Two Games, Two Codes, One Glorious Weekend

Adelaide's big weekend has come and gone, as Phill Chadwick reports many in the City of Churches are still recovering.

My throat is still recovering from the weekend's football. It's a small price to pay for a glorious few days.

On Friday night, I was there at Hindmarsh Stadium to witness a gritty, gutsy win, against the odds, by Adelaide United.

On Saturday, I was at home, watching a hapless Port Power being humiliated by the Adelaide Crows. I love it when the opposition can be described as hapless!

Adelaide United's remarkable 11th second goal had the look of a rehearsed move, and, with no replay screen at the ground, I feel sorry for anyone that wasn't paying attention. That goal had the potential to really open up the match, and for the next few minutes, while Melbourne got over their shell-shock, that is how it looked.

Then, disaster. The trigger-happy referee single-handedly turned the game into a desperate, defensive effort. I did see Alagitch's tackle live, but since I was 50 metres or so away, it was hard to tell how bad it was.

Why is there no replay screen at the ground? The Melbourne player involved really made a meal of it, in the worst tradition of over-reaction. Why can't referees see that the rolling about and writhing on the ground is fake? When you are really hurt, you lie still.

Moving around only makes it worse. The tackle, seen in replay on TV, deserved a free kick, a stern talking to, maybe a yellow card, but to pull out the red card that early in the game was unnecessary, to say the least.

The complexion of the game was, inevitably, changed from that moment on. Adelaide United had to restructure, and Melbourne had to take on the challenge of playing against 10 men. Contrary to logic, playing 11 against 10 can be a very difficult task.

Adelaide managed to survive, protect the slim lead, and hold out to the final whistle. The small group of Melbourne supporters at the match had been silenced. As one of them glumly remarked on the way out of the ground, it is a long drive back to Melbourne when you have lost.

What lessons have we learned from the game?

One, Adelaide United have some real grit and backbone in them. Beltrame, Costanzo and Veart stood out for me as the best of a very good bunch. The whole group look supremely fit, running out the game well, despite 75 minutes chasing the spare man.

Two, the referee made a bad mistake that changed the course of the game. In my opinion, there are too many cards being issued. With only four games each week, surely the quality of officials should be way ahead of the old NSL. Are these the best we have?

Three, Adelaide play a tough, take no prisoners game. If you come to Hindmarsh be ready for a hard, physical contest. Both last week and this week we saw the embarrassing spectacle of players exaggerating their injuries. Stop rolling around on the ground, be a man, get up and get on with it.

Four, Adelaide United are top of the table! And Melbourne are bottom! What a feeling walking out of the stadium at the end of the match, three more points in the bag. Catch us if you can.

And then, on Saturday, the Crows hammered the Power. How Sweet It Is ...

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