
Melbourne Victory dominated the opening opportunities at Coopers Stadium and rightfully took the lead in the eighteenth minute when Ryan Teague clipped the ball past goalie Ethan Cox following some superb link-up play from Bruno Fornaroli.
Victory then nearly added a second goal before Adelaide rallied in the thirty-first minute thanks to Stefan Mauk, a midfielder who ran past the Victory defense and guided a half-volley past goalie Jack Duncan.
Victory responded well to falling behind and eventually equalized in the 66th minute, with Brazilian Clarismario Santos producing a spectacular diving header to propel his team back into the match.
The home team then went in happy at the half after a deflected own goal from Victory captain Roderick Miranda in first-half stoppage time gave Carl Veart’s team a 2-1 lead.
The home team wasn’t held back for long, either, as five minutes later, Ethan Alagich scored their third goal from the edge of the box when his low shot bounced past Duncan and into the net, giving them the lead again with a cheering home crowd behind them.
The outcome, Adelaide’s first win in this match in five tries, propels Carl Veart’s team to the top of the table and puts them one point ahead of Auckland FC in their matchup on Wednesday night.
Regarding Melbourne Victory, the team led by Arthur Diles is still outside the top six, having lost three of their past five games and been winless since Diles took over.
Knowing that a victory would put them atop the Isuzu UTE A-League, Adelaide United entered a crowded Coopers Stadium hoping to maintain their best start to a season since 2012–13.
In lieu of regular custodian James Delianov, who pulled up sore following their victory over Wellington, young goalie Cox was chosen; nonetheless, the 22-year-old was defeated early on.
In order to participate in the build-up, Fornaroli dropped deeper. He then put a good pass into Teague’s path, who calmly sent it past Ethan Cox after running past the Socceroos forward.
In the South Australian heat, Victory, buoyed by their early score, looked for a second goal and saw a few half-chances go begging.
Adelaide sought to find a way out of first gear while Formula 1 star Valtteri Bottas watched from the stands, and they succeeded in doing so in the 31st minute.
Midfielder Mauk, who was peeling off the back of the Victory defense, timed his run well and, after catching a clipped ball over the top, shot a half-volley past Duncan and into the net.
With Coopers Stadium now rocking Ben Folami saw a fierce effort well-saved by Duncan who tipped the former Victory man’s shot over the bar.

But the momentum was with Adelaide and the Reds took the lead in first-half stoppage time thanks to an own-goal from Victory defender Miranda.
The Reds had the lead going into halftime as Josh Rawlins’ attempt to clear a Pierias cross into the box went straight into the sliding Miranda. The ball then bounced back past Duncan and into the net.
Looking to pull themselves level early in the second-half, Brazilian winger Santos lifted a good chance over the bar when put through on goal by Zinedine Machach but he soon made amends.
In the 66th minute, Daniel Arzani blasted a gift into the box that was intended for substitute Nikos Vergos’ head. However, Santos was able to connect with the ball, flying in at the back post with a diving header that sent the traveling fans into a frenzy.
Alagich, a central midfielder, was on the edge of the box at the right time to side-foot home Yaya Dukuly’s cutback in the 71st minute, blowing the roof off Coopers Stadium, but Victory’s lead didn’t last long.
With the time ticking down Victory continued to throw everything they had at Adelaide in quest of an equaliser and went close via Nishan Velupillay, however the Socceroo couldn’t steer his header on goal from a late corner and the home side held on for a critical win.