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2012/13 A-League Elimination Final
Adelaide United vs Brisbane Roar
Sunday 7th April. 5:00pm AEDT
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Referee: Chris Beath
Broadcast: Live on Fox Sports 2/2HD

How they got there – Adelaide

Adelaide managed a 1-1 draw in Perth in week 27, and coupled with the Victory’s late win in Wellington, the Reds were resigned to taking 4th spot on the A-League ladder and a home final in week 1 of the 2012/13 A-League finals.

How they got there – Brisbane

The Roar took 10 points from their last 5 matches to turn their season around, including a 3-1 win over Sydney last Thursday. That win sealed 5th spot on the ladder for the back-to-back reigning champions, and an away final in week 1 of the finals.

The statistical breakdown

Head to Head: Adelaide United 9 wins, Brisbane Roar 8 wins, 8 draws.
Head to Head (Previous 5): Adelaide United 1 wins, Brisbane Roar 2 wins, 2 draws.
At Hindmarsh Stadium: Adelaide United 6 wins, Brisbane Roar 6 wins, 3 draws.
This … Continue Reading

Andrew Durante’s comments post-match against Adelaide United may land him in hot water, but he can take solace from the fact that he’s right.

Too often are players, coaches and the media cautious to attach the unmentionable label of ‘cheat’ to their analyses of players. The word is, apparently, that one step too far in the cut-throat, highly competitive environment of modern professional football in which incidents of cheating are rife.

And it seems this caution has flowed through to the A-League’s match review panel and their treatment of the incident to which Durante was referring – Jeronimo Neumann’s second half dive that earned Durante’s teammate Ben Sigmund a red card, and the Reds a huge advantage.

Durante’s words weren’t too far off the mark. Diving is cheating. Plain and simple. It’s not necessarily a condemnation of Jeronimo’s character; we’ve seen enough of the Argentine in the first month of the season to know that his contribution to the … Continue Reading

I envisage another tough year for United, Australia’s best performers in the Asian Champions League, but for one reason or another cannot switch this to domestic success. Losing a 2-0 lead at home last week in leg one of their quarter final will shatter any confidence built up in the preseason.

One thing you cannot go past at Adelaide is their fans; 10,000 plus midweek last week sets up a tremendous platform for their supporters to build on. Home games were hardly a fortress last season where fans saw many a lead slip from their grasp, which only resulted in two home wins all season. A very unpredictable team, and I see them missing out on the post-season once again.

PREDICTION: 9th

BEST FINISH: Premiers, 2005-06

THE SIGNING: Jeronimo Neumann is a playmaker from Argentina, he has good credentials, but I can’t say I, or most A-League fans, know too much about him.

THE LOSS: Speculation is that Sergio Van Dijk is on his way out of … Continue Reading

Position: 9th

Change in position from 2010/11: ↓ 6

Win-draw-loss record: 5-10-12
(26 goals scored, 44 goals conceded)

Highest goalscorer: Sergio van Dijk (8)

Average attendance: 8,829

It was a tumultuous season for Adelaide United in 2011/12, with the sacking of Rini Coolen mid-way through the season after a less than stellar start that yielded only 2 wins from the opening 11 games. Hopes were high pre-season with the signings of Socceroos Jon McKain and Dario Vidosic, and the return of Bruce Djite to Hindmarsh Stadium. However, the season didn’t start as planned. Adelaide scored only 8 goals and conceded 21 in the 11 games Coolen managed before his eventual sacking. Management and the fans weren’t happy with the formation being fielded by Rini, as it was neither producing results at the pointy end of the field nor was it keeping the opposition out at the other. The arrival of former manager John Kosmina to take over the reigns brought a new captain (Eugene Galekovic), … Continue Reading