I'M SURE South Australia is a lovely place to visit.
It’s the wine and food capital of Australia, has a vibrant arts and culture scene, an abundance of wildlife, ample markets, gardens and things to do, as well as amazing beaches and the stunning outback. Hell, we’ve even got TV commercials over here starring that girl from “The Strip” telling us how great it is.But I hate it. I hate Adelaide. Because every time we go there, we lose. Comfortably.
Phoenix have been to Hindmarsh three times now. Last year, things looked rosy for three minutes in round ten with Shane Smeltz scoring early.
Unfortunately the next 87 minutes were one-way traffic as Adelaide equalised almost immediately, then eased away to an unproblematic win. Incidentally, that was Mark Paston’s only A-League game last season and ironically he injured himself during it, just as he did in this most recent game.
In round three this season, Adelaide didn’t need to get much out of second gear against a Phoenix side that put in arguably the worst performance in their short history. Skipper Andrew Durante summed it up afterwards as “garbage” and not too many Phoenix fans disagreed.
It’s a measure of how pessimistic we are about away trips to Adelaide that even given Phoenix’s excellent recent form which saw them win three matches on the bounce, most fans I spoke to would have been absolutely rapt with a point on Friday night.
Instead, Phoenix were completely outplayed by a far superior side. Adelaide were quite simply better in all areas.
Cassio’s dangerous raids down the left flank and subsequent visits to the Phoenix penalty area culminated in two thumping – and almost identical – strikes, while Phoenix created very little in the attacking third.
Even Fred’s rather scrappy goal was later shown to be offside, not that it really mattered in the overall scheme of things.
So, three visits to Adelaide for three losses and an aggregate score of 13-2. Why do we have so much trouble there? We’ve won in Sydney, Newcastle, Perth and Central Coast but we just can’t win a trick in Adelaide.
In fact, Adelaide United are now officially Phoenix’s bogey team. Five A-League meetings for a return of one measly point, and that courtesy of a very late and lucky goal in round five last year, when a left-wing cross cannoned off Shane Smeltz and somehow found its way into the net.
There was so much uncertainty around the goal that Brazilian import George charged towards the dugout with arms stretched wide in celebration, believing he’d got the final touch.
Even against ten men for twenty minutes the night before the Beckham game in round fifteen last year, Phoenix conceded a late goal to lose at home.
Fortunately, as has been the case all year, Phoenix remain in the playoff hunt courtesy of an extremely tight league; a win at home on Saturday night against Perth would put them back into the top four.
That game, and the following week’s clash with Central Coast, now shape as absolutely crucial matches. Phoenix simply must pick up a minimum of four, and preferably six points in those two games if they are to enter the home strait with a realistic chance of being involved in the post-season.
If they do make it, I just hope they somehow manage to avoid a meeting with Adelaide United.