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Bentleigh fail to make history, falling to Adelaide in FFA Cup semi

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5th October, 2018
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The souvlaki smoke drifted lazily across the Kingston Heath pitch, evidence of the crowd’s appetite for strips of caramelised meat as much as for an equally appetising FFA Cup semi-final.

Bentleigh Greens had within their grasp a historic place in the grand final, and would have been the first NPL club to make that far in the Cup. They ended the night regretting an inability to capitalise on an early period of mayhem, where defending was forgotten, as well as a new found respect for the fortitude of Marco Kurz’s Adelaide United.

Within three minutes, Paul Izzo, screwing an attempted clearance straight up the in the air, offered teammate Jordan Elsey the opportunity to compound the error. Elsey duly took him up on that offer, sending another attempted clearance into the night sky, straight up, and coming down on the boot of Matthew Thurtell. Thurtell’s volleyed shot, which might have given Bentleigh Greens a stunning lead, was scuffed wide. 

This chance set the tone for what was a strikingly free and uneasy opening stanza, a period in which both teams had golden chances to score, but couldn’t thanks to some haphazardness at the critical moment. George Blackwood was sent clean through, a cross arriving at him unmarked in the centre of the box on the counter, having travelled to him through the legs of a Bentleigh defender. He stumbled over the ball, and the chance was quite hilariously gone.

Bentleigh Greens

Elibor Mitrovic’s side couldn’t capitalise on their chances. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A minute later, Chris Lucas was seen drawing a good save from Izzo, having been threaded through on the counter – actually, it may have been the counter-counter, or indeed the counter-cubed. While it made for a raucous spectator experience, like being suddenly set upon by a pack of affectionate Labrador puppies, John Anastasiadis and Marco Kurz must have been gnawing their fingers to nubs. 

The centre of the pitch was as vacant as a Bachelor contestant’s expression. Progress was made through the middle so easily, you couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sight, as if two or three players had just dematerialised to allow for it. Which team would benefit from this rare brand of mayhem?

The game simmered down, seemingly stifling the answer to that question. But then Blackwood used that useful spurt of pace to carve out some room for a snapped cross from the byline, and Ben Halloran was presented with a tap-in from close range. It was the first goal Bentleigh had conceded in the competition, and the simple neatness of it felt somehow out of keeping with the giddy, careering demeanour the match had begun with.

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Velibor Mitrovic, and his bag of tricks, were helping Bentleigh make some inroads into the Adelaide half. The match had settled, but Bentleigh were still working mainly on the counter, and in doing so were relying on strong, competent dribblers rather than sequences of passes to make haste up the pitch. Mitrovic was given the opportunity to show out, and he did, with pirouettes and sudden lateral lurches, at one point impressively shedding Isaias during a mazy midfield run. But these were only fleeting moments of incision, and it was Adelaide who were creating the vast bulk of the game’s clear cut chances.

Halloran and Baba Diawara had chances to add to the lead, but through fine goalkeeping or shoddy finishing could not. Joshua Meaker struck a sweet shot that flew just wide of Izzo’s right-hand post. But it was 1-0 at half time. 

It was 2-0 quickly, within three minutes of the restart, Jordan Elsey slapping home a rebound from Isaias’s free kick. Adelaide had emerged from the dressing rooms with visible intent to kill the game off, and kill it they did with this goal.

Without Ryan Kitto and Craig Goodwin, this Adelaide side were shorn of two of their more dangerous wide attackers. Diawara did not look particularly threatening, even against these lesser opponents, but hopefully will be more productive when the two wingers return.

Defensively, though, Adelaide appeared very sound. Kurz was a stern defender as a player, and does not mince words – he was not coy when opining on the standard of the NPL SA pitches – and demands in no uncertain terms a certain level of defensive intensity.

Although the opening 15 minutes will have infuriated him, his team’s performance throughout the rest of the match would have been a satisfactory response. Michael Jakobsen, recruited from Melbourne City, will be a stolid addition this season; Jakobsen always seemed a reliable, versatile defender for City, at times stepping into a defensive midfield role, and it was a surprise to see him depart for another A-League club.

Nikola Mileusnic for Adelaide United

Adelaide United got the job done. (AAP Image/David Crosling)

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James Kelly, a lively winger, came on for Bentleigh and sent some ripples of panic rolling down the right flank, a willing dribbler with a good sense for exploiting an off-balance defender. He spurred a spell of good Bentleigh pressure, where three or four corners were won, taken, but not really converted into chances. 

John Anastasiadis brought on attackers, and Bentleigh attacked, but the Adelaide block was too obdurate, too smothersome, too stingy. Time and again, Bentleigh would work the ball up, and eventually be forced back, often all the way to their goalkeeper. This chewed up the minutes, and time eventually ran out. 

The crowd ruffled around the sides of the Kingston Heath pitch had thinned out by the final whistle, but Bentleigh’s efforts in this season’s FFA Cup deserved applause until the curtain. Theirs has been a campaign that has proven how wonderful the Cup is, how valued it is by the lower division clubs, and how fruitful this inter-league interaction can be. Adelaide haven’t conceded a goal in this competition. They are worthy finalists. 

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