Adelaide United has defeated Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night in Round 9 of the Hyundai A-League with a goal each from Marcelo Carrusca and Fabio Ferreira proving the difference.
In a hard fought match, the Reds were pushed all the way against a Wanderers side looking for their first win of the A-League season, but United proved too strong for their opponents who finished with 10 men at full-time.
The game’s opening stages were difficult for both sides, as they struggled to adjust to windy conditions at Coopers. Yet it was the Reds who settled the fastest and began controlling the match in their usual fluid manner.
Chances were hard to come by in the opening quarter of an hour, but United’s task became somewhat easier after 17 minutes when the Wanderers captain, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in relatively quick succession.
In the 25th minute, the Reds seemed destined to score through Marcelo Carrusca when the ball fell to his feet at close range, but his resulting effort was hit well over the bar.
As the game moved closer to the half hour mark, the pressure began to take its toll on the Wanderers defence and with 36 minutes on the clock, the Reds took the lead through Carrusca, who made up for his earlier miss. The goal came about after wonderful play by Sergio Cirio saw him wriggle free from his marker and cross the ball perfectly for Carrusca whose first time finish was simply unstoppable.
Neither side were able hit the back of the net before the break, but just a minute after the restart United were unlucky not to go 2-0 up through both Jimmy Jeggo and Fabio Ferreira after a scramble in the box gifted both players with chances on goal.
But the Reds persistence soon paid off, as their dominance in possession and clinical style found the 10-man Wanderers wanting. Ferreira linked up with Carrusca for a sumptuous one-two leaving Ferreira with a chance to finish past Wanderers goalkeeper, Ante Covic, after 55 minutes. The Portuguese winger had plenty to do to find the back of the net, but his effort was inch perfect and came off the upright to bundle into the net.
Following the match, United manager, Josep Gombau, spoke highly of his team’s performance and commended their efforts against a resilient Wanderer’s outfit, but stated that as of tomorrow all focus would be on their next match.
“In the end we (played) a good game and I think we played very good football,” Gombau said. “But they are a good (side with) ten (men). The aim is to play like this against eleven (men).
“I am so happy because even to play like this against ten (men) is not easy and when a team drop and just try to defend it’s difficult to go inside.
“We are doing well, we have a good environment, and we are hungry. There are a lot of things that are okay, but every single game is different and we will go game-by-game.
“Last week we lost, this week we win, but it’s important now that tomorrow we start to think about Friday night’s game (against Brisbane Roar).
Adelaide United’s next match will be against Brisbane Roar at Coopers Stadium in Round 10 of the 2014/15 Hyundai A-League season. Kick off is at 7:10pm ACDT.
Match Details
Saturday, 7 December 2014
Hyundai A-League Round 9
Adelaide United 2 (Carrusca 36’, Ferreira 55’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 12,122
Adelaide United: Galekovic (c), Boogaard, McGowan, Isaias (Watson 82′), Cirio, Carrusca, Djite (Pablo Sanchez 62′), Goodwin, Jeggo, Elrich, Ferreira (Mabil 73′)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Covic, Topor-Sntaley (c), Hamill, Golec, Juric (Saba 71′), Rukavytsa, Spiranovic, Sotirio (Cole 45′), La Rocca, Bridge, Baccus (Haliti 80′)
Scorers: Carrusca (36′), Ferreira (55′)
Red cards: Topor-Stanley (17′)
Yellow cards: Bridge (10′), Topor-Stanley (15, 17′)
