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Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Australia News Adelaide Make History

ADELAIDE United became the first A-League side to make the Champions League quarter-finals with a 0-0 draw with Changchun Yatai.

The home side threw everything at the Reds and threatened to score on a number of occasions in both halves but Adelaide managed to hang on.

The dying minutes of the contest were particularly tense for United with Changchun bombarding the box.

Adelaide's goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was put under extreme pressure on two occasions as the game neared its conclusion. Just before injury time he put in a heroic effort by fisting an attacking ball away while on his knees.

His hard work appeared undone when he was drawn out of the box in a set play by the opposition. But he was saved embarrassment when defender Sasa Ognenovski headed the ball away from the goal line.

The Reds finished the preliminary round of the ACL with four wins and two draws.

Changchun Yatai made all the running in the first half, at the fourth minute they got past the Adelaide defence but lost control of the ball at the critical moment.

And a minute later there were some more anxious times for Adelaide as the home side threatened the goal with two corners in quick succession.

For most of the half they were quick on the rebound and set up a number of telling crosses and they had a total of seven corners - highlighting their attacking dominance.

Their best chance came at the 34th minute when Zadi quickly took a free kick and caught United's defence napping. The ball flew through the box untouched and cannoned into the base of the goal post.

The Reds struggled with their opponent's ongoing pressure and their possession was often hesitant and off target.

But they steadied as the half progressed and started to string together some more assured passages of play.

Kristian Sarkies had several shots on goal and took some corners but was over-enthusiastic with his strikes.

And Ognenovski almost scored against the run of play with his strong header only metres from the goal line, however he just missed the mark.

The half belonged to the home side but Adelaide would've been buoyed by the 0-0 scoreline at the break.

Changchun continued to attack in the second half and had four corners and two shots on goal in the opening 15 minutes.

United was holding strong but coach Aurelio Vidmar decided it was time for a change - Bruce Djite (in his last game for the Reds) replaced Sarkies.

Djite didn't get a lot of early touches but his presence saw the Reds enter their front third with more conviction.

And with the minutes ticking away, the pressure started to mount on the home side that needed a win to progress to the quarter finals.

Melkam received a yellow card for a challenge on Lucas Pantelis (who was streaming into attack) while Zhenyu received the same warning for some rough work in defence.

Changchun never gave up and had chances at the 82nd minute and two corners in the dying moments of the game.

Changchung Yatai 0
Adelaide United 0

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