The Adelaide United Youth Team were defeated 3-0 by MetroStars in Round 15 of the National Premier League on Saturday.
The Adelaide United Youth Team fought hard to get themselves back into the game in the second half, but it was not enough after falling behind by two Stefan Simic goals in the first 45 minutes. Jordan O’Doherty and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos looked promising to score, but Adam Van Dommele sealed the deal with a late third goal.
Despite early pressure in midfield by Riley McGree, it did not take long for Simic to give Metro a lead in the early minutes, as he snatched the ball up and hit an accurate shot. The early lead didn’t discourage the Young Reds, as Ryan Strain and Jordan Maricic endured Metro’s pressure and intercepted and cleared the ball well.
Another chance for Metro came at the 22nd minute through Justin Davis, as his chip shot landed in the hands of United keeper Daniel Margush. Alec Maiolo played his part on the wing, and tried to force attack several times and with his own promising run at the half an hour mark, but was caught offside.
In the 32nd minute, O’Doherty was awarded a free kick that sailed past Metro’s wall to find Marc Marino who nearly got his foot on it towards goal. Doni Pollock of MetroStars proved dangerous in attack, with countless chances, and one of many being a 35th minute header in which Margush saved. The confidence within Metro saw Simic get his second and 2-0 up close to half time.
Before the whistle blew, United were determined to halve the deficit, when Maiolo attempted to cross for Marino and McGree looked promising but was too outnumbered when he found himself inside the box.
The Young Reds awoke more in the second half, as they tried to capitalise on their chances and defended with urgency, when Maricic slid in to tackle Terry Theodorou metres from goal. Metro were also strong defensively, denying Stamatelopoulos in the 63rd minute to get through on goal.
Zack Gomez produced a clinical cross to find O’Doherty, whose attempt of a scissor kick flew over the crossbar. O’Doherty then had a few more chances, but was denied after a tussle with an opposing player. Travis Dodd found the ball in the 87th minute, as with an assist, Van Dommele scored an expert header to close the match at 3-0.
Following the match, United Youth Team Head Coach, Mark Jones noted that chances need to be taken when it is needed the most, and a better work rate in order to push for a win.
“I was disappointed with their work rate in the first half, hence why some chances were made,” Jones said. “And we let in two very soft goals due to defensive errors.
“We just weren’t switched on mentally, which wasn’t good enough. We did play better in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as we lacked that bit of silk in the final third.
“We got ourselves in trouble early in the first five minutes, and in training we worked on going with the runner, which didn’t happen today and we were punished.
“We needed that urgency to run with those players and have discipline, as goals can be scored, and that was the turning point.
“We also need to be the ones to score first, to give us some confidence for the rest of a game and win it, we’ll just have to be positive and take those opportunities going forward.”
