Soccer: Late wonder-strike gives Knights victory

Malik Buari of the Knights (L) and Richie Alagich of Adelaide head the ball. Sandra Mu / Getty Images

New Zealand Knights 1 Adelaide United 0

A brilliant 87th minute strike from Malik Buari ended the New Zealand Knights' goal drought and gave them their first ever home win in the A-League this afternoon.

With the game against Adelaide United almost over it looked like the Knights would again suffer from their lack of a quality striker. But then the ball fell to Buari on the corner of the box and he took one touch before unleashing a shot which flew past the helpless keeper Robert Bajic into the far top corner.

The goal brought the crowd of 4,100 at a cool, grey North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, to its feet and five agonising minutes later they were celebrating taking three points on home soil for the first time.

Until then, the picture had looked a lot less rosy. Steve Devine - alone up front again - was well off the pace and there was little in the way of other attacking options, despite the Knights showing some patches of class in the midfield.

Jonas Salley of the Ivory Coast and Scottish import Scott Gemmill were usually at the centre of the bright spells, Gemmill in particular showing he could be the side's crucial playmaker this season.

His 56th minute cross for Buari – who headed just wide – being the best chance of a goal up to that point. A minute earlier Salley had put a half-volley just over the bar when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box.

Other chances were hard to come by against a professional Adelaide side which came to defend and look to score on the counter. It took a brave save from Danny Milosevic to prevent Adelaide opening the scoring with a breakaway at pace in the 23rd minute.

But they rarely put the Knight's goal under pressure though the home side's defending sometimes looked nervous. As early as the second minute, a sliced clearance on the edge of the box had sent the ball back into the danger area and Adelaide were unfortunate not to have the perfect start.

The game then quickly settled into a pattern of midfield dominance which neither side really grasped hold of, and chances were rare at both ends.

Devine was often offside due to his lack of pace and he was finally put out of his misery after 76 minutes when he was replaced by Adam Casey. Devine's best effort of the game had come just five minutes earlier when he turned inside the defender and put a low shot in to the near post, which Bajic palmed away.

Casey looked bright after he came on, while Gemmill and Salley faded from view in the latter stages. The chance of the Knights snatching victory appeared to have gone and Adelaide looked to have settled for a draw and a point from their trans-Tasman trip.

But then up stepped Buari and with one shot turned the Knights' season on its head.

NZ Knights 1 (Buari 87)
Adelaide United 0
Half-time: 0-0
Attendance: 4,100