Adelaide United suffered a 2-0 loss to Melbourne City in the final friendly of pre-season at Coopers Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was a fairly even affair despite the scoreline, with City ultimately more clinical in front of goal.
German midfielder Daniel Adlung made his unofficial debut in the behind closed doors friendly and looked composed in possession, venturing forward when there was space to exploit.
The first-half saw the Reds dominate spells of possession but struggled to create any clear-cut openings.
Meanwhile, City got in behind the Adelaide defence a couple of times but their final product lacked composure – highlighted by several over-hit crosses.
City broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute when Marcin Budzinski slipped through Fitzgerald to make it 1-0.
The winger cut inside and dispatched a curling effort, which landed in the back-of-the-net.
After the break it remained very much a midfield battle with the majority of the action played in the centre of the park.
But on 55 minutes the visitors doubled their advantage courtesy of Stefan Mauk capitalising on a goal-mouth scramble in the box.
Bruce Kamau’s initial low cross found Budzinski but his strike was blocked brilliantly by Taylor Regan, and with the ball ricocheting in the area, Mauk drove the ball past Paul Izzo on the angle from close range.
A number of changes were made by both sides in the final 30 minutes of the match, disrupting the flow of the game.
Match Details:
Friday, 29 September 2017
Pre-season friendly
Adelaide United 0
Melbourne City 2 (Fitzgerald 42’ Mauk 55’)
Venue: Coopers Stadium
