Melbourne Victory and Adelaide both struck late in front of a record crowd of over 33,000 people at Adelaide Oval to secure a 1-1 draw on Friday night.
With both teams undefeated after the opening round – and boasting one of the most fierce rivalries in the A-League – the game was an eagerly anticipated one, yet failed to reach any great heights.
A late Sergio Cirio goal looked to have secured Adelaide’s first win over Victory in over a year, however Fahid Ben Khalfallah’s 89th minute equaliser meant the spoils were shared.
The first half proved to be a very tight and cagey affair, with both teams seemingly focused more on defence than attack.
The early goal that came for the Victory a week prior against the Wanderers never materialised and instead the pair this week engaged in an 80 minute long sparring contest.
Gui Finkler created the game’s first true chance on 15 minutes, turning well following some smart wing play from Kosta Barbarouses, but his shot flew high and wide of the near post.
Adelaide were looking dangerous down the left wing, and Craig Goodwin might have scored if not for a perfectly timed tackle from Daniel Georgevski on the half-hour mark.
The hosts had two good chances late in the half. The first fell to Nigel Boogaard, as the defender saw his shot deflected out for a corner following a goal mouth scramble.
From the resulting corner, Adelaide very nearly broke the deadlock.
The ball was inadvertently flicked on by Victory striker Besart Berisha, but Cirio was unable to convert a diving header from close range.
Adelaide continued that momentum into the second half, with Bruce Djite first seeing his header well held following an innovative free-kick, before Marcelo Carrusca hit a shot directly at Nathan Coe in the Victory goal.
As the minutes ticked by, it seemed more than likely that the one goal would do it, and through Cirio, Adelaide thought they’d earned their winner.
The Spaniard latched onto a stunning through ball from Tarek Elrich – which caught sub Leigh Broxham out – before leaving Milligan for dead and firing his shot away from the outstretched Coe into the bottom corner.
It looked the winner, but as with most games between the two sides, there would be one final twist.
Melbourne won a late corner – taken by Finkler – who put a flat ball in, which fell for Ben Khalfallah, his right footed volley hitting the roof of the net, leaving Eugene Galekovic no chance.
It was cruel on the hosts, who thought they had won it, but left the away fans in raptures, knowing the result sees Victory remain top of the league, momentarily at least.
Adelaide United 1 (Cirio 85’) Drew Melbourne Victory 1 (Ben Khalfallah 89’) at Adelaide Oval
Crowd: 33,126.
Adelaide United: 1. Eugene GALEKOVIC (c) (GK), 3. Nigel BOOGAARD, 4. Dylan MCGOWAN, 16. Craig GOODWIN (22. Fabio FERREIRA 80’) , 8. ISAIAS, 10. Marcelo CARRUSCA, 18. James JEGGO, 21. Tarek ELRICH, 7. Pablo SANCHEZ (2. Michael MARRONE 89’), 9. Sergio CIRIO, 11. Bruce DJITE.
Unused Substitute(s): 30. John HALL (GK), 5. Osama MALIK, 24. Bruce KAMAU.
Yellow Cards: Elrich 50’, Sanchez 75’, Boogaard 78’.
Red Cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory: 1. Nathan COE (GK), 2. Jason GERIA (16. Rashid MAHAZI 79’), 15. Daniel GEORGEVSKI, 17. Matthieu DELPIERRE, 23. Adrian LEIJER (6. Leigh BROXHAM 64’), 5, Mark MILLIGAN (c), 7. Guillherme FINKLER, 2. Carl VALERI, 8. Besart BERISHA, 9. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10. Archie THOMPSON, (14. Fahid Ben Khalfallah 74’)
Unused Substitute(s): 20. Lawrence THOMAS (GK), 11. Connor PAIN
Yellow Cards: Leijer 30’, Finkler 54’, Milligan 68’, Ben Khalfallah 77’
Red Cards: Nil