Adelaide United FC is one game away from creating history by being the first Australian club side to play in the Quarter Finals of the AFC Champions League 2008, after a second half Diego goal gave The Reds a valuable 1-0 win over the Pohang Steelers at Hindmarsh Stadium.

The Brazilian midfielder broke the deadlock with a first class finish from just inside the penalty area, to keep United two points clear at the top of Group E with one match to play in China, against fellow top of the table contenders Changchun Yatai, who demolished Binh Duong 5-0 in the other match in the group. United’s 1-0 result leaves the club only needing a draw to progress to the next round of the competition.

Nearly 12,000 spectators saw Richie Alagich lead The Reds out onto the field in his final home game for the club, the defender given the captain’s armband for the night as United looked to score its fourth win from five starts in the competition.

From the outset the home team knew it had a challenge on its hands, Pohang’s supposed ‘B’ team out to prove themselves in front of Coach Sergio Farias.

In a first half of few chances and even fewer highlights, it took 16 minutes for the first attempt on goal, Reds midfielder Kristian Sarkies’ left footed effort going wide.

Pohang’s best and only real chance of the half came in the 22nd minute when Kwang Jae Lee got around Alagich down the left, his low drive from an acute angle requiring a fist from keeper Eugene Galekovic.

United was having to resort to long balls as a well drilled Pohang defence sat back making it difficult for The Reds to manufacture any decent attacking build ups. While Adelaide struggled to get forward, its defence was holding firm, the back four which included midfielder Lucas Pantelis in at left back who was filling the injured Cassio’s position, but the defence was rarely threatened.

Just before the interval birthday boy Nathan Burns won United a corner, but Jonas Salley could not direct his header on target. With neither team willing to risk sending numbers forward, it was a frustrating opening half, particularly for The Reds, who were searching for that vital breakthrough.

The Korean champions opened the second half brightly, a long range shot from Changbo Song had Galekovic saving low down in the 47th minute.

Just as Burns did a fortnight ago, United would need a hint of brilliance to take the lead, and it came from Diego. A clever Sarkies back heel 30 metres out allowed Diego space running onto his left, but instead of pulling the trigger first time he cut back inside, and with the Pohang defence sitting off, the former Miami FC playmaker rifled the ball into the net just when it looked like the opportunity had gone, giving Adelaide the lead they were waiting for.

United was then lucky to keep 11 men on the park, when defender Robert Cornthwaite who just came back from suspension, had already been booked in the first half, put in a late challenge but escaped a second yellow.

With time ticking away and The Reds looking to protect their lead, Diego was in the spotlight again when he slid in for a tackle from behind as the Steelers were on a counter, the referee producing a yellow card, it was Diego’s second of the competition, meaning he will be unavailable for the deciding match in China in a fortnight.

“It was a really tense game tonight but I thought our boys were absolutely brilliant. Rock solid across the back four through the midfield and even up front so I’m really proud of the way they performed tonight,” Vidmar said.

“I think I will probably feel more comfortable going to China knowing we only need a draw but in saying that, we can’t just sit back and think that we’ll defend the score line, because if you go in with that approach you can’t step forward when you need to so I think if we continue with the same plan we should be ok.”

Vidmar’s team will now travel to China in the final group stage match, needing only a draw to progress to the Quarter Finals in September. The final remaining hurdle is the Chinese Champions Changchun Yatai, but Vidmar knows that United will have to be at there very best against Yatai in a fortnight’s time, to create Australian Football club history.

Match Details
Adelaide United FC (AUS) 1
Diego 63’
Pohang Steelers (KOR) 0

Crowd: 11,805 @ Hindmarsh Stadium
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Adelaide United: 30.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Richie ALAGICH, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Kristian SARKIES (23.Dez GIRALDI 84’), 10.Nathan BURNS, 13.Travis DODD (Captain), 15.Jonas SALLEY, 18.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 22.DIEGO, 26.Fabian BARBIERO (21.Jason SPAGNUOLO 90+2’).
Substitutes not used: 3.Milan SUSAK, 12.Matthew MULLEN, 14.Shaun ONTONG, 17.Isyan ERDOGAN, 20.Robert BAJIC.
Yellow Cards: Cornthwaite 23’, Barbiero 71’, Diego 80’, Giraldi 90’.
Red Cards: Nil

Pohang Steelers: 1.Hwa Yong SHIN, 3.Kwangsuk KIM, 4.Chang Won LEE (Captain), 7.Jaesung KIM, 11.Jongbum CHOI (27.Han Bum CHO 33’), 13.Kwang SHIN, 17.Kwang Jae LEE, 20.FABIANO (23.Changhyun RYU 69’), 22.Hyunkyu JANG, 25.Hyungmin SHIN, 28.Changho SONG (19.Sung Jae LEE 76’).
Substitutes not used: 12.Yoonhwa PARK, 14.Jip KWON, 21.Dong Jin SONG, 29.SeungYoul LEE.
Yellow Cards: Han Bum Cho 84’.
Red Cards: Nil