Adelaide United continued its preparations for the impending Isuzu UTE A-League 2021/22 season with a behind-closed-doors friendly at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
The Reds played an NPLSA select side, recording a 3-0 win over the talented group courtesy of Captain Stefan Mauk’s strike and a Kusini Yengi brace.
Adelaide controlled the majority of proceedings, but the squad, comprising of some of the best players in the local top-flight league, forced James Delianov into a couple of spectacular saves.
Mauk impressed in his first game of pre-season, playing the first-half and getting on the scoresheet before being replaced by Joe Caletti.
It was another strong hit-out for United with the new campaign kicking off in just two weeks’ time.
Key moments
17’ | GOAL! Mauk receives the ball outside the 18-yard box following some nice build-up play from Yengi and Louis D’Arrigo and arrows a low finish into the bottom corner.
20’ | GOAL! Ryan Kitto intercepts an errant pass and plays Yengi who does a step over to create space for himself and from outside the box fires an unstoppable strike which flies into the net.
38’ | CHANCE! Yengi feeds Kitto who then squares to Mauk but his shot from close range is blocked.
39’ | CHANCE: MetroStars’ Hamish Gow unleashes a stinging strike at the near post but Delianov is equal to it.
49’ | CHANCE! Caletti has a shot cleared off the line from inside the box.
54: CHANCE: James Temelkovski of Raiders shows a great bit of skill before his shot is brilliantly saved by the fingertips of Delianov.
63’ | GOAL! Caletti threads the needle with a superb ball to find Ben Halloran and his cutback is tapped home by Yengi for his second of the night.
Adelaide United Starting XI: Delianov; López, Ansell, Jakobsen, Cavallo; Isaías, D’Arrigo, Mauk; Kitto, Yengi, Halloran
Substitutes: Tratt, Timotheou, Caletti, Toure, Dukuly, Bernardo, Blackwood
NPLSA Select squad: J.Lobasso, J.Allwright, P.Wilson, D.Mullen, S.Nagel, H.McCabe, A. Welsh, J. Konstandopoulos, J.Temelkovski, K.Konstandopoulos, A.Kasumovic, H.Gow, L. Barr, A.Irabona, C. Devereux
