Adelaide United go down after gallant ACL performance

Adelaide United were unlucky not to notch up their first points in their 2017 AFC Champions League campaign tonight, going down to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning 2-1 at a cold and windy Olympic Stadium in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, in front of 44,033 people.

Suning showed their intentions from the very beginning of the match, and it was only a valiant and scrambling defensive effort that stopped an early goal by the home side.

A brilliant run down the left side by Jiangsu import Alex Texeira in the eighth minute opened up the Adelaide defence, but a lazy tackle by defender Michael Morrone left Suning with a set piece opportunity and earned himself an early yellow card.

Texeira’s free kick pass inside the box was met with a shot by teammate Li Ang, the shot rose and was deflected by the cross bar, undoubtedly pressured by United’s rush defence. Texeira’s exuberance down the left side certainly foreshadowed the course of the match.

Minutes later, it was Texeira again making an impact, this time finding the net from close range after fellow Jiangsu high-profile import Ramires’ long-range effort was spilled by Adelaide keeper Daniel Margush.

Jiangsu almost made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Colombian striker Roger Martinez broke through the United defence, but pushed his strike across the face of the goal past the right goal post.

Adelaide United managed to wrest the momentum from the home side soon after, but several promising forward thrusts were foiled by sloppy and inaccurate passing, and disorganisation within Adelaide’s attacking third.

Adelaide rarely looked dangerous once they entered the box, but were able to restrict the home side through the midfield. This, unfortunately, was true for the majority of the game for the Reds, who created numerous opportunities, but were let down by sloppiness, laziness and disorganisation.

Despite the opportunities, the score remained 1-0 at half time.

The second half began with a rousing rendition of March of the Volunteers, the Chinese national anthem, and certainly it seemed to rouse the home side. Within minutes, Suning were deep into attack, but were unable to convert, and it looked like Adelaide were about to be toyed with.

However, United were once again able to take control of the momentum of the match after almost ten minutes of the half, which was aided by a blunder by Suning keeper Zhang Sipeng. Sipeng sprayed his clearing kick downfield, effectively passing it to awaiting United striker Baba Diawara, but it was a lucky effort by the Jiangsu defenders that saw the ball go out for a corner.

Adelaide once again found themselves with a chance to equalise the match in the 63rd minute, but Nikola Mileusnic’s effort was tipped over the bar by Sipeng.

An incredible acrobatic save from United keeper Margush denied Texeira’s 68-minute long range effort, a shot that came against the run of play. However, Adelaide weren’t to deny the Brazilian powerhouse the next time.

Drama and controversy struck in the 70th minute, after Adelaide seemed to equalise from a brilliant strike by Adelaide’s Tarek Elrich. After a veritable eternity, the linesman flagged for what appeared to be offside, halting United’s celebrations.

Only moments later, confusion still lingering among fans and seemingly among players, Texeira found himself with the ball at his feet on Suning’s left wing.

From here, a brilliant run into the box by the Brazilian and a delightful skip past Adelaide’s Taylor Regan was finished off by a deft shot across the goal which found the bottom right hand corner, and Texeira had 2. Only two minutes after believing they had equalised, Adelaide United cruelly found themselves now 2-0.

Suning almost made it a three-goal deficit after Texeira made yet another damaging run at the United defence. This time, he unselfishly passed to his teammate Martinez, who’s low shot was excellently blocked by Margush.

Eli Babalj, who had come on as a substitute only moments prior, was able to claw one goal back for the Reds in the 92nd minute, his headed effort soaring past Suning goalkeeper Sipeng.

Babalj’s goal spurred the travelling side to find the equaliser, but they were unable to, despite an excellent last gasp attempt that pierced the Jiangsu defence, the resulting shot going wide past the goal and into the side netting.

The result sees Jiangsu Suning remain top of Group H with six points after two games, while Adelaide languish pointless at the bottom of the group. Jiangsu will play Japanese outfit Gamba Osaka in their next AFC Champions League game, while Adelaide United travel back to Hindmarsh Stadium to play Jeju United.