Reds punished late as Lion City Sailors claim 2-0 win at Hindmarsh

In the first-ever meeting between the clubs, United were on the front foot for long periods and the contest was goalless for 80 minutes.

Hugo Gomes then broke the deadlock for the visitors, and Lennart Thy added a second deep into stoppage time. It was a disappointing way to finish, but it did not reflect the control the Reds showed for much of the match, and there are positives to take from the performance. Full time: Adelaide United 0-2 Lion City Sailors at Hindmarsh Stadium.

First half

Adelaide United lined up in a 4-2-3-1 at Hindmarsh Stadium, with Brody Burkitt leading the line and Craig Goodwin, Juan Muñiz and Amlani Tatu working behind him. Lion City Sailors set up in a 5-4-1 and were the sharper side early, with Joshua Smits called on to turn aside Kyoga Nakamura’s left-footed effort from outside the box in the seventh minute.

The visitors kept coming. Antonio Mance and Matthias Phaëton both sent efforts just wide of the right post in the 11th and 12th minutes, and Smits then saved Phaëton’s shot from the centre of the box in the 15th. The Sailors were forced into an early change in the 23rd minute, Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad replacing the injured Mance.

Smits denied Nakamura again from the right side of the box, before Hugo Gomes hit the bar with a header from a Giovanni Haag corner delivery in the 25th minute. Tatu offered a first reply for the Reds two minutes later, a right-footed effort from outside the box that drifted left.

The pressure did not let up. Smits saved from Phaëton in the 30th minute and from Nakamura in the 35th, and Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad also headed against the woodwork from another Haag corner in the 33rd. The Reds held firm through a testing spell.

United finished the half on the front foot. Burkitt’s shot from the right side of the box was saved by Victor Aznar after Goodwin’s pass in the 42nd minute, and Tatu had two more sights of goal on the break, both missing to the left. Anselmo de Moraes was booked for a foul in between, and the sides went in level at 0-0 after two minutes of added time.

Second half

Jay Barnett came on at the break for Anselmo de Moraes, and United began the second half on the front foot. Ryan Kitto sent a header over the bar from a Juan Muñiz corner delivery, and Panagiotis Kikianis then headed wide from another Muñiz corner as the Reds looked for an early breakthrough.

Lion City Sailors found their feet again around the 55-minute mark, with Bart Ramselaar and Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad both shooting off target in quick succession. Andrioli responded by refreshing his attack just before the hour, Joey Garuccio replacing Muñiz and Jonny Yull replacing Goodwin, while the Sailors swapped Jorge Karse for Ryhan Euan Griffin Stewart.

Diogo Costa and Phaëton both fired over on the counter either side of a blocked Harry Crawford effort, and Ajak Riak replaced Tatu on 70 minutes as United kept pressing. Garuccio tested Victor Aznar from distance, then Burkitt headed a Yull cross wide and forced a save with a right-footed effort from outside the box, with Sotirios Phillis booked for a foul along the way.

The deadlock broke in the 80th minute. Lennart Thy had been introduced three minutes earlier, and from a corner Hugo Gomes saw a header blocked before finishing left-footed from very close range into the centre of the goal. Smits had kept United level until then.

Ben Folami replaced Crawford as the Reds pushed for an equaliser. Kitto fired high and wide, Riak was denied by Aznar, and Folami, Ethan Alagich, Kikianis and Kitto all had efforts blocked or missed across four added minutes. Then Phaëton released Thy on a fast break and he finished left-footed into the centre of the goal to make it 0-2.

Full time

It is a frustrating end to a night the Reds were in for so long, and the timing of the two goals makes it sting. The Sailors carried more threat on the night, with 25 shots and eight on target against United’s 16 and five, and they took their chances when it mattered, leaving United with nothing from a match in which they had plenty of the ball.

Match details

Next match

The Reds get a quick chance to make amends, travelling to face Lion City Sailors FC in the return fixture at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday 5 November, kick-off 8:30pm ACDT.