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Daniel Petkovski's Blog
Match: Game v. Adelaide
Date: Saturday, 14/11/2009
Game v. Adelaide – Saturday 14th November, 2009
On Saturday 14th November the AIS squad travelled to Adelaide to play Adelaide United at 5.30 pm at Hindmarsh Stadium. Game preparation was severely affected due to an airline strike which meant we only arrived in Adelaide an hour before kick off. In addition, it was 40 degrees but probably 50 degrees on the pitch. To assist with this, we were allowed drink breaks every 25 mins and used iced towels when on the bench to keep us hydrated and not overheated.
Nevertheless, we played well in the first 20 mins and were rewarded with a goal to Kamal Ibrahim with a pinpoint shot just outside the box. For the next 25 mins Adelaide pressured us with some penetrating through balls which led to a corner from which they scored. So it was 1 – 1 at half time. Gary van Egmond, our coach was happy with us at halftime and told us to stay composed and play smart due to the heat such as keeping possession.
The second half was a flurry of goals. Adelaide scored first with a header ( 2 - 1 to Adelaide) then we scored after a good build up of play and Aaron Peterson slotting it home (2 – 2). A few minutes later a team change was made and sub John Martinoski scored for us with his first touch when he intercepted a goal kick (3 – 2 to us). Five minutes later Adelaide scored with a free kick (3 – 3). After a further 10 mins Adelaide scored again from a good cross (4 – 3 to them with 15 mins to go).
At this point both sides were extremely fatigued and exhausted but we were not prepared to lose. We held strong and with 10 mins to go we scored the equaliser with a stylish finish by Kamal Ibrahim (4 – 4)... In the last 10 mins we pressured the goal and had a number of chances but couldn’t convert.
So the final score was 4 – 4. While we would have liked a win, we were still pretty happy with our game because Adelaide had the maximum over age players some of who play in the A league regularly.
We are looking forward to our game this Wednesday when we travel to Brisbane to play the Roar – we are determined to get our first win.
