Hyundai A-League Week 13 Match Report Part 1 – Adelaide United vs Wellington Phoenix

Adelaide United 2 – 0 Wellington Phoenix.

Hindmarsh Stadium 30.12.11.

Attendance 9,739.

By CHRIS BANKS.

In his second spell as Adelaide United manager, John Kosmina’s first match back at Hindmarsh has ended in victory for the Reds.

United followed up a battle against Sydney last week with a 2-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix.

Goals from Bruce Djite and Antony Golec handed United the victory and lifted the Reds from the foot of the A-League ladder.

Back in charge of the Reds for the first time since 2007, Kosmina said he was pleased with his team’s resolve.

“Emotionally it’s great, how can you complain?” Kosmina said.

“We had a clean sheet, a decent crowd and the football was good.”

“Wellington are a good side and they put us under a bit of pressure, we scrambled a wee bit at times but we responded quite well.”

His captaincy removed, John McKain dropped to the bench with Antony Golec, who was making his home debut for a positive-looking Adelaide side.

The home side started brightly with forward pairing Bruce Djite and Serigo Van Dijk combining to create an opening inside ten minutes.

The Dutchman, on the edge of the Wellington box, fired his shot over the bar following being knocked down by Djite.

The visitors also looked lively early on; Brazilian Daniel threatened with a run and clever cut back to Chris Greenacre, whose shot went straight to Reds stopper Eugene Galekovic.

The Red’s opener came moments later; Dario Vidosic, playing at the head of a midfield diamond, linked with Van Dijk and Fabian Barbiero before chipping the ball over the Wellington defence.

The ball fell to Djite who, from just inside the Phoenix penalty area, fired the ball home with his left foot.

Buoyed by the goal, the Reds continued to create chances throughout the first half without adding to the goal tally.

Vidosic shot straight at Phoenix goal keeper Tony Warner just before the half hour mark, followed by a wide shot from Spase Dilevski.

Wellington’s best chance to equalise came just before the break.

Unmarked in front of the Adelaide goal, Tim Brown connected with Daniel’s free-kick, only to see his header come back off the post.

After the break, the home side continued to create chances in front of goal.

Barbiero shoot over the net and Tony Lochhead cleared a Vidosic shot off the goal-line.

The Red’s second of the night came courtesy of a Vidosic free kick bent around the Phoenix wall, which Tony Warner parried straight to Golec for the simplest of finishes.

Kosmina introduced John McKain for the last thirty minutes as the visitors searched for a way back into the match.

However, the Reds held firm for all three points, giving them their first win since early November.

The victory was a long time coming for goal scorer Bruce Djite, who said it was a payoff for the effort the team gave.

“It’s been a while,” Djite said. “We’re building slowly and we’re certainly on the right path.”

“We’ve been working in the final third [of the pitch] in the last couple of days in training.”

“It’s far from perfect but it’s one step at a time.”

“Hopefully we’ll get better and better each week.”

The striker also highlighted the boost in team morale following the return of Kosmina to the coaching staff.

“It’s a massive shift, it’s like yin and yang,” Djite said.

“You can see the reaction in the Sydney game and here against Wellington what Kossie brings to the squad.”

“And the fans love him.”