Kosmina Gets a Point in Adelaide Return

Sydney FC 2 – Adelaide United 2
John Kosmina could not get Adelaide United’s first win since Remembrance Day but did eke out a point against his former club, Sydney FC, in a 2-2 draw at the Sydney Football Stadium. Daniel Mullen got the opener for the visiting Reds, heading in a Dario Vidošić corner in the eighth minute, but was quickly equalized when Karol Kisel converted an eleventh minute penalty for the Sky Blues. Bruno Carazine earned the spot kick after a Nigel Boogaard challenge in the box. Carazine nearly gave the home side the lead early in the second half but for his header caroming off the post. Minutes later, Bruce Djite earned a penalty for Adelaide when he was taken down by Liam Reddy. Vidošić added a goal to his line on the score sheet in converting the penalty in the 55th minute for a 2-1 lead. From there, teenager Dimitri Petratos scored from a wonderful volley in the 66th minute to level the score once again. Iain Ramsay was sent off late in the game for the Reds but the visitors held on to take a point and given Kosmina a starting point in the rebuilding job for which he was hired. Sydney move into third with their point, now just one behind Brisbane Roar.

Rini Coolen Sacked at Adelaide United

Rini Coolen was sacked at Adelaide United in favor of former Reds boss John Kosmina (pictured), at least for the rest of 2011/12. Adelaide are currently bottom of the A-League ladder with just seven points from ten matches, a run that is particularly poor given they had three points through Round 2. A 3-0 home loss to previously last place Gold Coast Untied precipitated the move, though the Reds had not won in their previous four matches either. In Kosmina, Adelaide bring back a manager with plenty of top level experience. After managing both Newcastle Breakers and Brisbane Strikers in the National Soccer League, Kosmina was the top man at Adelaide from 2003-2007 and at Sydney FC from 2007-2009. That Coolen is out at Adelaide seems to be acceptable to supporters and rivals alike. The question is whether Kosmina is the right man for the job.

Gold Coast Send Adelaide to Bottom at Hindmarsh

Adelaide United 0 – Gold Coast United 3
Gold Coast United heaped further misery on a terrible start to the season for homestanding Adelaide United in a 3-0 rout at Hindmarsh. The Reds were not without chances but Gold Coast made theirs count as Ben Halloran scored from a deflection, Maceo Rigters cracked a goal from outside the box and Dylan Macallister scored in injury time for the visitors. After finishing third in 2010/11, Adelaide find themselves in tenth place amid a five-game winless streak. The three points for the Queensland club were enough to lift them above Adelaide but still leave Gold Coast in ninth place. The win was only the second on the season for Gold Coast, snapping a six-game winless streak.

10-Man Adelaide Held 0-0 By Newcastle

Adelaide United 0 – Newcastle Jets 0
Nigel Boogaard was sent off in the 65th minute for Adelaide United but the home side held on for a 0-0 draw with Newcastle Jets at Hindmarsh. In fact, the Reds nearly won the match when Fabian Barbiero scored in the 88th minute, but the flag was up and the scoreless draw confirmed only after Bruce Djite’s shot was expertly saved by stand-in goalkeeper Matthew Nash. Jeremy Brockie had a fine chance for the visitors in the first half but the Jets could not break through and win their first away game since January 8 (at North Queensland Fury). The draw did break Newcastle’s eight-game losing streak in away games, but they still have not beaten a club currently in the A-League since December 2010. The shared points taken the Jets back ahead of Melbourne Heart for fifth place while Adelaide inch ahead of Melbourne Victory for seventh.

Adelaide Get Back on Track with Gold Coast Win

Three goals in a twelve-minute span of the second half decided the tie between Adelaide United and Gold Coast United at Hindmarsh on Remembrance Day. Two of those goals came for the home side as Zenon Caravella (pictured), the former Gold Coast midfielder, and Iain Ramsay bookended the scoring for Adelaide to claim all three points. James Brown did score his fourth goal of the season, a deflected shot that leveled terms in the 67th minute, but Ramsay’s wonderful winner just two minutes later was enough to second straight loss. Despite giving up the two goals, Glen Moss was a key man for the visitors, denying several Adelaide shots that could have made the score much worse than it was. The Reds will also be worried about the leg injury suffered by Sergio van Dijk, last season’s golden boot winner. He was replaced in the first half by Andy Slory. Still, all three points take Adelaide into sixth place and for the time being, into finals football. Gold Cost stay on five points through their six matches and are in eighth place.

Mariners Drop Phoenix in Wellington

Wellington Phoenix 1 – Central Coast Mariners 2
Second half goals from Bernie Ibini-Isei and Matt Simon were enough to see Central Coast Mariners to three points against Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium in New Zealand. The Phoenix dropped their second straight at home, usually a place where they are very difficult to overcome, despite Chris Greenacre‘s second goal of the season. All three points for the Mariners see the 2010/11 runners up move into third place after a difficult start to the season. The Phoenix scored on their only shot on target, continuing a frustrating balance of failing to create chances or finish them, depending on the match. Failure to pick up points in Wellington leaves the Phoenix stranded in eighth place with a difficult task ahead, traveling next to Brisbane. As for the Mariners, their scoring duo of Ibini-Isei and Simon was identical to their 2-1 victory in Round 4 against Perth Glory and relieved some of the pressure on young goalkeeper Matt Ryan. Simon’s winner in the 80th minute will give Central Coast a lift ahead of their important match with Melbourne Victory next weekend.

Adelaide United 1 – Melbourne Heart 1
Melbourne Heart picked up their third straight draw as the visitors were again unable to hold a one-goal lead. The only club yet to win this season in the A-League, Heart got a goal from teenaged defender Brendan Hamill just after half-time to silence the 10,294 at Hindmarsh. Yet substitute Spase Dilevski found the net for Adelaide just six minutes after his introduction to produce a 1-1 draw and shared points. Dilevski’s pounce after Clint Bolton could not hold Cassio’s free kick was the result of Simon Colosimo’s second yellow card and subsequent sending off in the 77th minute. The point was an important step back into the world of football after the Reds’ 7-1 loss last weekend in Brisbane, but Heart will be happy to have held on to the draw after finishing with ten men, especially after watching Iain Ramsay’s shot go just over the bar in injury time. Both United and Heart remain rooted to the bottom of the table after five games, sitting ninth and tenth respectively.

Brisbane Put Seven Past Adelaide

Brisbane Roar 7 – Adelaide United 1
Dario Vidošić got a fifth minute goal for Adelaide United to take a surprising lead against league leaders Brisbane Roar. By the 36th minute, Brisbane led 5-1. Henrique scored from the penalty spot in the 21st and 36th minutes while Besart Berisha, the already in-form Albanian striker, recorded a hat-trick in between. In fact, Berisha’s first three goals of the night came within just a six minute stretch, an A-League record, killing off the Reds and powering the Roar toward their thirty-second consecutive match without a loss. As if that first half barrage wasn’t enough, Brisbane got a fourth goal from Berisha in the 69th minute and substitute Issey Nakajima-Farran got his first goal of the season in the 80th. While Berisha was the acknowledged star of this particular match, it was Mitch Nichols who was the creative force for Brisbane, further solidifying his position as one of the top young Australian midfielders. Nichols could have equalled the A-League record for goals in a game but his 87th minute shot caromed off the post, denying the Roar an eighth. Not only do Brisbane stay top of the ladder, their goal difference makes a challenge from any club very difficult.

Here are the highlights.

Round 3 A-League Weekend Results

Saturday October 21:
Adelaide United 1
Sydney FC 2

Melbourne Victory 0
Melbourne Heart 0

Sunday October 22:
Perth Glory 1
Wellington Phoenix 0

Newcastle Jets 1
Central Coast Mariners 0

Reds Hold Off 10-Man Victory at Hindmarsh

Adelaide United 1 – Melbourne Victory 0
Sergio van Dijk added more misery to Melbourne Victory’s start to the season, inflicting a 1-0 defeat on the visitors as Adelaide United got their first win of 2011/12. Hindmarsh was sold out for the affair that saw a goal and a sending off both go in the home Reds’ favor within three minutes of the second half. van Dijk got the match-winner when he scoped a poor pass from Fabio and smashed a left-footed shot past Ante Čović in the 52nd minute. Then Victory captain Adrian Leijer was sent off in the 55th when his foul on Dario Vidošić induced a second yellow card. From there Victory were done, only escaping with a one-goal deficit after van Dijk and Andy Slory missed out on great second half chances. Leijer will miss the first Melbourne derby next weekend.

The match was split between a first half where Victory played well, using Harry Kewell, Marco Rojas and Carlos Hernández to create opportunities, and the second that was so expertly controlled by United. Yet a second game to open the season without scoring is exactly the opposite of what most expected from the Victory. The inclusion of Vidošić, on his debut for Adelaide, made all the difference in the Reds’ second game, as the Socceroo increased the creativity and precision of the Adelaide attack. The performance from Adelaide, in the second half in particular, was much closer to expectations than the flat, 1-0 away loss to Perth Glory last weekend.

Mehmet Scores on Debut to Lead Glory Past Adelaide

Perth Glory 1 – Adelaide United 0
A 76th minute header from new signing Billy Mehmet saw Perth Glory to a 1-0 win over Adelaide United at nib Stadium. The Glory were the better side throughout as Andrezinho terrorized the Reds’ defense and Travis Dodd, Shane Smeltz and Liam Miller, each player debuting for Perth, coming close to giving the home side a comprehensive victory. In fact, Eugene Galeković, Adelaide’s goalkeeper, was called on to repeatedly repel the Glory. In the end, substitute Tommy Amphelett’s cross found Mehmet’s head and was enough to take all three points from the season opener for the home side. Adelaide weren’t without chances, though, as Andy Slory, Bruce Djite and last season’s Golden Boot winner Sergio van Dijk all had shots saved by new Perth goalkeeper Danny Vukovic. The only down side to the match for Perth was the crowd of just 9452. But if the Glory play as well going forward as they did against Adelaide, especially after such a disastrous season in 2010/11, attendance will surely spike.

Gold Coast United 1 – Wellington Phoenix 1
And on the Gold Coast, a superb strike from James Brown in the 88th minute stole a 1-1 draw for Gold Coast United against Wellington Phoenix at Skilled Park. A 17th minute goal from Chris Greenacre gave the Phoenix a deserved lead as the visitors controlled the first half. Dani Sánchez, in particular, found spaces in the United defense, as Wellington were the better side for good portions of the match. Yet as the second half elapsed, Gold Coast started to create chances, namely through Peter Jungschläger, Dylan Macallister, Robson and finally Brown. Wellington will feel they lost out on two points but will be most disappointed with a trio of injuries as Sánchez, Paul Ifill and Vince Lia all exited during the match. For Gold Coast, the last-gasped equalizer came in stunning fashion but left some questions as to why it took so long to get a home goal against the Phoenix.