Adelaide United have advanced to the quarter finals of the FFA Cup 2018 after grinding out a 1-0 win over Lions FC at Perry Park on Wednesday night.
Craig Goodwin’s 32nd minute goal proved the difference in what was a cagey Round of 16 affair where the hosts made it tough for Adelaide to play with any fluidity.
Marco Kurz made just the one alteration to his starting XI that defeated Central Coast Mariners 3-0 in the Round of 32. Michael Marrone replaced Ryan Strain, while there was a place for new recruit Ben Halloran on the bench along with young midfielder Louis D’Arrigo.
It was a disjointed start by the Reds as they struggled to find rhythm in their game and misplaced a number of passes.
Paul Izzo was made to feel worse for wear when he collided with Jheison Macuace, but the goalkeeper remained on the park.
As Adelaide still found it difficult to stamp their authority on the contest, Izzo went down still suffering the effects of that earlier coming together.
And the hiatus in play appeared to benefit the visitors three minutes later. Josh Brindell-South’s failed clearance from Mirko Boland’s cross fell to the winger, who calmly finished past custodian Luke Borean.
The Reds carried a slender advantage into the second-half and should have doubled their lead from the re-start.
An awful bounce denied Goodwin from getting a brace and the Queensland side nearly equalising through Jean Carlos Solorzano.
The former Brisbane Roar striker saw his header at the near post ricochet off the woodwork.
The Costa Rican talisman then had another header land inches wide, as it crashed into the side netting from Mitchell Hore’s cross.
But Adelaide held on and despite United’s performance being far from aesthetic on the eye, they managed to carve out a hard-fought victory.
Key moments:
32’ | GOAL! Goodwin opens the scoring from six yards out following a costly mistake by Brindell-South, which occurs against the run of play.
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46’ | Kitto’s low cross from the left bounces at an awkward height for Goodwin in what would have been an easy tap in from inside the six-yard box.
53’ | Goodwin delivers Scott Galloway’s cross back into the area and Boland meets it but can’t direct his free header on target.
58’ | Solorzano’s flicked header strikes the near post, much to the relief of Izzo.
Match details:
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
FFA Cup 2018 Round of 16
Lions FC 0
Adelaide United 1 (Goodwin 32’)
Venue: Perry Park
