ACL match report: Adelaide United 3 Persipura Jayapura 0

Adelaide United have qualified for the AFC Champions League (ACL) after running out comfortable 3-0 victors in their playoff clash with Indonesian champions Persipura Jayapura at Hindmarsh Stadium on Thursday.

Two close-range finishes to defenders Nigel Boogaard and Evgeniy Levchenko, followed by a late strike to Sergio van Dijk, assured the Reds of a spot in the main draw of the ACL.

Make a deposit now and earn up to SGD 388 bonus from 188BET!

Sign up with Ladbrokes for a free bet up to S$100

The result was never in doubt for Adelaide, who toyed with a flat and lacklustre Persipura for most of the match, with the Indonesian side only having arrived in Australia just over 24 hours prior to kick-off.

The loss will come as a huge blow to Persipura, who fought desperately via the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a chance to qualify for the Champions League, after originally being removed from the competition for not playing in a Fifa-recognised competition.

Neither team pushed forward in the opening stages, with Persipura in particular looking reluctant to pressure Adelaide.

It took until the 11th minute for the game's first attacking.  It came through Adelaide's marquee star Dario Vidosic, who - after some sloppy play from the Reds - took the game by the scruff the neck.

Vidosic jinked his way through several players into the box before drifting a cross to the back post towards Dutch striker van Dijk, only for his intelligent cutback to be cleared for a corner.

The resulting corner, however, produced United's first goal. 

Boogaard prodded home a loose ball, after fellow defender Levchenko's header was blocked on the line.

Adelaide sprang into action and almost had a second three minutes later, when Bruce Djite broke free down the right wing after Persipura defender Anis Tjoe lost control of the ball and put through an angled delivery to Iain Ramsay.

But the winger was to be denied after his lightning left-foot drive thundered off the inside of the right post.

After Adelaide's long period of dominance, Persipura finally had their first attempt on 22 minutes through Beto, but the Brazilian striker's long-range effort deflected wide for a corner.

With Adelaide happy to remain patient on the ball and not force the issue, Persipura began to venture forward and almost found an equaliser in the 29th minute.

Beto and fellow attacker Tibo combined for a delicate one-two, but the latter's shot was smothered by Adelaide United captain and goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic, who rushed out quickly to deny the 22-year-old.

Vidosic twice inside two minutes went awfully close to doubling the Reds' advantage before half-time.

His in-swinging free-kick and subsequent sharp effort from just inside the box after some neat build-up play with van Dijk both went just wide.

Adelaide increased the tempo in the second half and drove forward in numbers, eager to put the result beyond doubt.

Cameron Watson - finding acres of space on the Reds' right flank - whipped in a pin-point cross to Djite in the 53rd minute, but his free header was athletically parried away by Persipura goalkeeper Yoo Jae-hoon.

Watson was again at it moments later when another inch-perfect delivery found van Dijk prime to smash the ball in from point-blank range. 

But the striker - of Indonesian descent - was to be denied by Perispura defender Ricardo, who slid in with a last-ditch tackle as the ball trickled wide.

Adelaide's frenetic pressure in attack was eventually rewarded on 56 minutes, when Osama Malik flicked back a Vidosic corner at the near post for Levchenko to score his first-ever goal for the Reds.

The Ukrainian found the back of the net with a rifled a left-foot volley from just inside six yards.

Adelaide eventually assured of their progress into the group stage of the Champions League in the 84th minute when van Dijk hammered substitute Zenon Caravella's cut-back into the roof of the net.