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From Tashkent to Hindmarsh Stadium and the thousands of kilometres in between, Adelaide United are living the high life.
Five days after going where no Australian team has before in Asian soccer, Adelaide tonight are looking down at the rest of the A-League.
The Reds capped a remarkable week in the club’s history by rallying from 1-0 down to beat Perth Glory 2-1 at home to jump to the top of the ladder for the first time in two years, while still buzzing at reaching the final of the Asian Champions League.
Having arrived home early yesterday after 36 hours of travel from Uzbekistan, Adelaide’s players could have been forgiven for thinking about a decent sleep before today’s game, let alone when they went a goal down when Glory striker Nikita Rukavytsya scored in the 55th minute.
Instead Adelaide launched a series of attacks which yielded two goals in three minutes, although captain Travis Dodd’s decisive penalty came from a contentious refereeing decision.
Dodd converted from the spot in the 82nd minute after Lucas Pantelis was bundled over by Perth captain Jamie Coyne, although the incident occurred outside the penalty area.
Dodd’s penalty just made it, but his kick was the only tired aspect of Adelaide’s game, when jetlag and a heavy recent schedule – this was the Red’s fifth game in 24 days – would have been a justifiable reason for a letdown.
Instead, after a decent rest, Adelaide can now look forward to playing Melbourne on Friday night and then focus on the first leg of their ACL decider away against Gamba Osaka of Japan.
Brazilian striker Alemao drew Adelaide level when he tapped into an open goal after a cross evaded Perth’s entire defence, in yet another lapse for the bottom-placed side.
Adelaide’s win took them to 17 points after round nine, two points clear of Sydney FC, who also climbed on the weekend.
Sydney beat rival Melbourne Victory 2-0 win at Telstra Dome last night before a season-high crowd 31,564.
Socceroos striker John Aloisi started the game on the bench but broke his season-long goal drought in the 63rd minute, after Mark Bridge capitalised on Sydney’s early dominance by scoring in the 20th minute.
But where the night brought relief for the Blues’ marquee player, Melbourne looked a lot less threatening with star striker Archie Thompson a spectator because of suspension.
The third-placed Victory are a point clear of Central Coast, who claimed local honours with a 1-0 win over Newcastle at Bluetongue Stadium on Friday night, although the F3 derby lacked its usual intensity.
A fine first-half goal to Mariners striker Dylan MacCallister in his first A-League start was the difference between the sides, although Central Coast looked a much better side than the one which lost 1-0 to Wellington last weekend.
Newcastle’s defeat left the reigning premier sixth and one win and a whopping goal difference out of the top four.
The Queensland Roar kept themselves in touch with the four with a 1-0 win over the Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium today.
Defender Josh McCloughan rose high in the 40th minute and headed Matthew McKay’s cross into the corner of the net after the Roar caught the Phoenix off-guard with a quickly-taken corner.
The win moved Queensland from sixth to fifth and gave the Roar three victories from their past four games, but left the Phoenix seventh despite their encouraging recent form.
The top four go head to head next weekend, when Adelaide host Melbourne and Sydney host the Mariners on Saturday night.
In injury news, Sydney striker Brendan Santalab suffered a dislocated shoulder and could not complete the game against Melbourne, while the Mariners won without Mile Jedinak, who was sidelined by a groin injury.
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