Adelaide close on knockout stage
May 07, 2008

ADEALIDE United are one point from securing a place in the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League after recording a tense 1-0 victory over a weakened Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Brazilian midfielder Diego's emphatic second half strike was enough to claim all three points for United to maintain a two-point lead in Group E, and the Reds will progress if they win or draw their final match against second-placed Changchun Yatai in China.

Diego, however, will miss that match after collecting his second yellow card of the tournament, a loss softened somewhat by the return of defensive general Angelo Costanzo from his own one-match suspension.

The result provided a fitting Adelaide send-off for full-back Richie Alagich, who will retire from football following the Changchun match. He was farewelled with real warmth by a crowd of 11,805 spectators.

United coach Aurelio Vidmar offered rich praise to his men for surviving a searching mental and technical test.

"It was a real tense game tonight, really tense, but I thought our boys were absolutely brilliant," he said. "Really rock solid across the back, through the midfield and up front, so really proud of how they performed, because it wasn't an easy game. I wouldn't mind having a B team like (Pohang's)."

Pohang coach Sergio Farias said Adelaide would get the result they needed in China in a fortnight.

"It's going to be difficult because the game is in China, but Adelaide have the maturity of game to win outside of Australia," he said. "They deserved the victory tonight."

United begun the night hoping for a favour from Vietnamese minnows Binh Duong against Changchun to assure them of a spot in the next phase a game early, but the Chinese side led 3-0 at half-time to render that hope forlorn.

The Reds had far more trouble finishing off a determined but makeshift Pohang side featuring only a handful of the players from the previous meeting between the sides.

Lucas Pantelis did well at left-back in place of knee injury victim Cassio, but he was missed further up the park as the Reds pressed hard through midfield without the right amount of attacking composure.

Kristian Sarkies and Diego flashed shots wide of either post, and Jonas Salley headed off-target close to half-time.

The match meandered for the first 15 minutes after the interval, Pohang making a little more headway into Adelaide territory and notching their first shot on target through Song Changho.

A spark was desperately needed, and it came through a driving run and finish from Diego on 63 minutes.

Taking possession on the edge of the Pohang penalty area, he had Nathan Burns in support but chose to beat two defenders before ripping a shot beyond goalkeeper Shin Hwa Yong.

Relieved to be leading, the Reds were close to losing Robert Cornthwaite in the 66th minute, but his lunging challenge on Cho Han Bum went without a second yellow card from lenient Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov.

Adelaide threatened a second goal through the industry of Burns, but he was unable to complete numerous searching runs with a precision pass.

Lacking a second goal, the closing minutes were nervy for the home side, with Alagich saving the night when he headed clear after goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic completely misjudged a cross.