A match between what could be described as the two best technical teams in teh competition,
started out slowly and then exploded in the second half. The result of 2-2 mirroring the
first round score in Adelaide was probably not a true reflection of the game overall.
United controlled the first half for all but a few minutes here and there. Unfortunately,
during one of these few minutes the defence became rather lax and allowed Bradley Hassell
to walk through the likes of Kupresak and Popovic before passing the ball along the six-yard
line to a free Damian Mori, who only needed to get the foot in the way for it to go in.
The first 30 minutes were all pure United. The ball was rarely in the United half of the
field. Shot after shot peppered Petkovic's goal. Bilokapic, then Zdrilic, then Patikas, one
after another but the Adelaide goal remined in tact. Having withstood the early barrage,
Adelaide made a few attacks themselves, although very rare, and Bradley Hassell was denied
with a save off the line. So with the Mori goal, the score at the break was 1-0 to Adelaide.
There is no doubt that Branko Culina was not going to be happy with the current situation
and that the words said in the dressing room were going to contain the words Marconi and
Olympic. Fortunately, for the team and the fans, things did happen in the second half.
Velimir Kupresak came close just after the break as his shot shaved the cross-bar. Then a few
minutes later, Robert Enes crossed the ball from the right side to an unmarked David Zdrilic
who had time to chest the ball down and hit a crisp volley past Petkovic.
During the twenty minutes, both sides had a number of chances as the game opened up. For
United, both Patikas and Enes came close, whilst Mori was on the end of a Foster cross after
Milan Invanovic took the ball from his own penalty area on a fast break. In the 74th minute,
Jimmy Patkias received the ball at about the penalty spot and was given the time to turn. His shot
was low and passed Petkovic o not only give his team the lead but also give himself his first
goal since returning to Sydney United. This was the 9th game he has played this year.
Only two minutes later, Adelaide won a corner down the right side. Dino Mennillo sent the ball in
and Craig Foster glanced his header just inside the near post. A quick recovery for the
visitors. The rest of the game saw a lot of activity, but very few shots. The Press Box
unanimously gave David Zdrilic man-of-the-match as not only did he score the first goal, but
during the second half he controlled the midfield.