Brazilian Cassio made a triumphant return after a month out through injury, firing home a stylish winner as Adelaide United downed Central Coast Mariners 1-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The diminutive midfielder’s deft free kick curled in just under the crossbar in the 33rd minute, handing Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar some breathing space after only a second win in six games this season.
Buoyed by the return of captain Travis Dodd, United looked more threatening going forward and carved out a number of good chances before half time to give the 10,262 fans hope of better things to come.
A Dodd header in the third minute failed to trouble Mariners’ keeper Danny Vukovic from close range before Mariners captain John Hutchinson showed his class by forcing Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic into action from 25 metres out with a fierce drive a minute later.
Dodd released former Reading striker Lloyd Owusu in the seventh minute on the break but the Ghanaian dragged his firm shot from 20 metres just wide of the far post.
Cassio set up what looked a certain goal for United in the 11th minute as he burst past two defenders and crossed for Owusu and Dodd who scrambled the ball over the line but lucky for the Mariners the linesman ruled offside.
The Mariners found themselves fending off waves of Adelaide attacks with leading scorer Matt Simon well blanketed by ex-Sydney FC team mates Mark Rudan and Iain Fyfe in central defence for United.
Hutchinson fouled Dodd just outside the penalty area in the 32nd minute to pave the way for Cassio’s first goal of the season, the Brazilian curling the ball into the corner from some 25 metres out and taking a belated deflection off Vukovic’s back before trickling in.
Mariners coach Laurie McKinna brought on left footer Dean Heffernan for Ahmed Elrich for the second half but United held sway with a combination of mean defending and threats on the break to hand the Mariners their second loss of the season.
Nick Mrdja had a header diverted for a corner in the 53rd minute but the Mariners couldn’t apply enough pressure on United.
Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar rated his side’s performance as one of the best at home in years.
“I thought we were very dominant for the whole 90 minutes tonight,” he said.
“The tempo we played at was great tonight. It was direct, it was dynamic.”
The only drawback, said Vidmar, was probably not hitting the target enough and netting more goals.
“It’s become a bit of a theme this season hasn’t it?,” said Vidmar.
“But Central Coast is a good side and always keep coming at you.”
Vidmar will have to find a replacement for right fullback Alemao who suffered a broken nose and was replaced by Michael Marrone just before half time.
Mariners coach Laurie McKinna paid credit to Adelaide for applying the blowtorch so early.
“I thought we’d weathered the storm,” he said.
“Then we gave away the free kick and they scored.”
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