Adelaide United snapped out of its run of poor results to snatch three points and second spot from Sydney FC in front of a full house at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Going into the game the season was on the line for both clubs with the winner almost assured of a top four placing and in the box seat for the double chance second spot. A loss for Adelaide might see it drop out of the top four with one round remaining while a loss for Sydney would see it give up second spot and needing to beat Queensland in its last game to be assured of finals football.
Adelaide made one change to its starting line-up bringing in crowd favourite Bobby Petta at the expense of the out-of-form Travis Dodd. Sydney made two changes with Zadkovich and Timpano dropping to the bench to make way for the return of captain Mark Rudan and the late blooming Robbie Middleby.
Adelaide kicked off heading toward to the Torrens End. There was little to separate the two sides in the opening minutes – little surprise in a game with so much residing on the result.
The minutes ticked by with Sydney slowly asserting a modicum of control over what was a very tight and tense affair. Yet whenever Sydney did venture around the Adelaide box they found little room with the Adelaide defense in a very miserly frame of mind.
It was not until the 18th minute that the first real threat on goal eventuated. It occurred when referee Matthew Breeze, never a favourite at Hindmarsh Stadium, awarded a dubious free kick to Sydney after collision between two of its players. At that stage of the game Breeze had awarded five fouls against Adelaide versus zero against Sydney. Forty metres out from goal, Ufuk Talay stepped up and hit a powerful swerving strike goalwards forcing a good diving save from Adelaide goalkeeper Beltrame.
Two minutes later Adelaide's captain Ross Aloisi chipped a ball over the Sydney defence. He picked out Richie Alagich who had slipped behind the Sydney fullback. Alagich drove inside along the goal line without a defender in sight. He was closed down as he pushed along the five yard line. He opted to unleash a shot that was blocked by Terry McFlynn instead of picking out one of the two unmarked Adelaide players waiting around the penalty spot.
Alex Brosque almost opened the scoring in the 25th minute when captain Mark Rudan found him with a long ball out of defence. Brosque outpaced the Adelaide defence, drove into the box only to have his shot blocked by any excellent save from goalkeeper Beltrame.
Five minutes later Jason Spagnuolo cleverly turned Ian Fyfe on the half way line. Spagnuolo drove towards the box before attempting a shot. His shot took a heavy deflection right into the path of Carl Veart in front of the Sydney goal. With a goal in the offing, the ball slipped past Veart and Breeze somehow decided it was a goal-kick.
In the 41st minute Robbie Middleby found the back of the Adelaide net when he beat a square Adelaide defence. But the goal was ruled offside in what was a very marginal decision. Sydney and Adelaide pushed and prodded for the remainder of the half but failed to create any more clear goal-scoring opportunities. The score remained locked at 0-0 at half time. The second half kicked off with more of the same. While Bobby Petta was gradually becoming more influential in the game, it was not until Adelaide started to make its substitutions that the game began to change. First off was Jason Spagnuolo who made way for Travis Dodd. The home fans, unaware Spagnuolo was injured, let coach Kosmina know what they thought of the decision. Ten minutes into the half Nathan Burns split open the Sydney defence after a one-two on the edge of the box. But his return touch took the ball too far forward and goalkeeper Bolton won the sprint to the ball. The game started to open up for Adelaide with Burns and then Veart having shots that required Bolton to save. Second off for Adelaide was veteran Carl Veart – to the applause of the appreciative Hindmarsh crowd – who made way for debutant Diego Walsh – the Brasilian signed from Miami FC midweek. Walsh made an immediate impact as Adelaide began to control the centre of the midfield and Sydney spending an increasing amount of time defending their penalty area. In the 79th minute Adelaide made its final change taking off youngster Nathan Burns for Greg Owens. Adelaide inched closer and closer to the Sydney goal particularly from set pieces. A Petta corner from the left found Fernando but he was unable to make clear contact with the ball. Then a free kick on the edge of the box was wasted before Petta took another corner from the right which Bolton mishandled but was cleared by the Sydney defence. Next Travis Dodd was out wide and cut inside Mark Milligan. The Sydney defender felled Dodd on the edge of the box out wide and earnt himself a deserved yellow card in the process. With 88 minutes on the time clock, Bobby Petta took the free kick and curled it towards the back post. Diego Walsh headed the ball back from beyond the far post and it ricocheted off Fernando and into the back of the Sydney goal – 1-0 to Adelaide. Sydney threw everything at Adelaide in the closing minutes with Beltrame making an excellent save to deny a Zdrillic header in extra time. But Adelaide held on to grab three very important points. It was a crucial win for Adelaide who have leapt in second spot. The win was made even sweeter by the fact that it was over their arch rivals Sydney. But coach John Kosmina wont get too carried away by this victory because it was a very tight affair that could have gone either way. Kosmina will be pleased by the way his backline performed. His defence is starting to show some of the resoluteness that made his team the Premiers last season. In contrast coach Terry Butcher will be very disappointed that his side has snatched defeat when a draw seemed the most likely outcome. The loss means Sydney must win next week against a resurgent Queensland Roar otherwise the reigning champions could face an unthinkable early exit from the competition. Best for Adelaide was goalkeeper Beltrame who made several great saves. Defender Valkanis had his best game of the season along with fellow defender Alagich. Bobby Petta had his moments while young Nathan Burns is slowly playing himself back into form. New signing Diego Walsh showed signs of promise and Adelaide fans will be hoping to see more of him in the coming weeks. In a game largely dominated by defensive work it was Mark Rudan who was the pick of the Sydney side. Ufuk Talay worked hard in the middle of the park and Alex Brosque was lively up front. Clint Bolton dealt comfortably with most that was thrown his way. Meanwhile defender Mark Milligan showed the touch that has left most people outside Sydney wondering why he was picked in the Australian 2006 World Cup squad.