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Pride of South Australia

A homegrown save with Adelaide United
Started on 31 October 2024 by Feliks
Latest Reply on 7 February 2025 by Feliks
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  • VIEWS1871
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Feliks's avatar Group Feliks
3 monthsEdited

Match Report: Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners


A-League Regular Season | 20 October 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
"The A-League season kicked off in Adelaide on Friday night, with the reigning champions Central Coast travelling to face Adelaide United in front of a crowd of just over 10,000. It saw the managerial debuts for both Hugo Montgomery and Mark Jackson, and also included arguably the two best youth development clubs in the league with both sides fielding a number of highly talented prospects including Adelaide's Nestory Irankunda, Ethan Alagich and Luka Jovanovic as well as Central Coast's Max Balard, Harry Steele and Josh Nisbet."
Lineups


Match Events


Final Result


Match Stats


Top Performers


Manager's Verdict
"It was a disappointing start to the season, the Mariners dealt with us very well. They shut down our wide areas and dominated possession, limiting the effectiveness of our wingers and making it a low-scoring, slow game. They looked the most likely to break the deadlock and did so through Kuol who proved to be a handful for our centre backs all game."
Feliks's avatar Group Feliks
3 monthsEdited


October 2023




The A-League season kicks off in late October, which means the Reds only played two league matches this month, including the previously mentioned season opener against the Mariners.

They got a chance to redeem themselves at home in Matchday 2, hosting Melbourne City who have won the last three 'premierships' - the leaders at the end of the regular season - and are expected to challenge for silverware once again in 2023/24.

There's a feeling around the club that it may take time for the new signings and system to gel, but an understanding that results are needed to give faith and hope to the fans.

Results

A-League Matchday 1 | 20th October 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 2 | 28th October 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


Standings

A-League Ladder


A-League Stats Leaders


Manager's Comments
"After a disappointing opener, I was really happy with how we controlled proceedings against Melbourne City. The very young striker partnership between Jovanovic and Toure is continuing to work well, which allows me to keep playing Borrello and Irankunda, arguably our two best players, in their natural positions on the wings. We're still figuring out our optimal centre back pairing, we have a lot of options but no standouts aside from perhaps Alexandar Popovic whose potential means I'll try to play him as often as possible."
Injury Report


Next Month


November 2023




After a couple of games in late October with mixed results, we played three games in November either side of an international break including an 'Original Rivalry' derby against Melbourne Victory. The match calls on a long-standing sporting rivalry between South Australia and Victoria across multiple sports, and in the early days of the A-League when there was only one team per city, the Original Rivalry was the biggest derby in the league.

Results

A-League Matchday 3 | 5th November 2023 | AAMI Park, Melbourne


A-League Matchday 4 | 10th November 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 5 | 26th November 2023 | AAMI Park, Melbourne



Standings

A-League Ladder


A-League Stats Leaders


Manager's Comments
"A couple more wins under our belt and we sit in fourth in the table at this early stage. Our home form has been a bit worrying to start off with, with two losses from three outings, and if we want to have a real crack at the premiership we'll need to work on making Coopers Stadium a fortress. I've been happy with our front four of Borrello, Irankunda, Jovanovic and Toure and I think our mostly young backline is starting to gel together.
Injury Report


International Report


Next Month

Emerging A-League talent considering international switch



17 November 2023

Musa Toure was often touted by his older brothers as the most talented of the trio, and his first two months in the A-League have done little to dispel that notion.

But as the 18 year old makes major strides at Adelaide United with four goals in his first five league games, Football Australia will worry they could lose one of their brightest prospects for the Socceroos.

Toure turned down an invitation to join up with the Olyroos squad that faced the US Olympic team yesterday and is due to play another friendly against Iran on Monday afternoon, amidst reports he is considering switching his allegiance to Guinea.

He has represented Australia at Under-17 and Under-20 level, as did his brothers Mohamed and Al-Hassan, but both of them have been involved with the Guinea national team set-up after moving overseas to Reims and Eyupspor respectively. The Toure family were originally from Liberia, fleeing civil unrest to Guinea where the elder brothers were born before moving to Adelaide, where Musa was born.

Musa is yet to make a public decision on the matter and may choose to wait until he has secured an overseas move, which may only be a matter of time if his A-League form continues.

Adelaide starlet wins top youngster award



30 November 2023

One half of a remarkable teenaged striker duo, Luka Jovanovic has been named the ALM Young Player of the Month.

The 18 year old has begun putting together a short but storied A-League resume with five goals in his first fourteen appearances and beat out Wanderers' Dylan Scicluna and Sydney's Patrick Wood for the November award.

Jovanovic scored and assisted in Adelaide's 4-0 thumping of bitter rivals Melbourne Victory and came off the bench to equalise against Western United, a match the Reds ultimately went on to win through Nestory Irankunda.
Feliks's avatar Group Feliks
4 daysEdited


December 2023




"We encountered our first proper block of fixtures with five games in December, including a key away trip to Western Sydney to face a title challenger. Some welcome reinforcements came back from injury, and it was a perfect opportunity to try to put up some more consistent form than in the first two months of the season."

Results

A-League Matchday 6 | 3rd December 2023 | Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney


A-League Matchday 7 | 10th December 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 8 | 15th December 2023 | CommBank Stadium, Sydney


A-League Matchday 9 | 22nd December 2023 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 10 | 31st December | AAMI Park, Melbourne


Standings

A-League Ladder


A-League Stats Leaders


Manager's Comments
"We can't be too disappointed with an unbeaten month, but I definitely feel like we underperformed and dropped valuable points against inferior opposition. We failed to keep a clean sheet this month, and our backline is still a little unstable - we haven't really found a solid and reliable centre back pairing with the likes of Popovic, Barr, Warland, Malik and Welsh all rotating through there.
Injury Report


International Report


Next Month

Reds wracked by international call-ups



30 December 2023

Brandon Borrello's return to the Socceroos is just one of ten international callups set to have a major impact on Adelaide United in January.

The 28 year old's fine form in the A-League this season has seen him earn a recall for the 2024 Asian Cup, one of five A-League players in the Australian squad. But it's other tournaments overlapping the Asian Cup that will cause Hugo Montgomery the most selection headaches.

Osama Malik and Nestory Irankunda will both be heading to the Ivory Coast for AFCON, representing Sudan and Tanzania respectively, whilst Adelaide United's successful youth development has no doubt contributed to a total of seven players heading to Qatar with the Olyroos for the U23 Asian Cup, including Ethan Alagich, Steven Hall, Luka Jovanovic, Panagiotis Kikianis, Bailey O'Neil, Alexandar Popovic and Jonny Yull.

Montgomery will likely turn to his NPL squad, currently leading NPL South Australia, with the likes of defenders Giuseppe Bovalina and Fabio Talladira and forwards Jake Porter and Ryan White expected to make a step-up to A-League level in the absence of the internationals.

Adelaide sign Ipswich Town's Yengi



10 January 2024

Adelaide United have spent a nominal fee to sign Ipswich Town's Australian striker Tete Yengi, who has signed a three-year deal with his hometown club.

The 196cm forward most recently spent time on loan with Finnish Veikkausliga side KuPS, scoring eight goals in 21 appearances, before returning to Ipswich in late December. Yengi was considered unlikely to sign a new deal with the Tractor Boys and Adelaide United moved quickly to secure his signature.

He last featured in the A-League briefly with Newcastle Jets in 2021, making nine appearances, after moving through the youth systems of NPL South Australia clubs Croydon Kings and Adelaide Comets. His older brother Kusini, a former Adelaide United player, is currently in England with Portsmouth.

The arrival of Yengi will be a welcome boost to Reds manager Hugo Montgomery, who is currently without ten first team squad members on international duty including star forwards Brandon Borrello, Nestory Irankunda and Luka Jovanovic.

Dukuly returns to Coopers



17 January 2024

Adelaide United are pleased to announce that Yaya Dukuly has returned to the club signing a deal that will see him contracted until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Yaya has spent the last 18 months with Ligue 1 side Reims, featuring for their youth and reserve squads, and hopes that this foray overseas will aid his development going forward. He is looking forward to adding to his 14 A-League appearances.


January 2024




"January was always going to be a difficult month, with massive personnel issues due to international duty and injury. Some of our fringe players and academy prospects would get a taste of first team football and the name of the game was to try and salvage as many points as possible until the cavalry returned."

Results

A-League Matchday 11 | 4th January 2024 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 12 | 14th January 2024 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 13 | 20th January 2024 | Ironbark Fields, Melbourne


A-League Matchday 14 | 25th January 2024 | AAMI Park, Melbourne



Standings

A-League Ladder


A-League Stats Leaders


Manager's Comments
"Well, tough months for player personnel but I think to come out the other side with five points is a decent haul, and means we remain in third place and within touching distance of first with just under half of the regular season fixtures to go. The addition of Tete Yengi has been a revelation and our attacking play is second to none in the league, but it's been nearly two months since we kept a clean sheet and our backline appears to bereft of confidence."
Injury Report


Next Month



Reds keeper in confidence crisis



26 January 2024

Joe Gauci's footballing pedigree cannot be doubted, with the 23 year old establishing himself as one of the A-League's premier keepers over the last three years and making his Socceroos debut last year against Ecuador.

But the man many consider to be the long term replacement for Mat Ryan in the Australian set-up is currently low on confidence after a long sequence without a clean sheet in the A-League.

Gauci's last clean sheet came in Adelaide's famous 4-0 win at AAMI Park over Melbourne Victory in early November, and since then has conceded 20 goals in 11 matches.

It's unlikely that Gauci will be dropped any time soon, with Adelaide United's goalkeeper stocks consisting of developing youngsters Ethan Cox and Steven Hall rather than a genuine number 2.

Gauci can perhaps take solace in the fact that it's been a lean season for goalkeepers in general in the A-League, with his two clean sheets putting him equal fourth in the standings for goalkeepers. Danny Vukovic (Mariners) and Filip Kurto (Macarthur) each have four.

Benfica sign Tanzanian 'wonderkid'



29 January 2024

Liga Portugal Bwin giants SL Benfica have announced the future signing of Adelaide United's Tanzanian winger Nestory Irankunda, for a fee in the region of £1.3 million.

The 17 year old will join in July due to international transfer rules prohibiting the sale of under-18 players abroad, continuing his A-League campaign with Adelaide United in the meantime.

Irankunda was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp to Burundian parents, and grew up in Australia. Despite heavy interest from his adopted country's national team, he's already made six appearances for Tanzania and played twice for the Taifa Stars at the recent AFCON in the Ivory Coast.

Adelaide United also accepted bids from Olympique Marseille and Sporting CP for Irankunda's services, with the starlet reportedly choosing Benfica due to their strong track record of producing young talents in recent times including Joao Felix and Alejandro Grimaldo.

January 2024 Transfer Window Roundup



All A-League Transfers


Biggest Deals Around the World




February 2024




"With an almost full strength squad back after international duty in January, February looms as the perfect opportunity to put some runs on the board. We played three games at home including a couple of struggling teams, so picking up as many points as possible was vital."

Results

A-League Matchday 15 | 2nd February 2024 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 16 | 9th February 2024 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


A-League Matchday 17 | 17th February 2024 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney


A-League Matchday 18 | 24th February 2024 | Coopers Stadium, Adelaide


Standings

A-League Ladder


A-League Stats Leaders


Manager's Comments
"Aside from a 0-0 draw with the Mariners which will feel like a couple of points that got away, it was a brilliant month for us as we tore teams apart. A couple of clean sheets is an added bonus too, but thirteen goals in three matches is definitely the highlight as well as the incredible goalscoring form of our new signing Tete Yengi."
Injury Report


Next Month



Jovanovic attracts Japanese interest



12 February 2024

Adelaide United's emerging striker Luka Jovanovic has been the subject of two confirmed bids from J1-League clubs, the Advertiser can confirm.

Nagoya Grampus and Yokohama F. Marinos - managed by Australian Kevin Muscat - submitted bids in the region of $400,000, but both were rejected by the AUFC hierarchy who are believed to be holding out for a fee of around $1.6 million with Jovanovic under contract until 2026.

The eighteen year old has scored four goals in thirteen A-League appearances this season and is being touted as a future Socceroo with a lack of forward talent in recent memory for the national team.

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