Central Coast Mariners cemented top spot in the A-League with a comfortable 2-1 victory against a disappointing Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
This was a must win game for Adelaide having recorded only one win in its last six matches. A loss could see Adelaide drop out of the top four with only four rounds remaining. Adelaide have a tough final run home facing Sydney at home , Newcastle away, the in-form Perth Glory away and finishing off the season with Queensland Roar at home.
Adelaide brought talented Olyroo Kristian Sarkies into its starting line-up in place of the injured Nathan Burns. Central Coast welcomed the return of Tom Pondeljak from injury plus Sasho Petrovski and John Hutchinson from suspension.
Adelaide kicked off the game against the most miserly defence of the A-League with what appeared to be a very negative 3-6-1 formation particularly in front of a home crowd. This surprising tactical move virtually pre-determined that there would be very slim pickings for Adelaide up front.
Central Coast were on the attack in the opening minutes with the makeshift Adelaide defensive trio of Cornthwaite, Erdogan and Milardovic looking very uncomfortable.
Adelaide may have had the numbers in the midfield but the Central Coast midfielders were little troubled - the net effect for Adelaide was to congest its midfielders and give them very few options when going forward. As the minutes ticked by it was obvious the Adelaide formation was not working and yet there were no moves from the bench to adjust the flawed strategy.
Twenty minutes into the game and Adelaide were struggling. Adelaide fans could have been forgiven for thinking they only had 10 players on the field with midfielder Travis Dodd virtually non- existent. On the other flank Lucas Pantelis was seeing a little more of the ball but was proving just as in-effective. The Adelaide defensive combination was looking unsettled with tall timber Robbie Cornthwaite looking particularly sloppy at the back.
It took until the 24th minute for Central Coast to punish the lack lustre Adelaide United. Brasilian Cassio committed a fundamental mistake when he was caught attempting to dribble out of the defensive zone. Mariner Andrew Clark stole the ball off Cassio and whipped in a cross to the back post. John Aloisi left behind ball watching defender Cornthwaite and had little trouble tapping the ball into the back of the net from only 2 metres. 1-0 to Central Coast. Now surely Vidmar will change Adelaide's flawed formation.
Adelaide's first opportunity of the game finally arrived in the 29th minute. Cassio put in a good cross deep into the box from a difficult position near the corner flag. Travis Dodd, in one of his few touches in the first half, headed the ball down to the feet of Alagich who pulled his shot wide of the upright from 10 metres out.
Two minutes later Alan Clark hit a long ball to the feet of John Aloisi on the penalty spot. Aloisi had once again escaped the attention of defender Cornthwaite but snatched at the ball and sent it wide when a little more composure may have resulted in a goal.
Adelaide struggled to put anything meaningfull together in the remaining fifteen minutes of the half with Central Coast strolling to the half time break looking very comfortable with their 1-0 lead.
Referee Peter Green blew for half time. The rain falling at Hindmarsh Stadium combined with one of the worst 45 minutes of football from Adelaide this season resulted in quite a few fans heading straight for the exits.
The half time break gave Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar the opportunity to finally change their flawed game strategy. It was glaringly obvious Adelaide needed another striker on the park and the longer Vidmar delayed the in-evitable the less chance Adelaide had of taking anything out of the game.
It was almost beyond belief to see Adelaide came out in the second half unchanged and in the same formation. Adelaide's season could be going up in smoke thanks to some very basic tactical blunders.
Within four minutes of the restart the Mariners deservedly scored their second goal after having pressured the Adelaide goal for several minutes. It came from a corner that was extremely poorly defended by Adelaide. Midfielder Jonas Salley failed to get a touch on the ball at the front post, defender Cornthwaite was once again caught ball watching as John Aloisi should have turned the ball into the Adelaide net. But Aloisi didn't get a touch on the ball. Goalkeeper Galekovic came for the ball but only flapped his arms at thin air . The ball took one bounce, sliding on the wet surface and making it almost impossible for Cassio to do anything other than keep his body behind the ball. The ball bounced off the shins of Cassio before Saho Petrovski prodded the ball into the back of the Adelaide net from close range with Erdogan and Dodd both flat footed. It was a team effort in terrible defending by Adelaide. 2-0 to Central Coast.
This was a must win game for Adelaide who were now down by two goals in front of their home crowd. Surely now the coaching staff would make their long overdue tactical change - a change that has been obvious since the twenty minute mark of the match - but there was no movement from the Adelaide bench.
In the 52nd minute Sarkies went close with a long range drive that hit the upright. The rebound fell to Travid Dodd who completed miscued his follow up shot. Fortunately for Adelaide the ball looped over to Agostino who hit a powerfull header just over the cross bar. At last a move that could give cause for some optimism for the home fans.
Finally in the 60th minute Adelaide made the long overdue change bringing on Djite to play two strikers up front. Surprisingly it was hard working midfielder Jonas Salley who made way when there were several more obvious candidates for substitution.
The change had an immediate impact with Adelaide finally getting some traction in the game.
Milardovic went close to getting his first A-League goal for Adelaide from a corner. Milardovic was unmarked at the back past but was only able to put his header into the side netting.
Adelaide made its second change in the 64th minute minute bringing off the best of its three defenders in Milardovic and replacing him with the zippy Ontong. How fellow defenders Erdogan and Cornthwaite have both managed to avoid being substituted is another mystery.
Straight after the substitution Petrovski should have made it three goals to the Mariners. Once again it was the hapless Cornthwaite who was at the centre of it all. He gave the ball away cheaply before then being totally embarrassed by Petrovski who turned him inside out before driving his shot goalwards. Goalkeeper Galekovic pulled off a good reflex save and Alagich cleared the ball to safety.
Next it was Alosi's turn to miss the un-missable. Central Coast worked the ball forward and wide before crossing a low ball into the feet of Aloisi at the front post. Fortunately for Adelaide the striker scuffed the ball wide from only three metres out.
It took an almost super-human effort from Adelaide captain Paul Agostino to drag Adelaide back into the game. Cassio crossed the ball from out wide to Agostino on the edge of the penalty area. The striker outjumped his defender and a team mate and struck a magnificent header that flew just over the outstretched gloves of goalkeeper Vukovic and just under the cross bar. It was a fantastic goal that, undeservedly, gave Adelaide a sniff of hope. 2-1 to the Mariners in the 71st minute.
Adelaide suddenly lifted its tempo put the Mariners under the pressure that should have been brought to bear from the kick off. But each forward foray came to nought as the Mariners showed why they have only conceded 11 goals all season.
In the 77th minute Cassio took a ball on the volley from outside the box and his drive flew inches over the top corner of the goal with Vukovic well beaten.
Two minutes later Travis Dodd got on the end of an Adelaide corner but put his header straight into the arms of goalkeeper Vukovic. Another two minutes later and it was Travis Dodd again who got on the end of an Alagich cross. Unmarked with the goals beckoning, Dodd sloppily put his header over the bar when he should have levelled the score.
Next it was Agostino who could have levelled the score. Pantelis knocked the ball inside the box to Agostino who was in space inside the penalty area. Agostino rushed his shot and could only strike the ball straight into the arms of Vukovic.
The Central Coast Mariners held on in the final ten minutes to record a 2-1 victory and claim all three points.
It was a very disappointing performance by Adelaide when so much was riding on this match. While the players must bear some of the blame for their below par performance, much of the responsibility can be slated home to the coaching staff for their flawed tactics. Playing one attacker against the best defence in the league ensured Adelaide had no chance of getting on the scoresheet for the bulk of the match. The blame cannot be laid at the feet of Adelaide's long injury list because Adelaide opted to leave one of the most talented strikers in the country on the bench for much of the game.
Of great concern for Adelaide is the form of several key players. Cornthwaite was very ordinary at the back and should, in normal circumstances, find himself dropped next week. But these are not normal circumstances and he owes his place in the team to injuries to fellow defenders. Travis Dodd was once again well below par. He has had more game time than any other Adelaide player this season and yet has been poor for much of the season. Lucas Pantelis burst into the side a few months ago but now the only thing bursting is his bubble. Coach Vidmar has several players on the verge of returning from injury and he must be close to wielding the axe on several of his underperforming regulars.
In contrast the Central Coast Mariners put in a superb away game performance. Had the Mariners taken their chances they could have walked away with a very comfortable four goal victory. The final scorline was flattering for Adelaide.
Best for Adelaide was substitute Djite. Agostino toiled up front but suffered very poor service from his team mates. Milardovic also toiled hard at the back and put in a respectable performance for such an inexperienced player.
For Central Coast there were many good performers. Andrew Clark played a pivotal role in the game covering a lot of ground down the flanks. Dean Hefferman was embarrassingly dominant at left back. Tony Vidmar didn't put a foot wrong all match. John Aloisi bagged a goal and always looked dangerous.