Brisbane Roar Youth have gone down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Adelaide United at Spencer Park on Friday after they were unable to break down a stout Adelaide United Youth defence.
Brisbane Roar Youth named a full strength line-up including Hyundai A-league squad members Henrique, Luke Brattan, Rocco Visconte and Andrew Redmayne for the match and dominated proceeding for the majority of the first half.
However it was Adelaide who nearly took the lead when in the 22nd minute when striker Brett Rayner beat the ‘keeper with a curling shot from just inside the box, however the ball crashed against the cross bar and into safety.
That early chance breathed life into the Adelaide Youth side and just a minute later winger Liam Wooding unleashed a powerful long range effort into the back of the net, shocking the home fans and giving the visitors a surprise 1-0 lead.
The Roar Youth looked to bounce back straight away through Henrique, with the diminutive Brazilian showcasing his array of skills and tearing through the Adelaide defence time after time.
It was the Brazilian who created the Roar Youth-s best chance of the first half after he beat two Adelaide defenders just outside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot forcing an acrobatic save from Adelaide shot stopper Nicholas Munro.
Although pushing hard for an equaliser, the Roar couldn-t break down a stout Adelaide United Youth defence leaving the away side with a 1-0 lead at the half.
Brisbane looked to come out of the gate fast in the second half, bringing on attacking players Josh McVey and Ross Archibald to inject some added spark to a tiring Roar Youth outfit.
With Henriqueoff the field, Brisbane looked to fellow livewire Rocco Visconte to lead their attack, with the speedy winger terrorizing the Adelaide backline with his pace and mazy dribbling.
Visconte-s early pressure nearly paid dividends for the Roar in the 50th minute when he broke free of his marker to go one on one with ‘keeper Munro; however the Adelaide goalkeeper had the Brisbane winger-s measure, racing off his line to smother the shot.
Unfortunately the Roar were forced to rethink their strategy in the 61st minute after Alastair Quinn-s overzealous challenge earned him a second yellow card and reduced the Roar Youth to 10 men with 30 minutes remaining.
Despite being a player down the Roar were desperate to find an equalizing goal and nearly did so in the 78th minute when, after beating two Adelaide defenders, Visconte dispatched an accurate cross to the feet of Luke Brattan 20 yards out from goal; however the young midfielder failed to take full advantage of the chance blasting his shot well above the cross bar.
Only moments later, it was Visconte again in the thick of the action, however the midfielder could not capitalise when he blasted his point blank shot, on the back of a precise cross from Chris Bush, into the chest of the Adelaide ‘keeper and over the bar.
Brisbane continued to push for an equalizer right until the final whistle, however lacked the execution to capitalise on their myriad of chances; the final whistle giving Adelaide a surprise 1-0 victory.
Brisbane Roar Youth Head Coach John Sime was disappointed with the loss; however felt there were a number of positives for his side to take out of the match.
“I thought we were very unfortunate to go down tonight, while it wasn-t the best performance from the boys they were unlucky to not get a point,” Sime said.
“Adelaide played well tonight and was up for a tough match from the outset.”
“Losing two games in only four days isn-t ideal however we will go back to the training paddock and look at how we can bounce back.”
Brisbane Roar
Adelaide United 1 (Liam WOODING 23-)
Friday, 4 February
Spencer Park, Brisbane
Referee: Jason Crow
Brisbane Roar Line Up: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Alastair QUINN, 4. Matthew BYRNE (14. Ross ARCHIBALD 46-), 5. Daniel BOWLES, 6. Joshua GROENWALD (9. Matthew THURTELL 57-), 7.Christopher BUSH (C), 8.James DONACHIE, 10. HENRIQUE (11. Josh McVEY 46-), 13. Dane MILOVANOVIC, 15. Rocco VISCONTE, 18.Luke BRATTAN.
Substitutes not used: 20. Matt ACTON (GK)
Yellow Cards: 4. Matthew BYRNE 27-, 3.Alastair Quinn 53-, 61-, 11. Josh McVEY 65-
Red Cards: Alastair QUINN 61-
Adelaide United Line Up: 1. Nicholas MUNRO, 3. Daniel SCORDO (2. Jordan ELSEY 62-) , 4. Matthew HALLIDAY, 5. Matthew MULLEN (C), 6. Bradley NORTON, 7. Liam WOODING (21. Jordan SPADAVECCHIA 63-), 9. Brett RAYNER, 10. Evan KOSTOPOULOS, 12. Jackson GROVES, 14. Kym HARRIS,
Substitutes not used: 2. Jordan ELSEY, 11. Perry MITRIS, 20. Luke Ostbye (gk)
Yellow Cards: 5. Matthew Mullen 29-, 14 Kym HARRIS 46-, 2. Jordan Elsey 72-
Red Cards: Nil
