A stunning fifth-minute strike from Terry Antonis has proved enough for Melbourne City to record a 1-0 A-League Men victory over Adelaide United at AAMI Park.
Thursday night's win snapped a run of consecutive losses for the home side and moved them up to fifth on the table, leapfrogging Macarthur FC only on goal difference.
"It was a more even game for us in terms of our consistency, a lot more intensity, a lot more intent, we scored a nice goal, sure we had hairy moments in the second half," said a pleased City coach Aurelio Vidmar.
"But we probably could've been a lot more cleaner in that front third; always the wrong option tonight or instead of making the right pass at the right moment, we ended up having that extra touch, two extra touches and lost momentum."
The Reds were under siege inside 30 seconds with Scott Galloway charging down the left and crossing for Jamie Maclaren, who swept his shot just over the bar from close range.
But the early pressure told on five minutes.
Leo Natel found Tolgay Arslan, who laid off for Terry Antonis. The City midfielder ran on to the pass and, without breaking stride, let fly first time from outside the area to leave James Delianov no chance in goal.
Adelaide eventually worked their way back into the contest and on the half hour City had Jamie Young to thank for ensuring their lead remained intact.
The shot stopper produced a stunning reflex save to deny Hiroshi Ibusuki, whose near-post header from Zach Clough's corner was destined for the back of the net.
Nestory Irankunda had a couple of chances late in the half, but Young was again equal to the task.
The two sides traded blows following the interval, creating a lively opening to the second half.
Irankunda continued to look dangerous while City attacker Ben Mazzeo had two chances from the right wing, first cutting inside and curling a shot past the far post with his left foot before firing wide with his right.
On 78 minutes, Irankunda squandered a golden chance to equalise. Following a City corner, the 17-year-old winger robbed Callum Talbot just before the halfway line and took off towards Young's goal with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Before shaping to shoot on the edge of the area, the Bayern Munich-bound attacker appeared to change his mind and attempt to dribble past Young. The City 'keeper won the battle and thwarted the attack.
The game opened up in the closing stages as United pushed for an equaliser and City looked to kill off the contest on the counter.
"Tonight wasn't a great performance from us," Reds coach Carl Veart admitted.
"At times we had some opportunities, we had a lot of shots, but there was no real quality, the lack of our effort at times, and intensity was not where it needed to be – not even close and in the end we got what we deserved."
