Dodd’s two goals, plus a Lucas Pantelis stunner and an own goal from Melbourne’s Ljubo Milicevic gave Aurelio Vidmar a night to remember in the South Australian rain.

Adelaide moved level on points with Melbourne after this victory as the current champion saw its 10 match unbeaten run ended in comprehensive fashion.
It went some way to easing the pain of last season’s grand final humiliation with the home fans getting full value for money in an entertaining encounter.

Speaking at the final whistle Pantelis said: “We had a few players out but the boys who came in stepped up and we’ve got a good victory. There was a patch there where they had us on the ropes but to our credit we’ve stuck by it and come off with a good result.”

"It was a very good performance, there is no question about that," said Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar.

"I think we've been threatening to score three or four goals for most of this season.

"We've created a lot of chances over the past six or seven weeks and just lacked a little bit of quality finishing but tonight it all came together."

Dez Giraldi, Jason Spagnuolo and Pantelis were all handed starts by coach Aurelio Vidmar as the hosts faced up to the loss of Nathan Burns, Bruce Djite, Paul Agostino and Kristian Sarkies due to a combination of international call ups and injuries.

Ernie Merrick, already without Daniel Piorkowski and Leigh Broxham through injury and Grant Brebner through suspension, was also unable to call on the services of captain Kevin Muscat, a knee problem and torn thigh ruling the no-nonsense midfielder out of this round eight encounter between two fierce rivals. On the plus side for Merrick he was able to welcome back the experienced Ljubo Milicevic for the first time in almost two months.

Former Adelaide United man Matthew Kemp returned to Hindmarsh in a midfield role for the visitors.

Melbourne’s fans had travelled in numbers with one group unfurling a banner to remind their hosts of the scoreline when the teams met in last season’s grand final.

The chief tormenter that day of course was Archie Thompson and he started in attack for the Victory this evening alongside Danny Allsopp and Leandro Love in a 4-3-3 formation. Sebastian Ryall was given a second start at the back by Merrick.

Melbourne broke quickly in the first two minutes with Allsopp getting his head to Jo Keenan’s left wing cross but couldn’t keep the ball down.
A wonderful pass from Spagnuolo put Pantelis clear on four minutes but the Adelaide man dragged his angled shot wide of the right upright as the Victory defence momentarily switched off.

As play switched quickly to the other end in a lively and entertaining start to the game Carlos Hernandez whipped over a terrific ball from the right, Allsopp flicked his head to the left but Adelaide keeper Daniel Beltrame moved smartly to his right to hold on to the ball.

Adelaide pushed forward and really should have taken the lead in the sixth minute. Pantelis was desperately unlucky as his long range piledriver thundered against the underside of the crossbar with Michael Theoklitos well beaten. Giraldi produced an air shot as he attempted to pounce on the rebound and the visitors scrambled the ball clear.

The home side went in front on 14 minutes as Spagnuolo whipped in a set piece from the left and the ball seemed to flick off Milicevic and the right post before crossing the line with Diego and Travis Dodd in close attendance.

No sooner had Adelaide taken the lead then skipper for the night Dodd doubled it. He coolly cut inside Steve Pantelidis and angled a shot just inside the left post to continue his impressive scoring run against the Victory. He has netted in the last four encounters in all competitions against Merrick’s men.

Two should have been three on 18 minutes with Giraldi failing to force the loose ball past Theoklitos after the visiting keeper had kept out a fierce low drive from Spagnuolo. The visitors had a glorious, if undeserved, chance to halve the deficit on 21 with Love picking out Allsopp from the right but the forward blazed high and wide from inside the area.

Adelaide’s new-look starting eleven looked full of confidence and all this without the club’s ‘stars’. Crisis, what crisis and who says international weekend means a huge drop in quality?

Love tried his luck with a long range strike on 26 minutes but his effort flew high and wide as he was swiftly closed down by the home defence.

Diego took advantage of a ricochet two minutes later but couldn’t find the back of the net from an acute angle. Hernandez was then booked for a foul on the same player following Kemp into the referee’s notebook.

Adelaide looked sharper in possession, sharper in thought and quicker to the ball as the rattled champions tried to find a way back into the match. No question, the visitors lacked the grit and snarl of Messrs Muscat and Brebner.
Cassio’s free-kick from the right was easily gathered by Theoklitos following a clumsy foul on Diego while opposite number Beltrame comfortably gathered a set piece pumped into his box at the other end of the pitch.

The Hyundai A-League’s leading scorer Archie Thompson was being comfortably kept in check by Ang Costanzo and Robbie Cornthwaite.

Hernandez got plenty of power on a 44th minute shot from 35 metres but his strike fizzed high and wide of Beltrame’s goal as the Victory desperately looked for a boost before the break.

As the first half entered stoppage time Cassio produced a wonderful scissor-kick volley from just outside the box, which whistled just wide of the left post.

Out of nothing, Victory grabbed a lifeline as Thompson’s powerful strike from the edge of the area flew into the net to give Merrick’s men some hope that they barely deserved.

Dodd just put too much weight on a ball through to Spagnuolo in the opening four minutes of the second half as Adelaide looked to restore its two-goal lead.

Play was halted on 51 minutes by Mark Shield as a flare was thrown on to the pitch from the Adelaide section by some mindless fan. Thankfully it was just a brief stoppage as last season’s top two resumed battle.

Pantelidis was shown the yellow card for a shuddering challenge on Costanzo while Love got the ball stuck under his feet as he attempted to wriggle clear of Alagich on 58 minutes.

Victory looked far more composed as the match ticked towards the hour mark with Adelaide’s earlier dominance fading somewhat. Twice in quick succession Beltrame was forced to punch clear inswinging corners from the left as Adelaide struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

Against the run of play, Adelaide restored the two-goal cushion, skipper Dodd getting between two Melbourne defenders to meet Alagich’s pinpoint cross and power a header past Theoklitos on 63. His second of the night and put Melbourne’s long unbeaten run in real jeopardy.

Diego found space to fire a low drive wide of the left upright as the visitors replaced Love with Caceres while Vidmar introduced Shaun Ontong for the hard-working Giraldi.

Merrick’s second change saw Daniel Vasilevski replace Ryall as the match moved into its final quarter.

Ontong couldn’t quite get his head to Pantelis’ lofted ball from the left as the Hindmarsh faithful urged their team forward in search of a fourth goal.
The visitors final throw of the dice saw Adeliade old boy Kemp replaced by Kaz Patafta for the last 20 minutes. Another wayward effort from Hernandez drew sarcastic cheers from the home fans as three points crept ever closer.

Diego ghosted in at the back post to find the side-netting following a corner from the right as Vidmar’s men looked to kill off their visitors once and for all.

Ontong was cautioned for catching Pantelidis with his studs while Allsopp saw a ‘goal’ ruled out for offside at the other end.

Vargas whipped the ball away from Pantelis and from the resulting corner Dodd rose well to get a header on target.

Milicevic was yellow carded for a late challenge on Jonas Salley as the cards mounted up in a match that was being played in a largely good but competitive spirit.

Thompson should have pulled one back four minutes from time as Adelaide got a touch sloppy at the back but the Socceroo striker couldn’t force his shot past Beltrame from just inside the box. Three-two at that stage would have teed up a nerve-jangling finish for the United fans.

Instead, it was United who finished with a flourish as Pantelis crashed a stunning strike into the top right hand corner of the net from the edge of the area, a goal he thoroughly deserved on the night.
That was that, thank you very much and good night.

FourFourTwo says:
A cracking evening's entertainment with Adelaide at last having something to cheer about against Ernie Merrick's men. The home team responded superbly in the absence of Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite with those stepping in taking full advantage of their opportunities. Melbourne must be sick of the sight of Travis Dodd and what an absolute belter from Lucas Pantelis. What was that about the A-League being boring this year?