Adelaide United FC has drawn 1-1 with Melbourne Victory in their pre season trial match in front of 9,543 spectators at Hindmarsh Stadium tonight.
Adelaide United FC has drawn 1-1 with Melbourne Victory in their pre season trial match in front of 9,543 spectators at Hindmarsh Stadium tonight.
Reds winger Andy Slory lit up the contest with a stunning goal in the 40th minute, but the former Dutch international-s strike was cancelled out just as emphatically by Carlos Hernandez in the 89th minute to leave the game all square at the final whistle.
Prior to kick-off all of the anticipation was around Melbourne-s star signing Harry Kewell-s first game since he signed with the Victory, the former Leeds and Liverpool star playing the opening 45 minutes and showing glimpses of the talent and touch that has made him a household name in Australian football.
United midfielder Spase Dilevski was a late withdrawal from the home side due to a groin problem, his place in the starting eleven taken by Uruguayan Francisco Usucar.
The early exchanges were typical of an encounter between the two rivals, the Reds with three players from their starting line-up – Jon McKain, Zenon Caravella and Evgeniy Levchenko, who were experiencing the intensity of an Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory clash for the first time.
Just as he was against Gold Coast United a fortnight ago, Slory was lively in the opening 20 minutes, his energy and exuberance costing him a caution after he and Victory keeper Tando Velaphi exchanged pleasantries.
Both sides had promising forays forward without managing to find the back of the net in the opening half hour before Slory gave United the lead five minutes before the break with a world class finish.
The Reds then almost doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Slory-s free kick was narrowly missed by McKain-s diving header.
Coolen brought Dario Vidosic on in the 63rd minute, the Reds- Australian marquee having missed the previous two trial matches with a hamstring injury.
Daniel Mullen and Sydney based trial defender Antony Golec were holding firm at the back as the Victory pressed for an equaliser, but with McKain off the field and Coolen ringing the changes in the final 20 minutes, the Reds- resistance ended in the 89th minute when an unmarked Hernandez struck from 12 metres.
Coolen admitted the drawn result was a true reflection of the contest and knows the Reds still have work in front of them ahead of their opening match of the season against Perth Glory on October 9, before the Victory return to Hindmarsh on October 14.
“Maybe it-s a fair result. At the end of the day Melbourne Victory at least deserved a goal and if you look at the way they played, I think it was a bit better than us and they controlled the game a little bit more,” Coolen said.
Match Details
Adelaide United FC 1 (Slory 40-)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Hernandez 89-)
Referee: David Costello
Crowd: 9,543 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
Adelaide United: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 4.Jon McKAIN (c) (25.Antony GOLEC 63-), 5.Daniel MULLEN, 6.CASSIO, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 8.Evgeniy LEVCHENKO (2.Osama MALIK 70-), 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 14.Cameron WATSON, 17.Iain RAMSAY (13.RICARDO 77-), 21.Francisco USUCAR (26.Johnny MAVROMATIS 84-), 23.Andy SLORY (10.Dario VIDOSIC 63-)
Substitutes not used: 20.Nick MUNRO (gk)
Yellow cards: Slory 20-
Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory: 1.Tando VELAPHI, 3.FABIO, 7.Matthew KEMP (2.Matthew FOSCHINI 71-), 8.Grant BREBNER (13.Diogo FERREIRA 83-), 10.Archie THOMPSON, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS (24.Adrian MADASCHI 46-), 14.Billy CELESKI (6.Leigh BROXHAM 46-), 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 18.Danny ALLSOPP (9.Jean Carlos SOLARZANO 46-), 22.Harry KEWELL (16.Carlos HERNANDEZ 46-), 23.Adrian LEIJER (c)
Substitutes not used: 4.Petar FRANJIC, 11.Marco ROJAS, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk)
Yellow cards: Leijer 63-
Red cards: Nil
