A blistering start has given Adelaide United Women a record sixth win of the W-League season after dispatching Sydney FC Women 2-0 at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday night.
It was two imports that were influential throughout the contest as Dutch defender Maruschka Waldus and American winger Mallory Weber scored first-half goals to give captain Dylan Holmes the perfect send-off as she departs for Swedish side BK Häcken.
The ladder leaders were immediately on the back foot when Waldus bagged her first goal for the club with a strong header inside five minutes.
Weber then doubled Adelaide’s advantage in emphatic fashion with a stunning strike that burst the net after cutting inside.
The massive scalp meant it is Adelaide’s greatest ever points total with 19 and consolidates its quest for a maiden finals appearance with two matches left.
Six minutes into the contest Waldus broke the deadlock with a collector’s item.
The Reds’ Achilles’ heel was set pieces against the Sky Blues a fortnight ago and ironically it was the hosts that scored via a corner this time around.
The centre-back rose highest at the back post and guided her header home from Kahlia Hogg’s pin-point delivery.
Weber made it 2-0 with a ferocious strike on 19 minutes, rifling the net for her second goal of the campaign.
Sydney really could not find any answers, struggling to contain Adelaide’s relentless pressure and incisive passes for the majority of the half.
María José Rojas came close to putting the game to bed before half-time but her diving header from Emily Condon’s cross landed wide.
The hosts picked up where they left off to begin the second stanza and Weber should have completed her brace but blazed over the bar following a marauding run from midfield.
Adelaide threatened from two more corners, Holmes had a header cleared off the line and Waldus’s looping header struck the crossbar.
Substitute Fiona Worts rattled the woodwork when her powerful shot smacked the bar.
Despite the number of missed chances, they did not prove costly as Adelaide secured its second clean sheet of the season and first triumph over the harbour city outfit since January 2017.
Team news
Following last week’s 2-1 win against Newcastle Jets, Adrian Stenta named an unchanged line-up.
Key moments
6’ | GOAL! Waldus with a thumping header from Hogg’s pin-point corner.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6237599516001
19’ | GOAL! Weber cuts inside and unleashes a rocket, bending her finish inside the far post.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6237599522001
45’ | CHANCE! Rojas meets Condon’s cross with a diving header but her attempt falls inches wide.
78’ | CHANCE! Dawber squares to Rojas from the counter attack but her shot deflects wide.
https://players.brightcove.net/5498268479001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6237598090001
90+3’ | CHANCE! Worts smacks the crossbar with a venomous shot.
Match details:
Saturday, 6 March 2021
Westfield W-League 2020/21 – Round 11
Adelaide United Women 2 (Waldus 6’, Weber 19’)
Sydney FC Women 0
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Crowd: 987
