Early onslaught inspires Adelaide

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Strong-armed tactics ... Bruce Djite holds off Billy Celeski Source:News Limited

A dynamic first-half performance paves the way for Adelaide to return to top of the A-League ladder with a 4-2 win over Melbourne Victory at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Adelaide simply took their traditional rivals apart in the opening 45 minutes, with young gun Evan Kostopoulos scoring a double as the home side raced out to 4-1 half-time lead.

The pace slowed in the second half as the hot conditions took their toll but Adelaide still pressed and might have had more if not for some sloppy finishing.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Adelaide	10	7	1	2	8	22
2	Central Coast	9	6	2	1	9	20
3	Victory	10	5	1	4	-3	16
4	Newcastle	9	4	1	4	-3	13
5	Wellington	9	3	3	3	2	12
6	Perth	9	3	2	4	0	11
7	Brisbane	9	3	1	5	1	10
8	Western Sydney	9	3	1	5	-3	10
9	Heart	9	2	3	4	-1	9
10	Sydney	9	2	1	6	-10	7

Marco Rojas briefly raised Victory hopes early in the second half to bring the visitors back to within two goals, but Adelaide finished the stronger and deservedly picked up the three points.

Reds star Dario Vidosic crashed into his ex-teammate and now Victory linchpin Marcos Flores in an opening-second ripple which create a punishing physical undercurrent to the contest.

Within two minutes, Kostopoulos scored after a determined run from Fabio Ferreira.

By five minutes, Victory's Andrew Nabbout had netted a reply when superbly played into scoring position by a Rojas dash along the right side.

Adelaide went 2-1 up in the 21st minute when Ferreira scored, benefiting from a precocious volley from Marcelo Carrusca - the gifted Argentine was air-borne when he deftly used the outside of a boot to gift Ferreira the chance.

Just four minutes later, Carrusca himself scored with a sweet, curling left-footer.

And Carrusca provided another goal in the 32nd minute, the boom recruit delivering a pinpoint free kick which Kostopoulos headed into the net just metres from goal.

By half-time, there were five goals, six yellow cards and 16 fouls in a tempered affair in searing mid-30 degree heat which prompted a drinks breaks midway through the half.

And Rojas continued the hot theme just two minutes into the second half when he turned a defender inside the box and calmly netted his sixth goal for the season.

Adelaide (22 points) rose to top with the win, though second-placed Central Coast (20 points) can return to the head of the table with a win against Newcastle Jets on Saturday night.

Adelaide United coach John Kosmina praised his players for responding from their loss to Central Coast last weekend.

"It was an enjoyable victory, but all victories are enjoyable,'' Kosmina said.

"For me, football is about character as much as it is about football and the guys showed a stack of it to be able to bounce back from a loss last week.''

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou said his men were completely outplayed by the Reds.

"I don't know if it was a reality check, Adelaide was just too good for us tonight ... but I'm fairly positive about where we are heading,'' he said.

"The task against a really good attacking team was too much for us tonight.''

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