Veart gets last gasp win as Reds keep finals hopes alive in last league game under long serving coach
Veart and Isaias get dramatic Coopers farewell as Reds grab late winner
Given that they asked the crowd to farewell their departing coach Carl Veart at what was their last scheduled home A League game against Wellington Phoenix, the Adelaide United hierarchy showed that they were pragmatic rather than sentimental.
And, given the state of the league table before this game kicked off, who could blame them?
Two months ago, the Reds looked like a chance for a top two finish but after a disastrous run of defeats, they are now struggling to make the playoffs, never mind finish high enough up the ladder to grab a home final.
Still, teams have to live in hope, and while it would take an unexpected turn of events for Adelaide to somehow recover enough to snare a fourth-placed finish they began this match in positive mood and got the early breakthrough Veart and his hometown admirers would have been hoping for.
Barely eight minutes had elapsed when Zac Clough stepped forward to take a corner from the left. His teasing delivery reached the far post where central defender Panagiotis Kikianis rose highest to send a downward header past Wellington goalkeeper Joshua Oluwayemi and put Adelaide 1-0 up.
It got even better four minutes later when the livewire winger Yaya Dukuly sprinted down the left before beginning an interchange of passes with Ethan Alagich and driving over a cross for the unmarked Stefan Mauk to head home from close range.
The game was almost done and dusted on the quarter hour mark when Dylan Pierias' barnstorming run took him past several Wellington defenders, only for his shot to be palmed to safety by Oluwayemi.
Adelaide were carving their way through a Wellington defence for which the adjective porous was hardly sufficient, attacking at will and creating shooting opportunities with monotonous regularity.
Mauk almost added to his tally when he was set up for a shot which beat Oluweymo but cannoned to safety off the post. At that point, it looked as though it wouldn't matter, so superior were the Reds.
However, defensive frailties and the inability to hold on to leads have been Adelaide's Achilles Heel this year and on the half hour they were exposed once again.
Ryan Kitto looked to be the favourite to deal with a long ball forward but was outmuscled by the Phoenix Japanese forward Hideki Ishige, who slotted a through ball to Kosta Barbarouses. The veteran Kiwi forward needed little invitation to finish past Max Vartuli to put the Phoenix back in the game.
A couple of minutes later, they were back on level terms as Adelaide, nervous having been breached once, then failed to deal with a routine cross from Scott Wootton, allowing Isaac Hughes to steal between two defenders to head home from close range.
It was Adelaide's entire season in a 35-minute cameo, and Veart could only shake his head in frustration on the sideline as he watched what must have felt like Groundhog Day happen once more.
It was a reinvigorated Wellington who resumed and a nervous Adelaide who tried to re-establish control in the second half, with the visitors faring better in the early exchanges when Barbarouses came close to snaring his second.
Wellington looked the more likely to find a deciding goal as Adelaide lived on their nerves, but both defences held firm, although Johnny Yull tested Oluyuwemi, who produced a flying save to deny the Reds midfielder.
Just as it looked as though Veart would have to settle for a muted farewell, his team rose to the occasion and delivered him a final home league victory to remember.
Wellington failed to deal with a ball into the penalty area, heading only to Pierias. He drove hard and low across the area, and Archie Goodwin was there to slide home from close range, netting his 13th goal of the season and sending him to the top of the ladder in the race for the A-League golden boot.
Adelaide moves into sixth spot, and while a place in the top four still looks a tall order, it remains a chance. Veart will be desperate to get one more opportunity to farewell the Coopers Stadium faithful and after a lengthy career serving South Australian football, it will be the least he is hoping for.
*It wasn't only Veart who was saying a potential farewell. Veteran Spanish midfielder Isaias was making his 286th appearance for the club, beating Eugene Galekovic's record, and he too will be hoping that he gets one more chance to play before home fans before he hangs up his boots at the end of the season.