Adelaide United survive late scare to beat North Queensland Fury

North Queensland Fury scored a late goal but it wasn’t enough as Adelaide United overcame them 3-2 at Dairy Farmers Stadium tonight.

A-League Round 4
North Queensland Fury: 2 (Isaka Cernak 8’, David Williams 87’)
Adelaide United: 3 (Marcos Flores 22’, Brett Studman (og) 50’, Daniel Mullen 56’)

Venue: Dairy Farmers Stadium
Crowd: 6,130
Referee: Peter Green
Yellow cards: NQF - Osama Malik 46’
AU - Iain Ramsay 84’

The Fury started perfectly when Isaka Cernak GOAL finished with a well-directed header from a Eugene Sseppuya cross in just the 8th minute, sparking a full team celebration from the home side.

But Adelaide struck back 14 minutes later through midfielder Marcos Flores. GOAL The Argentine import controlled Sergio van Dijk’s chip brilliantly with his chest before turning and scoring with a spectacular sideways volley past Justin Pasfield to make it 1-1.

The Reds were on top after their equaliser and looked threatening on plenty of occasions but the Fury managed to hold them out and go into the break on level terms.

Immediately after the break, the Reds used their dominance to take the lead. GOAL Mathew Leckie found acting captain Lucas Pantelis in the middle of the area and the midfielder’s left-footed shot took a slight deflection off Fury’s Brett Studman and in for goal number two to the visitors.

Not long after, Adelaide had a third GOAL when Pantelis’ pinpoint corner was met at the front post by Daniel Mullen and the young defender finished with a lovely angled header to make it 3-1.

From the 70-minute mark, the Fury mad their intentions clear by pushing hard to get back into the contest and they breathed some life into proceedings when substitute Dyron Daal found David Williams on the right flank in the 87th minute. GOAL The speedy striker moved strongly into the box before unleashing an unerring left-footed drive which gave Reds keeper Eugene Galekovic no chance.

The Fury were up and about but were unable to change the scoreline in the final few minutes as the Reds notched up their second win in a row.

Starting Line-Ups

NQF
Justin Pasfield (gk), Jack Hingert (McDonald 68’), Mark Hughes, Gareth Edds, Eugene Sseppuya, David Williams, Chris Payne, Simon Storey, Osama Malik (Daal 71’), Brett Studman, Isaka Cernak

Subs - Jerrad Tyson (gk), Brad McDonald (68’), Ufuk Talay, Dyron Daal (71’)

AU
Eugene Galekovic (gk), Iain Fyfe, Daniel Mullen, Cassio, Lucas Pantelis, Adam Hughes, Sergio van Dijk (Ramsay 76’), Marcos Flores (Keenan 81’), Paul Reid, Mathew Leckie, Cameron Watson

Subs - Mark Birighitti (gk), Joe Keenan (81’), Inseob Shin, Iain Ramsay (76’)