ASA: Adelaide United can jump into third spot on Australia’s NSL competition ladder tonight, if it can beat a Wollongong Wolves side at WIN Stadium that now has no mathematical chance of qualifying for the championship series.
John Kosmina’s United have shouldered the burden of their heavy schedule well in recent weeks, losing just twice in seven games since the New Year. A win tonight will jump them a point ahead of South Melbourne and add further credibility to Kosmina’s statement earlier this week that his team can go all the way to the grand final.
Most impressive was their 4-3 win away to the Melbourne Knights last Sunday which was played less than 48 hours after a hard fought win over South Melbourne at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Adrian Pellegrino is the only omission from last weekend’s team, with Ross Aloisi (pictured above right) in doubt due to a broken thumb suffered in the opening minutes against South Melbourne on Friday.
As a precaution, Kosmina has called in Shane Thompson and Aaron Westervelt as replacements.
United’s away form has been mediocre in their debut season, with a 2-1 upset over the Parramatta Power at Parramatta Stadium definitely a standout.
They will go into tonight’s match as favourites, but not overtly, given the Wolves recent tenacious performances.
Although without a point in their past four matches, Wollongong have shown the heart that saw them rise from wooden spoon favourites to top six contenders, in losses to title candidates Perth Glory and Parramatta Power away from home.
In what is possibly their penultimate home match, the Wolves will be out to give their home fans something to remember as their eventful season winds down.
Turner has named an unchanged squad from last weeks away loss to the Glory, with midfielder Stewart Van Bentum remaining the only player missing due to injury.
The last, and only, previous encounter between the two sides saw an entertaining 2-2 draw eventuate at Hindmarsh Stadium.
In front of nearly 10 000 supporters in Adelaide, a last minute strike to Ben Blake sealed a point for the Wolves who were right in the middle of a purple patch that saw them rise as high as seventh place mid season.
A similar result tonight will be of little use to either side, so fans can expect an open game of enterprising football. – By Ben Coonan
NSL: Round 23 Results
ADELAIDE UNITED 2 (N Budin 6′, R Aloisi 31′)
SOUTH MELBOURNE 0
MARCONI STALLIONS 2 (C Gibson 31′, N Carle 61′)
FOOTBALL KINGZ 1 (P Harries 92′)
PERTH GLORY 2 (B Despotovski 33′, D Mori 62′)
WOLLONGONG WOLVES 0
SYDNEY OLYMPIC 2 (P Cardozo 72′, 79′)
NEWCASTLE UNITED 0
(Round 3 deferred match)
MELBOURNE KNIGHTS 3 (D Vasilevski 53′, N Marinos 57′, 90′)
ADELAIDE UNITED 4 (R Alagich 47’+, R Aloisi 62′, M Brooks 65′, C Veart 83′)
SYDNEY UNITED 0
NORTHERN SPIRIT 0
PARRAMATTA POWER 3 (A Milicic 12′, 37′, L Pantelis 47′)
BRISBANE STRIKERS 2 (S Fitzsimmons 56′, J Rose 81′)
MELBOURNE KNIGHTS – BYE
(Round 18 Deferred Match)
MARCONI STALLIONS 1 (N Carle 79′ pen)
SYDNEY OLYMPIC 0
TABLE - After Round 23TEAM P W D L B GF GA PTS
Perth Glory 20 15 2 3 2 46 18 47
Parramatta Power 21 13 3 5 1 52 28 42
South Melbourne 20 11 3 6 2 38 16 36
Adelaide United 20 9 7 4 2 25 21 34
Brisbane Strikers 21 9 5 7 2 25 26 32
Marconi Stallions 20 8 7 5 1 23 22 31
Sydney United 20 7 7 6 2 16 16 28
Sydney Olympic 22 7 7 8 1 24 28 28
Newcastle United 21 6 6 9 2 18 26 24
Wollongong Wolves 21 6 5 10 2 30 40 23
Northern Spirit 20 6 3 11 2 26 30 21
Melbourne Knights 21 4 4 13 2 17 41 16
Football Kingz 21 2 3 16 2 19 47 9