Roar Stay in the Race; A-League

KronicalÃ‚â„¢ · 01-07-2007, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Roar stay in the race
Thursday, 4 January, 2007 - 10:20PM
Marcus Wilson at Hindmarsh Stadium, Sportal
Hyuk-Su Seo battles Nathan Burns
Hyuk-Su Seo battles Nathan Burns
Queensland Roar has kept their finals aspirations alive with a 1-0 victory over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Thursday.

In stifling, 33-degree conditions, the sides played out an entertaining but wasteful first half before an opportunist goal from Reinaldo broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute.

Queensland then held out attack after attack from a desperate but poor finishing Adelaide line-up.

The result ensures the Roar remain in the logjam for a finals spot while the Reds no longer looks a serious challenger for second spot and have a fight on their hands to stay in the four.

Reinaldo's scoring opportunity was created when a powerful Damian Mori strike from outside the 18-metre box hit the crossbar and bounced back into play.

Reinaldo swooped on the loose ball, headed it past the left hand of Daniel Beltrame and then watched with delight as it bounced into the right post and rebounded into the goal.

Neither side managed a score in the first half but the opening period of play was anything but dull.

With only 10 minutes on the clock, a patient Queensland penetrated a set Adelaide defence.

The ball was delivered to Dario Vidosic but his shot from inside the box was smothered by a sliding Daniel Beltrame.

At the other end, Fernando wasted two free kicks earned by Nathan Burns.

His first shot on goal went flying over the cross bar while his second attempt slammed into the opponent's defensive wall.

The players took a drinks break midway through the half but it didn't interrupt the intensity of the match.

Michael Valkanis made a mess of a defensive clearance, allowing Matthew McKay a free shot on goal, which he sliced well wide.

Damian Mori and Reinaldo also managed to find space deep in attack but a confident Beltrame guarded the goal well.

Jason Spagnuolo started to work his way into the contest and set up two of the Reds' best scoring opportunities.

Spagnuolo made a speedy run down the right hand wing and at full pace crossed the ball in towards the left hand post. Burns was looming but didn't get enough contact with the ball to worry Liam Reddy.

Minutes later Spagnuolo took a dangerous free kick which sailed over Queensland defenders and a few team-mates and was only narrowly missed by a charging Valkanis.

And in injury time, Burns showed some fancy footwork to elude the Roar defence but went for power instead of placement to watch his shot sail off target.

A minute into the second half Burns made an impressive run towards goal but followed it with a disappointing shot that veered left of the target.

Adelaide appeared to have the momentum but watched in disbelief as Reinaldo's memorable header changed the mood of the game.

Minutes after the goal, Mori found some space inside the box and had another shot on goal. It beat Beltrame but unluckily hit an Adelaide defender right on the line.

The goal was a blow for the Reds' who had been dangerous, albeit a little wasteful, during their time in attack.

Desperate to find the equaliser, United bombarded the goals. Many of their attempts were hasty and rushed but they still kept the Roar players on their toes.

Adelaide brought Bobby Petta, Bruce Djite and Adam Van Dommele into the game but the changes didn't help its cause.

Queensland Roar 1 (Reinaldo 52)
Adelaide United 0
@ Hindmarsh Stadium. Crowd: 10,684

Credit - A-League.com.au

Roar Stay in the Race; A-League

This is a discussion on Roar Stay in the Race; A-League within the European Sports forums, part of the Sports Forums category; Roar stay in the race Thursday, 4 January, 2007 - 10:20PM Marcus Wilson at Hindmarsh Stadium, Sportal Hyuk-Su Seo battles ...