Asian Football Confederation - Champions League 2012

Galekovic takes Reds to Quarter Finals
by Chris Dunkerley (with AFC Media)

Group G - Round of 16
7:00pm, Tuesday 29 May, 2012
at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide


Adelaide United FC 1 (Jon McKain 42')
defeated
Nagoya Grampus Eight FC 0

Adelaide United defeated Nagoya Grampus of Japan 1-0 in the AFC Champions League round of 16 knock out game in front of nearly 10,000 fans.

You would have to say that Adelaide 'keeper Eugene Galekovic took Reds to Quarter Finals singlehanded with two world-class saves, although of course it was Jon McKain's 42nd minute goal bundled over the line that told in the end.

Galekovic brilliantly denied Socceroo striker Josh Kennedy's header in the first half with a backward lunge to his left that kept the striker's looping header out, before also acrobatically saving a header from Nagoya substitute Mu Kanazaki with 15 minutes remaining with a similar move to his right.

“What can you say about Eugene’s performance last night…one of the saves he made, that might happen once every two or three years if you’re lucky but he’s made two in one game,” Kosmina said. “You look at the Pohang game (at Hindmarsh back on April 18) and he made a similar save in that one as well. You look at where we are now, it is a team game but goalkeepers – the ones that make the special saves that win you games, that is when you say you’ve really got a world class keeper on your books and we have. When you look at the quality that he’s produced over the years he’s one of the best in the country, if not the best.”

“Tactically we could have adjusted but technically they (Nagoya) are a really good side, they had some quality players right across the park and they had a couple of big units as well. They’re all good athletes, they’re all technically adept, but for us to compete and survive at that level, it says a lot about the players, how much they want to win and their desire to win.”

“I am not really disappointed,” said Nagoya coach Dragan Stojkovic. “We tried to play good football and to get a good result, but obviously we are not good enough in front. We don’t know how to score a goal and we paid the price. Adelaide is a team who we knew would be strong on set plays and they were very lucky to score one goal and that was enough to win. We played well, but football is a game where you have to score a goal if you want to win. We didn’t use our chances and the AFC Champions League is finished for us this year. Galekovic was absolutely fantastic and he was the MVP, the hero of the game.”

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