A-League: Adelaide United edge Melbourne Victory in scrappy affair

Joe Wright

A-League: Adelaide United edge Melbourne Victory in scrappy affair image

Adelaide United claimed a second win in a row over Melbourne Victory on Friday as George Blackwood secured a 1-0 victory on Friday.

The 21-year-old's header in the 81st minute settled a scrappy Original Rivalry clash at Coopers Stadium that boosts their chances of hosting rights for their first match in the finals series.

Chances were scarce in something of a nervy first half, although Ola Toivonen and Nikola Mileusnic each came close to breaking the deadlock just before the break.

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Georg Niedermeier sent a header narrowly wide, but Blackwood made no mistake with what proved to be the only effort on target of the match, meeting Isaias' cross from the right and powering the ball beyond goalkeeper Matthew Acton.

The home side saw out a result that puts them within touching distance of a fourth-place finish, while Victory are now certain to end the regular season in third place in the table.

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.