Reds smack four past Roar

A brace from Bruce Djite and a classic Marcelo Carrusca curling goal saw Adelaide United past Brisbane Roar, registering the Reds’ second consecutive away win and stretching their undefeated streak to eight matches.

A first-half own goal from Corey Brown, followed by a Bruce Djite double and a stoppage-time Marcelo Carrusca classic, outweighed an Henrique penalty, giving the Reds a 4-1 win in Queensland. 

Perfect conditions greeted the two sides at Suncorp Stadium, with the Hyundai A-League’s two best possession-holding sides looking to knock the ball about as much as possible in the opening stages. 

But it was the hosts, Brisbane, who enjoyed the majority of the ball throughout the match, although they struggled to break down United’s resilient defence. So much so that, against the run of play, it was the Reds to create the best chance of the opening ten minutes, when George Mells thread a beautiful through-ball for Bruce Djite, but the striker’s effort was saved by the legs of Michael Theo. 

Djite then looked to have been fouled on the edge of the box by former Red, Daniel Bowels, but referee, Jarred Gillett, waved play on, the No. 11 proving a constant nuisance to the Roar centre-halves. 

As the first-half progressed, however, it was Craig Goodwin that became the most dangerous Red on the park, the winger the man to provide the assist to the match’s opener. Goodwin created space wide on the left flank and drilled a low cross into the box in the direction of Pablo Sánchez, who applied enough pressure for Corey Brown to slot the ball into his own net. 

For the remainder of the half, the Reds found it difficult to get on the ball, the Roar holding possession, but continued to struggle in making chances. 

Then, at the start of the second half, Brisbane were gifted a dubious penalty which Henrique made no mistake in converting. 

But the scores didn’t remain even for long, as Dylan McGowan was blatantly fouled when he made a surging run to the back post and was bundled over by Jack Hingert. Djite made no mistake from the spot-kick, slotting home his first goal of the season in emphatic style. 

Eleven minutes later, Djite doubled his tally when he was fed through on goal by Tarek Elrich, the striker making no mistake with his finish, beating Theo and making it 3-1 to the visitors. 

Elrich then turned provider again, when he went on an adventurous run and laid the ball off for Carrusca, who whipped an outrageous, curling effort into the far corner of the net to round off a fantastic night for the Reds. 

Yet the Reds’ victory was soured when Eli Babalj was stretchered off with a suspected knee injury, after he landed very awkwardly. 

Following the match, United Head Coach, Guillermo Amor, praised the hard work of his players and credited it to the Reds’ current impressive form, as well as for the win over the Roar. 

“Sometimes things are bad, but sometimes things are good,” Amor explained. “In this moment things are going well for us and it was a good win. 

“We’re going in a good way and this is because of the hard work from our players. They are the reason we’re doing well.

“Even in the worst moments, the team never gave up and continued to work with a very positive attitude and intensity. 

“We deserve to go through what we’re going through now, not before.” 

Amor also commented on the injury sustained by Babalj, saying: “It looks bad. We will wait for his knee to be checked tomorrow when we get back to Adelaide, but it’s possible that it will be a problem.”

Match details: 
Friday, 22 January 2016
Hyundai A-League Round 16
Brisbane Roar 1 (Henrique 50’)
Adelaide United 4 (Brown (OG) 19’ Djite 56’ 67’ Carrusca 90+2’)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 12,923