Adelaide United v Melbourne City Match Day Jamboree!!!©

[EdDog]

Think we were lucky to get the draw from a "balance of play" perspective but deserved it from an "effort" perspective. Boys left it all out there.

I think the draw papered over us routinely getting killed at left and right back. The number of chances they had it could have been 3 or 4 nil if not for some last ditch defending or their forwards' inability to convert.

Up front we lacked cohesion and meaningful drives forward. We can't rely on Yengi solo brilliance or goalkeeper errors each week. We are going to need to create chances of our own.

Good result in the end but a lot of work to do.

[Interloper]

hesitance with the Goalkeeper out of position has been a bugbear of mine for most of the A-League's existance. So the equalizer delighted me.

[EdDog]

What are everyone's thoughts on Delianov's efforts against the long range goals this week from Nabbout and last week from Fornaroli?

I rate him as a keeper but his leap / projection up and off the ground seemed below par. Like I would expect a keeper to propel themselves much higher than he did in both situations.

I know the strikes were good but I can't help feel he seemed to have lead boots on / be rooted to the ground when he attempted to dive for them.

Happy to be told I'm dreaming but I can't shake the feeling he could have done more.

[AndyJebiga]

What are everyone's thoughts on Delianov's efforts against the long range goals this week from Nabbout and last week from Fornaroli?

I rate him as a keeper but his leap / projection up and off the ground seemed below par. Like I would expect a keeper to propel themselves much higher than he did in both situations.

I know the strikes were good but I can't help feel he seemed to have lead boots on / be rooted to the ground when he attempted to dive for them.

Happy to be told I'm dreaming but I can't shake the feeling he could have done more.

He is a good "shot stopper" but not a good "goalkeeper" if that makes sense, big difference between the 2.


Gauci should be the number 1

[The Claw]

Delianov has seemed much less assured since he got injured last season. He does worry me at times and punches too much.
Gauci made me feel less nervous that is for sure

[RedTide]

Some really good positives to come out of last night .... and a couple of things that we can work on. As always, Coopers and the Reds faithful showed the rest of the league that it is the best stadium in the country for sheer atmosphere and sense of occasion. Simon Hill loves it and prefaces every match that he calls here with "you wouldn't rather be anywhere else." So true!

Yengi is a future star. He is fast and has slick skills, like Goody, but he has some of that awkward loping gait of George Blackwood. He is definitely a keeper.

On the subject of keepers, I do think that some of us are being a little harsh to Delianov. Trust in Eugene to bring out his best consistently - and to have Joe Gauci as his understudy is a real bonus. We have a proud history of producing and developing the best keepers in the league; trust in the process.

Goody looked at about 25% of his best last night. He really needs more game time to get his match fitness up. We really miss Ryan Strain on the right, who fed so much service to Goody and with Goody well underdone, we lost the RH channel for attack, which has traditionally been one of our strengths.

Isa looked like he had never left. There was one small cameo, when he span on a sixpence in the midfield and left his MC opponent bewildered and running the wrong way and it was like watching him from 3 or 4 years ago. Joy!

I think that the backline is serviceable; Jako will do much better at marshalling the troops from now on and we will look a lot more solid once he too gets some more match fitness. Let's not forget that the A-League has the world's longest layoff - nearly 5 months for some teams. (For the EPL, it's barely 2 months).

I was on the top deck of the Western Grandstand and none of us could believe that the first goal was not offside and that there was no VAR check. That cheating diver Nabbout looked to be at least 2m offside from where I sat - albeit that it was the farthest part of the pitch from me.

Daniel Elder had a Barry Crocker - does anyone know why MC Petrodollars were allowed to just stop the game after their first goal and have a nice little drinks break? Has the FFA now permitted 'tactical timeouts' like (ugh) basketball? It could not have been a hot weather drinks break; spectators were already pulling on jumpers or coats at that point. It looked like a cynical timeout called by a coach who was desperate to please his bosses and will pull any stroke to slow a game down.

Overall, I would give us 7/10. Lots of positives to draw from the game - and I would much rather be us than MC Petrodollars. I viewed their fan forum this morning and they are already filthy with their team and are questioning their coaching, their recruiting and their lack of fitness - and it's only Round 2!

[Old Gregg]

I heard that the drinks breaks were so ch10 could run ads. Dreadful stuff if true.
I agree with most of what you've said RedTide, but not about Goodwin. He looked good off the bench and our L side immediately looked more coherent - even though I reckon Kitto was not playing badly.
We started well, then forgot how to pass for a while after conceding - classic Reds hahah.
Issues defending the counterattack, which is the problem with fullbacks pushing high- maybe that's where Isaias needs to deep back between the CBs to add numbers to the backline. Mind you City had 3 Socceroos with World Cup experience running at our backline, so I don't think we actually did too badly. Nabbout's goal was top drawer, but he should have seen red for his scissor lunge on Cavallo.
All up- great comeback, great point against the champs, great night at Hindy. Very excited for the season ahead.

[ChillyPhilly]

It was a great comeback in the end. The first half was slightly concerning - our attack was very average. But we settled after some time and began to really play.

I think the game changed most when Toure was subbed on. Goodwin certainly made a difference, but his impact will be greater once he is at full fitness.

My biggest frustration from the night was actually with stadium entry - AVM continue to get it wrong, and it's turning fans away.

[sevengoals]

Game highlights ...
( it feels like heaps of stuff is missing ...)




And because it was so good.



I'm flabbergasted that Nabbout stayed on after that flying scissor tackle on Josh.
Lunging with both legs off the ground and from behind.
10 to 1 we get a player sent off for something similar this season.

Delianov is a good keeper more in Eugene's own image but I really liked Gauci when he played even though he seemed slightly more error prone than Delianov.
Both show huge potential but need more match experience.
We are lucky to have them both at the club.
In Eugene we trust!

If we had a national second division Gauci could be loaned out to gather experience.
If,if,if ...

[Interloper]

There could have been 3 red cards issues in the game with no issue:
* MacLaren, would have been harsh. But he wasn't playing the ball, caused contact and split an opponents face open in the process. Strange that Andy Harper made no comment despite normally going on a rant about head injuries at the drop of a hat.
* Nabbout Tackle
* Halloran, 2 yellows for shirt off + breaking corner flag in celebration. Again harsh, but he could legitimately have no complaints.

[Old Gregg]

My biggest frustration from the night was actually with stadium entry - AVM continue to get it wrong, and it's turning fans away.

Was super easy for me - actually probably less hassle than normal lol. In the north end line, someone was walking up and down checking vax status, then you scan in at the QR code, then you show your ticket & in you go. Line moving freely.

Does anyone have footage of Nabbout's scissor lunge on Cavallo? Looked properly naughty live and on the replay in the ground, but I was messaging a mate watching at home and he missed it so maybe they didn't show a replay on the telecast

[otto62]

They did show a close up slow motion replay. Filthy tackle. Both feel off the ground, from behind, mid calf height.

Watching live TV I thought he got the ball, so I can understand the officials missing it, but isn’t that where VAR is supposed to step in?