Match Report 16 June 2007

JUN

18

It was back to business in Round 9 as the league resumed from the Cup round interruption. The Adelaide Hills painted the perfect backdrop for a good day of football as FC Adelaide met Old Ignatians on their home turf in the leafy Eastern suburbs. The muddy pitch meant two scrappy games but FCA proved the dominant side on the day with a thrilling draw for the First Team and a monumental win for the Reserves, cementing top spot at the mid-point of the season.

Reserves Match Report

The possibility of 1st v 2nd facing off at the half-way mark of the season is enough to whet the appetite of any supporter. This was a game that needed to be won and the lads played the quality of football that is expected of the top team in the competition. The teamsheet gave an indication of just how special this occasion was to be with the return of club veteran, Tass “the Angry Dinosaur” Paltos. The Dinosaur, with his youthful blonde locks, returned to the goalmouth decked out in a trademark retro jersey for his comeback game. This move allowed “El Presidente” Keg to take to the park for only the second time this season. And boy was he raring to go! The muddy pitch slowed the pace of this game and made it impossible for the lads to display their talents with the ball on the deck. A kick and move game had to be resorted to and the boys adapted well against a team used to playing in the soggy conditions. FCA controlled the opening minutes and some good build-up led to a perfect ball being delivered to the left wing. Syed “the Smiling Assassin” Ibrahim pounced on the opportunity and raced forward, outsmarting the last man to finish with a superb cutting shot across the keeper to make it 1-0. A dream start! The remainder of the first half saw several chances go astray as FCA continued to play possession but failed to capitalise and further increase the margin. Shane “Spiro” Webster was unfortunate to miss a cracking shot from right of penalty box that skimmed past the keeper and just wide of the far post.

Stoney’s training drills were paying off and some superb running off the ball by all players meant FCA always had a man spare. Nicky “the Kid” Cosma utilised his pace well to always be first at the ball. Micky Fourrrrrrnakos dropped deep in search of the ball and played some beautiful 1-2’s and cheeky flick-ons out to the wing. Shoerokh “Rockyballs” McKitterick put in a stunning performance. His height gave Adelaide an aerial advantage in the midfield and his courage on the ball saw his opponent always come off second best. El Presidente combined well with Baby Bird and “Lucas Neil” Leigh to guide the defence and hold structure. The move of Kaka to midfield proved a rewarding strategy with his pace, strength and strong passing ability paying off.

It was near the end of the first half when Keg and Kaka’s training rivalry came to a head on the pitch. Karkafiris attempted to clear the ball and slammed a power-drive right into the face of Keg, knocking him onto his gut and forcing him off with a bloody nose. There was speculation as to whether Kaka had been waiting for such an opportunity to punish the big guy but this was without substantiation.

As the boys came in from the half there was a happy coach Koufalas to greet them. His strategy of urging the boys to grasp an early goal and keep a clean sheet for the first half had played out to plan. FCA held firm for the second half and Old Ignatians were running out of steam. Although FCA dominated, they seemed to not be able to find the back of the net as some easy chances went begging. Several one-on-one’s ended with the keeper but the team fought on.

The referee did an exceptional job, clean and fair, and some light-hearted banter was enjoyed on the sidelines. With about 20 minutes left on the ref’s watch, our attackers chased down a defender and held up a ball deep in the Iggies half. Webster got hold of the ball and put a pin-point cross into the 6 yard box to a well positioned Syed. The Smiling Assassin leaped up and headed strongly past the keeper into the back of the net. 2-0. The crowd erupted! Some more than others and everybody questioned how much time was left as Iggies were now threatening in the dying minutes.

The Dinosaur’s clean sheet was spoiled by an Iggies goal not long after and at 2-1 they rallied hard, desperate to equalise. FCA recovered from the pressure and managed a few more opportunities on goal but to no avail. Heavy legs were taking their toll and there weren’t going to be any more goals today. The whistle blew and the curtain drew on a classic match. FCA 2-1 winners!

THE BOTTOM LINE: FC Adelaide goes into the second half of the season in top spot; 6 points clear of Ignatians and MA Hawks and on a club record of 8 straight wins. With only 1 loss they also have the best goal margin in the league. FC Adelaide is proving Reserve Premiership favourites. The reserve team of 2007 could create club history if this trend is continued.

First Team Match Report

Currently sitting mid-table and with many injury set-backs, playing the team at the top of the table was never going to be an easy task. The lads knew that they needed to lift after the Cup Round drubbing and that’s exactly what they did. The team was bolstered with the return of ‘the Gentleman’ Georgiou, Stevie G and Johnny ‘JC’ Caputo. Ange ‘the Spartan’ Antonis found a return to form and went in to battle ‘hungry like the wolf!’ The Spartan chased the ball harder than ever before, pressing for that elusive goal. A solid team effort by all involved saw FCA snatch the early lead as JC headed home from a whipping corner delivered by the Spartan. 1-0. Old Ignatian’s formation of 3 men up front meant that FCA had more numbers in the midfield and were able to keep possession for much of the first half. The wingers were used well and worked hard to push the ball toward the 2 Adelaide front men. Kieran communicated well to his defenders from the goalmouth and “Papa” Soteriou directed the backline up and down the pitch with the movement of the ball. Simon “Geezer” Julian returned to the First Team line up and contributed immensely to the strong defence. His courageous style of play and defensive smarts shone through as he continuously delivered the ball out of defence and marked his man out of the game.

White-line fever struck mid-way through the first half as an ex-Adelaide Old Boy player swept The G’s legs out from under him. The Adelaide supporters winced at the crunching tackle right in front of their bench. The prospect of The G’s knee being damaged again worried all who looked on. The aftermath led to players rushing to the referee, appealing to him to make a decision in their team’s favour. Some stern words were exchanged between members of both teams. It was evident how passionate both sides were about this game. The situation calmed when it was realised that The G would play on but the bitterness remained and spurred FCA on even more to seal a win in what had now turned into a grudge match. There was plenty of aerial play to stop the flood at ground level as the Old Ignatians defence clogged the main artery to goal. Up 1-0 at the half, the lads were in high spirits. Another 45 minutes of play to match the half that had just passed could have seen the upset of the round we were hoping for. Hopes for that upset were momentarily dashed when Iggies struck an equaliser. Their winger managed to break free from our last man, forcing Kieran into a one-on-one that the attacker was cool enough to put away. 1-1. Iggies tightened after the goal but FCA took the run of play and created several more chances through playmakers Reza and Ferrrrrnando. As the Ignatians attacked, our defence stepped up another notch to deny them an opportunity on goal. Nick ‘the Rubber Glove’ Gala again demonstrated strong man-marking skills. Every attack was special. The Spartan broke free from his man, passed out to Reza, who held up the play as our boys broke forward. Roy ‘the Raging Bull’ Selinis ran through, received the ball and delivered and outside of the foot pass back to the Spartan. A Shot! And a save! It continued like this for an agonising 20 minutes. The Gentleman found himself in front of the goal but was hesitant to shoot what could have been the finisher. The white-line fever had subsided ever so slightly but the frustration was now setting in. This was our game, we had dominated but they continued to deny us goals. Calls for time were coming thick and fast from the sidelines, we would have to settle for a draw and the fat lady then sung. 1-1.

THE BOTTOM LINE: FCA proved that the Cup defeat was a small hiccup on the road to recovery. The same heart and fight that was displayed against the Cougars was again on show here in this thrilling draw. At the half-way point of the season we have now held two top-teams, Monarchs and Ignatians, to a draw. This proves we do have what it takes to mix it with the best of them. Going a goal up was certainly a confidence booster and let’s hope we can continue these efforts and turn the tables on the run home to the end of the season.

By Jonathon Milne