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Adrian Stenta praised Adelaide United Women’s resilience and performance after overcoming Perth Glory Women 1-0 to claim their first victory of the season in hot conditions.
The Reds responded in strong fashion against Perth at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday night following the heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Canberra United in Round 1.
Adelaide dominated large portions of the contest especially in the second-half and although it took an 80th minute penalty from Emily Condon to crack the deadlock, it was a deserving win.
The Reds controlled possession and created chances but on a couple of occasions were caught on the counter-attack in the first-half.
Stenta admitted he made a couple of tactical tweaks at half-time which fortunately paid off as Perth barely tested goalkeeper Sian Fryer-McLaren.
“It was just a few adjustments that we made, so we prepared to play Perth in a particular way and it just wasn’t quite working with what they were doing,” he told reporters post-match.
“So we just thought we’d change a couple of things at half-time and sometimes those things and sometimes they don’t.
“But I thought our second-half performance was much better than our first and almost a complete reversal of what happened the week before (conceding four second-half goals against Canberra United).”
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The hosts produced a plethora of opportunities after the interval which was encouraging for Stenta, despite being unable to score from open play.
“There were some good chances created I mean we gave up a few in the first-half as well, so we’ll go back and have a look at that,” he said.
“I thought Macca (Sian Fryer-McLaren) had a good game, I thought their goalkeeper was good as well, really top class save in the first-half from her.
“I think creating chances this year has been a lot better for us obviously three goals in the first game.
“So it’s something we’ve really worked on this pre-season and hopefully it continues to come to fruition.”
Having conceded four goals in their opening match, Stenta added he was pleased with the clean sheet and immediately recovering from the disappointment experienced.
“That’s what I said to the girls after the game (about the clean sheet),” he revealed.
“You only need one goal to win a game and we proved that tonight.
“I just think it was great that they were able to mentally rebound from what happened last week because it was a tough loss and it hurt us as a group.
“So hopefully this is a step in the right direction and it’s onwards and upwards from here.”
It was also Maruschka Waldus’ first appearance for the Club since signing and the Dutch centre-back was largely impressive on debut alongside Matilda McNamara.
Stenta said it took a little bit of time for them to be on the same page, but acknowledged that will come the more they play together.
“I think you could see in the first-half that they haven’t played together before,” he determined.
“So it probably took just a little bit of time to adjust, but she’s a professional.
“She’s out of quarantine, she’s only had four or five training sessions with us and we weren’t sure if she was going to get through the whole game physically, but she’s a great acquisition.”
Next match details:
Game date: Thursday, 14 January vs Perth Glory Women
Westfield W-League 2020/21 – Round 4
Kick-off 7.35pm ACDT
Venue: Dorrien Gardens
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
