It was a victory for the neutral tonight at Coopers Stadium as the vibrant, attacking Adelaide put on a clinic for the pragmatic Western Sydney Wanderers.
With almost a full squad to choose from, coach Josep Gombau must have been relishing the prospect of facing the exhausted and depleted Asian Champions.
And boy they did not disappoint.
The home side, predictably, dominated the possession and passing stats in the game’s early stages, effortlessly trying to penetrate the deep defensive line of their opponents.
Things went from bad to worse for the away side as they saw their captain, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, ludicrously concede two yellow-card offences in the space of five minutes, eventually sent off after a quarter of an hour.
It was always going to be a struggle for the Asian Champions, but one might have left disappointed they did not put more of a fight, considering the emphasis they place on hard work, discipline and compact defence.
Marcelo Carrusca was once again the architect of all things good for Adelaide, as he opened the scoring on the 35th minute, having wasted two very decent opportunities earlier in the match.
Having seen Sergio Cirio sprint past Brendan Hamill down the left flank, Carrusca took the impending cross first time and effortlessly pass the ball into the bottom corner.
The half time break could not come sooner for the travelling side. However, they did come out flying from the dressing room, with star forward Tomi Juric taking a classy first touch before his volleyed effort went just wide of Eugene Galekovic’s post.
That was to be their only effort on goal, however, as the free-flowing football of their opponents proved too much. The pinnacle would come in the 55th minute as Fabio Ferreira combined with the ever-present Marcelo Carrusca, who’s lobbed through ball found his Portuguese teammate in enough space to expertly drive it into the top corner via the upright.
And had it not been for some resolute defending from Matthew Spiranovic, the Wanderers would have been three goals down as they saw the World Cup veteran intervene on Bruce Djite’s tap-in.
Of the 22 efforts on goal from the home side, few of them were better set up than that of Sergio Cirio. Following some fantastic one-touch football down the right, the ball was spread wide-left to Cirio, who opened his body to find the far corner, only to hit the far post.
The introduction of Awer Mabil promised much, but ultimately Adelaide were unable to extend their lead.
In spite of the result, Gombau may have been concerned by his side’s profligacy, knowing they cannot rely on having so many chances week in week out. They will be hoping to continue their good form at home to Brisbane next week, in the lead up to the FFA Cup final against the impressive Perth Glory.
It’s a far more tiring prospect for the Wanderers though, as they fly back to Sydney tonight before another flight to Morocco as they prepare for the World Club Cup.
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