Adelaide United Youth have suffered a 3-1 loss for the second successive match, this time falling to bottom-placed South Adelaide on Thursday night.
Conditions were far from ideal for football at O’Sullivan Beach Sports and Community Centre, with the freezing temperature compounded by the blustery winds and at times rain.
Lachlan Brook did restore parity for the Young Reds six minutes past the hour mark, but two late goals rendered his stunning strike inconsequential.
South opened the scoring when Harley Gepp headed in a cross from the byline in the 36th minute.
Adelaide failed to test the Panthers’ goalkeeper in the first-half and had plenty to ponder going into the break.
The visitors began to dictate the tempo after the interval and controlled possession in South’s half.
Brook would cap off a dominant spell with a goal to draw Paul Pezos’ side level.
He collected the ball around the corner of the 18-yard box before driving forward and unleashed a powerful drive into the far corner on 66 minutes.
However, Adelaide’s momentum was short-lived after conceding from a corner six minutes later.
United Youth failed to boot the ball to safety as it was volleyed home by a waiting Sam Carmichael at the back post.
The visitors pushed to try and get something out of the game but conceded a sucker punch in stoppage time from a counter-attack.
Masahiro Haruoka latched on to a long pass and evaded two Reds defenders to coolly finish beyond Isaac Richards and make it 3-1, and consign Adelaide to a second straight defeat.
The result also dents their hopes of remaining in the top six with the rest of the round’s fixtures to be played over the weekend.
Adelaide will now look to turn their attention to ladder leaders Adelaide Blue Eagles, when they meet at the VALO Football Centre next Saturday.
Adelaide United Youth host Adelaide Blue Eagles in Round 10 of the National Premier League 2019 season on Saturday, 18 May at VALO Football Centre – The Parks. Kick-off is at 3.00 PM.
