Carrusca’s match-winner offside, says Jets coach
Marcelo Carrusca scored as Adelaide United downed Newcastle 1-0 yesterday to extend their unbeaten A-League stretch to nine games.
Carrusca’s 43rd minute goal keeps the sixth-placed Reds heaping pressure on clubs above it – Adelaide now just one point adrift of fifth-placed Sydney FC and fourth-placed Melbourne Victory.
Newcastle remain second-last after the Jets, missing wantaway star David Carney, failed to grasp their opportunities on away turf at Coopers Stadium.
The visitors enjoyed periods of command in the first half but the absence of Carney, who is seeking a return to Sydney FC, was keenly felt.
Adelaide, now with seven wins and two draws from their past nine games, edged ahead just before halftime when Carrusca struck.
Reds frontman Bruce Djite shot across the face of goal, the ball hit Adelaide’s Pablo Sanchez at speed and rebounded kindly into Carrusca’s path – unmarked, he blasted into the net from two metres out.
The Reds, before a parochial 12,434-strong home crowd, then turned the screws on the Jets with a dominant second half.
You might like
After Newcastle butchered a gilt-edged chance for an equaliser in the 53rd minute, when a Leonardo Santiago free kick found Milos Trifunovic with time and space only for his free header to drift wide, Adelaide controlled proceedings though couldn’t find another goal.
Not even the appearance of Newcastle’s prized signing, Danish attacker Morten Nordstrand, who came on from the bench in the 72nd minute, could lift the visitors, now with four wins, four draws and nine losses this season.
Newcastle boss Scott Miller said he expects Carney to show up for training after being stood down for the loss.
But Miller says he expects the 32-year-old, being courted by Sydney FC, to attend training in Newcastle on Monday, a day before the transfer window shuts.
“David Carney, my selection was that I would leave him in Newcastle, so there was an opportunity for the new signings to travel with the team,” Miller said.
“And Monday morning we go to training with David.”
Stay informed, daily
Asked if Carney would play again for the Jets, Miller said: “He is contracted to play at the club.
“Until Sydney make their decision based upon his future, he’s a contracted player.
“There is no doubt that the speculation is there that he’s in talks with Sydney FC.
“And I have always respected David Carney’s output whilst I have been here, he has been a great performer.”
The Jets sorely missed Carney’s creativity in the loss, which keeps them anchored in ninth spot on the ladder – although Miller disputed Carrusca’s match-winner.
“I’m sure it was offside,” he said.
Carrusca struck from two metres out in the 43rd minute in the defining moment of the Coopers Stadium fixture.
The Reds, now with seven wins and two draws from their past nine games, sit in sixth spot – just one point shy of fifth-placed Sydney, who they host on Friday night, and fourth-placed Melbourne Victory.
But Adelaide were made to toil for their triumph against a Jets outfit that enjoyed periods of control, particularly in the first half.
“It was difficult,” Adelaide coach Guillermo Amor said.
“It was important to win this game … Newcastle came here to win the game and in the first half played very well.”
-AAP
