Danny Allsopp’s 88th-minute goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Adelaide in Hindmarsh Stadium may prove the killer blow in the Major Semi-Final tie, but the man himself is already thinking about the return leg.
Danny Allsopp’s 88th-minute goal in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Adelaide in Hindmarsh Stadium may prove the killer blow in the Major Semi-Final tie, but the man himself is already thinking about the return leg.
The Reds, who have lost all four matches this year to Melbourne must win the Telstra Dome clash by a two-goal margin if they are to upset the Premiers’ plans to host the Grand Final. Allsopp’s influence in the first leg was huge, and he was particularly delighted with the team’s efforts.
“It’s a difficult place to come, the crowd’s right involved and we enjoy that. We all enjoyed the win greatly, it as really satisfying. Any away win is great, but especially first leg of the finals. All the boys thought are already on next week,” he said.
Allsopp could have had a brace, and in fact Carlos Hernandez’s 13th-minute goal was initially credited to the big striker, who followed up Hernandez’s rebound off the post with a close-range header.
It wasn’t until the referees convened at half time that the Costa Rican was confirmed as the goal scorer. Allsopp wasn’t concerned who scored the goal, he was just happy to get it over the line.
“I thought I had two, I’m not too bothered. Carlos hit a great shot and was unlucky with another one. He had a fantastic game, and he deserved a goal,” he said.
There was no doubt about Allsopp’s second effort, which came with just two minutes left in normal time. Allsopp won the long ball and then beat Sasa Ogenenovski all ends up. He then followed up with a clinical finish to silence the Adelaide fans.
“It’s always nice to score a goal and win, it was very enjoyable,” he said.
Allsopp had spent most of the night in somewhat of a personal battle with Ognenovski, and as rapt he was able to get away from giant Adelaide centre-back late in the game.
“You go out on the pitch, you kick each other, it’s tough, but you don’t mind it,” he said. “You shake hands after the game and that’s the end of it. I always look forward to playing against him.”
And Allsopp revealed that the 3-2 success over Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium earlier in the year had given Victory some real confidence going into the first leg.
“We knew what to expect, of course it’s a finals game so everyone picks it up a notch. We had to take a bit of pressure in the second half, the intensity was high for 90 minutes, we stuck at it pretty well,” he said.
