Adelaide United FC has regained second spot on the Hyundai A-League table and set a number of records in the process after a crushing 8-1 demolition of the North Queensland Fury.
In the first game of ‘Flood Relief Round-, it was a downpour of a different kind at Hindmarsh Stadium as the Reds eclipsed the record for the most number of goals scored in a Hyundai A-League game, the previous mark having stood at six.
The extraordinary score line saw Sergio van Dijk and Marcos Flores both score hat tricks, while captain Travis Dodd and Iain Ramsay also found the back of the net as the Reds warmed up for next Saturday night-s crunch game against the Central Coast Mariners in a match that will go a long way to deciding which team will finish in the top two.
United netted four times in each half as Dodd, Flores and van Dijk were involved in everything, the Dutch marksman taking his tally to 16 goals for the season and 10 in his past nine games.
Head Coach Rini Coolen was admittedly delighted by his team-s killer instinct ahead of telling matches against the other contenders for second spot, the seven goal winning margin lifting United above the Mariners on goal difference.
“For us the most important thing was that we had five important games to go knowing that the Central Coast and Gold Coast are the next games, but the most important game was today and everything had to be done to get three points,” Coolen said.
“But if you get a performance like this and make the crowd happy with a lot of fantastic goals, very good transition moments – one thing that maybe wasn-t good enough was that we didn-t have a clean sheet, but the whole game makes us really happy.”
The only blemish on an otherwise unforgettable night came in the 72nd minute when Panagiotis Nikas found a way past Eugene Galekovic with a well directed shot from the edge of the penalty area. Disappointed not to keep a clean sheet, Coolen said it highlighted that the Reds still needed to make further improvement.
“There-s always things to work on and that we can do better,” Coolen said.
“We gave them some chances…and if you prefer to make a bigger step for the future you have to also eliminate those moments, but it-s not easy to do everything perfect. There were still a couple of mistakes but there are always things to work on.”
Facing a side that were without a win in seven games, it took just four minutes for the Reds to unlock the Fury defence as van Dijk had time to look up and pick out Flores between two defenders, the Argentinean beating Justin Pasfield with his header.
It proved a sign of things to come but it was not before North Queensland enjoyed a dominant period as the Reds flirted with danger and were fortunate not to concede in the 14th minute as David Williams pounced, but he sent his sliding effort over the bar.
But the home side arrested the momentum back in the 28th minute when Flores exposed a sizeable gap in the Fury defence as he threaded a pass to Dodd, who convincingly side footed the ball past a helpless Pasfield.
Less than 10 minutes later Dodd then returned the favour as he got rid of Andre Kilian and Eric Okoko in a tantalising run before laying the ball across for a charging Flores to smash home his second and put the Reds 3-nil up.
Flores and the Reds were running riot, and the Reds- number 10 was at it again as he put another sublime through ball in front of Dodd, who was too quick for Kilian, and while Pasfield managed to keep the skipper-s shot out, it fell into the path of Ramsay who buried the chance from close range.
The procession continued within a minute of the second half as van Dijk got in on the act, the Dutchman scoring his first for the night as he lobbed his header out of Pasfield-s reach. Dodd was again instrumental in the build up as he swung the ball into the far post for Ramsay, who in turn nodded the ball to van Dijk-s advantage.
Substitute Lorenzo Sipi provided a spark for the Fury but there would be no stopping the Reds and van Dijk as he produced a clinical finish from yet another brilliant dissecting Flores pass to send chants of ‘United- ringing around the stadium.
Nikas- strike then gave the Reds a reminder of what can happen with even the slightest defensive lapse as he pegged one back for the Fury.
The United faithful may have been treated to six goals but the loudest cheer of the night came when Mathew Leckie was introduced with 15 minutes to go, the 19 year old making his first appearance since injuring his knee in October, and he almost made it a return to remember when he flashed a left footed drive at goal just wide of the post.
Van Dijk was on the spot again after yet another fine Reds build up to break the record as the home side made it seven, before Flores- glancing header from a Paul Reid free kick in the 89th minute completed the rout.
While the Reds can feel satisfied to have put the struggling Fury away, they know getting past the Mariners next Saturday night will be an entirely different proposition. Tickets for the match against the Central Coast are available through Ticketek.
Match Details
Adelaide United FC 8 (Flores 4-/37-/89-, Dodd 28-, Ramsay 42-, van Dijk 47-/67-/83-)
North Queensland Fury 1 (Nikas 72-)
Referee: Peter Green
Crowd: 10,986 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
Adelaide United: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 3.Nigel BOOGAARD (2.Robert CORNTHWAITE 69-), 4.Iain FYFE, 6.CASSIO, 8.Adam HUGHES, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 10.Marcos FLORES, 13.Travis DODD (c), 14.Cameron WATSON, 17.Iain RAMSAY (19.Mathew LECKIE 75-), 21.Francisco USUCAR (12.Paul REID 64-)
Substitutes not used: 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk)
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil
North Queensland Fury: 1.Justin PASFIELD (gk), 2.Jack HINGERT, 3.Brad McDONALD, 4.Eric AKOTO, 5.Mark HUGHES, 6.Ufuk TALAY (c) (18.Brett STUDMAN 79-), 11.David WILLIAMS, 12.Panagiotis NIKAS, 13.Andre KILIAN (19.Isaka CERNAK 46-), 14.Chris GROSSMAN (22.Lorenzo SIPI 53-), 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO
Substitutes not used: 28.Sebastian USAI (gk)
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil
