After spending last Saturday in Mount Gambier, Adelaide United continued their road trip in Round 10, this time taking on Adelaide City at the grand opening of Barossa United’s home in Nuriootpa.
Familiar foes and early goals
When Adelaide United drew Adelaide City in the 2022 version of the Australia Cup, it became clear how interconnected the clubs are. As two of the heavyweights in South Australian football, things are no different at an NPL level.
In Round 10, while the Young Reds featured Adelaide City juniors Fabian Talladira, son of club legend Carlo, and Alex Battistella, the Black and White, led by former Adelaide United NPL assistant coach Vas Parhas, featured an array of former Reds such as John Hall, Lewis Killoh, Daniel Bressan, Yared Abetew, Binyam Kebede, Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio, and Fergus Lynch. Goals are expected when the two sides meet in this competition, and this encounter was no different.
Just five minutes into the game, Harry Crawford bested his marker and proceeded to beat Hall in the City goals, before producing a celebratory backflip. Not to be outdone, new City signing Yuki Kitano continued impressing, levelling the scoring three minutes later to give the crowd in Nuriootpa an intriguing start to the game.
Caption: Harry Crawford celebrates opening the scoring against Adelaide City (Image: Pagonis Photography)
Champagne football in the Barossa
Developmental sides are a rollercoaster at the best of times, but when things work out, they can be a spectacular watch. Entering the second half level, the two teams again became separated by a phenomenal strike by Joey Garuccio in the 54th minute, and this is when the Young Reds took their game to the next level.
The momentum, combined with the substitution of City captain Nicholas Bucco, created what felt like one-way traffic for the next 15 minutes or so. The Young Reds created a myriad of chances, many brilliantly saved by John Hall, and even more impressively pressed their opponents into errors and gained possession of the ball with a palpable tenacity.
To have a young team execute a game plan with such fervour would have thoroughly pleased coach Airton Andrioli. Parity was restored around the 70th minute when a City counterattack required Ethan Cox to make a last-gasp save, before the game settled down again, but if that is the ceiling a full-strength Young Reds team can reach, they will remain a formidable side to play against on their day.
Caption: The Young Reds clicked in the second half after Joey Garuccio’s goal (Image: Pagonis Photography)
Amlani Tatu smashes away his misfortune
Luck takes no account of a player’s age or talent. Every player faces their ups and downs, but Amlani Tatu would have been forgiven for wondering what he had to do to finally score one of his long-range efforts in recent weeks.
After hitting the post last week, minutes before Playford took the lead, in Round 10, with the game level once again, Harry Crawford laid the ball off to Tatu on the edge of the box, who once again struck mightily, only to be denied by the woodwork. Most young players would understandably get down on their confidence when the ball is not falling favourably, but as Amlani Tatu proves most weeks, he is not like most young players.
In the 80th minute, with his side now a goal up, Tatu capitalised on the space his opposition afforded him to rocket an effort into John Hall’s far top corner, breaking his spell of bad luck and sealing his side’s return to the winner’s column after two losses. While form comes and goes, Amlani Tatu possesses the confidence to ensure he never leaves the pitch wondering what could have been.
Caption: Amlani Tatu celebrates his late goal in style (Image: Pagonis Photography)
Full Time
Adelaide United 3 (Crawford, Garuccio, Tatu)
Adelaide City 1 (Kitano)
