Adelaide United has sealed a fourth consecutive win after dismantling fierce rivals Melbourne Victory 3-1 at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night.
Riley McGree opened the scoring in the first-half before the visitors responded after half-time through Ola Toivonen on 61 minutes.
But the Reds showed immense character to instantly cancel out the equaliser as Michaël Maria bombed forward with his finish taking a deflection straight from the re-start.
McGree added a second thanks to a sensational individual run of his own six minutes later as the Reds secured a third straight triumph over Victory for the first time since 2011.
Gertjan Verbeek made one enforced change to his starting line-up with George Blackwood replacing Ben Halloran due to a hip complaint. Meanwhile, Al Hassan Toure returned via the bench following Olyroos duty.
This 50th Hyundai A-League instalment of the Original Rivalry was tipped to be extra spicy given the offseason moves of Marco Kurz and James Troisi moving in opposite directions.
But it was far from a fiery contest in the opening 45 minutes as Adelaide dominated possession.
Adelaide made a promising start as Michael Marrone recycled a corner to guide a cross into the path of Kristian Opseth.
However, the Norwegian could not generate clean contact to trouble Lawrence Thomas.
Adelaide continued to ask questions of the Victory defence, getting in behind and producing only half chances.
Blackwood had a header saved by Thomas after meeting Troisi’s early cross.
Victory barely troubled United’s backline, but on a rare foray forward they almost took the lead when Corey Brown’s shot was saved by the foot of Paul Izzo.
But United’s relentless pressure finally broke Victory’s resistance as McGree followed in Opseth’s shot after ricocheting off the post to open the scoring on 23 minutes.
It was a nervy start to the second-half from Adelaide as they were happy to allow Victory to control the tempo.
Robbie Kruse was introduced and assisted Toivonen whose emphatic volley levelled proceedings.
But parity was only fleeting when Maria accelerated forward and slotted his finish beyond Thomas to put the Reds in front.
McGree then sealed all three points with his second of the night and sixth goal in his past five games.
He picked up the ball out wide before leaving the defender in his tracks to score a stunning solo goal in the 68th minute.
It was an impressive display from Adelaide who now climb into third place in the league standings.
Key moments:
16’ | SAVE! Izzo stands tall and denies Brown with his foot after he was left unmarked at the back post
23’ | GOAL! McGree is there on the rebound to tap in Opseth’s shot which initially struck the upright.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6107926926001
61’ | GOAL: Toivonen clinically volleys home Kruse’s cross.
62’ | GOAL! Maria bursts forward from defence and combines with Mileusnić to re-take the advantage immediately.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6107938265001
68’ | GOAL! McGree’s persistence is on full display as he chases down the ball on the wing before evading his defender and rifling a low shot past Thomas.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6107936462001
Match details:
Saturday, 23 November 2019
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Season – Round 7
Adelaide United 3 (McGree 23’ 68’ Maria 62’)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Toivonen 61’)
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 12,198
