Coast Mariners as the first two confirmed semi-finalists of the inaugural competition.
Match Details
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Westfield FFA Cup – Quarterfinals
Sydney FC 1 (’)
Adelaide United (Cirio 28′, Djite 99′, 111′)
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 3536
Sydney FC: Necevski, Bojic, Ryall, Petkovic, Jurman, Triantis (Gameiro 73’), Dimitrejevic (Antonis 66’), Abbas, Carle, Naumoff, Janko (Brosque 46’)
Adelaide United: Galekovic, McGowan (Marrone 70’), Boogaard, Elrich, Isaias, Sanchez (Malik 59’), Jeggo, Mabil (Ferreira 59’), Carrusca, Cirio, Djite
Red cards: Petkovic (87’)
Yellow cards: Jeggo (38’), Ryall (75’), Ferreira (86’), Djite (90’), Malik (101’), Gameiro (101’), Boogaard (101’), Antonis (108’)