Adelaide Blue Eagles made an emphatic return to the winners circle with a 6-3 victory over South Adelaide on Saturday.

Yvan Boyokino and Samuel Tesfagabr had two apiece for the home side with Marco Balsamo and Alemayo Kebede also getting on the scoresheet, while Daniel Sullivan had a hat trick for the Panthers.

Blue Eagles livewire Boyokino said that his side approached the game with a better frame of mind compared to the last few rounds, which ultimately paid dividends for them in front of goal.

“We had a better approach to this game and we won it mentally.

“In the second half we had to be patient and focused to get the result and not to concede goals like in the first half.

“This win definitely helps us to gain confidence in order to approach this coming game (against MetroStars) in the right mood and with the right attitude.”

Boyokino said there were aspects of this past game they needed to amend before coming up against Metro.

“Against Metro we definitely need to be more consistent during the game and take any chances that we create during the game,” he said.

“It’s is going to be an interesting game to watch as it is a derby, it is always an exciting game.”

South Adelaide Captain Chris Reed said the result was disappointing.

“Not only was it bad to have the loss, to concede six is pretty embarrassing really,” he said.

“We certainly had parts in the game where I thought we not only matched (Blue Eagles) but also dominated in possession, especially at 2-2 we had plenty of opportunities to go 3-2 up.

“I don’t know what happened, maybe a bit of belief went when we went 3-2 down, but I really can’t put my finger on it.”

Reed said he was struggling to find positives to take away from the game given the score line heavily favouring Blue Eagles.

“It’s hard to find anything when you concede six goals and lose, but I think the positives are we are still creating chances and Sullivan scored a great hat trick.

“He’s in top form so if we can put a stop to the goals we are conceding we’ll start to win games.”

Blue Eagles were unlucky not to go a goal up inside the first minute of the contest, after Evan Kounavelis got on the end of a cross that was low driven across the face of goal by Boyokino, but the striker put his shot against the cross bar.

That was soon forgotten though as Balsamo opened the scoring in the third minute.

Kebede switched the play out to Damien Crettenden in space in the box, the winger cut the ball back to the arriving Adam Harris who’s shot was well saved; the rebound fell to Balsamo who headed into an open net.

The lead didn’t last for long as Sullivan brought the scores back level with an expertly placed shot into the top corner at the fast post only 4 minutes later.

The home side were happy to sit back and absorb South Adelaide’s pressure, playing out to Boyokino on the counter who looked a constant threat on the left wing as he ran at the Panther’s defenders.

Kebede was vital to Blue Eagles system, flashing his passing range with some superb cross field balls hoping to catch the South Adelaide defence napping.

Chris Reed and Daniel Varma marshalled the defence and laid some important last-ditch challenges to keep the scores level.

However, South Adelaide had a lapse in concentration that allowed the home side to take the lead once again as Tesfagabr was left unmarked at corner.

The centre back headed home an inch perfect cross from Kounavelis on 19 minutes.

Josh Hawker was a welcome return from injury for the visitors, as he caused Andre Rastovac and Tesfagabr trouble with his physical play and nicely complemented the trickery of Sullivan.

Sullivan again brought the scores back level as he pushed off his defender and created space for himself in the box, getting on the end of a poorly dealt with cross and volleying home on a tight angle.

The Panthers matched Blue Eagles every step of the way, but ran out of legs with 20 minutes left.

Boyokino was rewarded for a stellar performance with an easy tap in after substitute Anthony Dimas did the hard yards and played to the winger who finished into an open goal.

South Adelaide were again caught napping at a set piece, as Tesfagabr was left unmarked for a second time and easily headed home Kebede’s free kick.

Boyokino got his second with another easy finish to make it 5-2; Sullivan would make it 5-3 a minute later with a textbook volley with 6 minutes left of regulation time, but kebede would add another in the third minute of extra time.

Written by Brendan Simpkins