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Adrian Stenta was impressed with his team’s overall performance but admits they must be more clinical in front of goal.
Adelaide United Women inflicted a second consecutive loss on Canberra United Women following a 2-1 win and leapfrogged them into third place on the ladder.
Emily Condon scored a 55th minute goal after Paige Satchell extinguished Chelsie Dawber’s opener on the stroke of half-time.
The Reds then squandered a plethora of chances to kill off the game and were nearly punished for their wastefulness on two occasions late in the contest.
Stenta insisted they need to be more ruthless in attack but said it remains encouraging that they are conjuring chances.
“All season we’ve been creating a lot of opportunities,” he told reporters after the match.
“Our conversion rate isn’t where it needs to be. We certainly should’ve had more goals today.
“But I just think I’d rather be in a position where we’re creating chances even if we’re not scoring all of them and hopefully we can get a big bag in one game coming for the rest of the year.”
The South Australians have collected 13 points from their seven matches, making it their best start to a campaign.
While Stenta was proud of where the team is currently situated he knows there is still plenty of work ahead.
“I think we’re well positioned but it’s difficult because this season is all over the place in terms of who’s played who,” he said.
“We don’t really know who we’re playing beyond next week, so we just continue to take it one game at a time.
“I know it’s a bit of a cliché but it’s all we can literally do and we’re hopeful that if we continue to perform we’ll put ourselves in with the best chance we possibly can to make finals.”
Condon’s well-taken strike was her third of the season – a career high – and incidentally all three have turned out to be winning goals.
The midfielder also has two assists to her name and has been integral in linking the midfield with the attack.
“We’ve used Emily in a few different ways this year,” Stenta said, when asked about her strong form.
“So it’s been a bit of a learning curb from that perspective but I just think she’s been much more consistent this year and just physically able to run out games a little bit of a higher level.
“I’ve been really pleased with her form and hope she continues it.”
It was also Annalee Grove’s professional debut and the 19-year-old goalkeeper made a crucial, point-blank save to deny Hayley Taylor-Young in the 89th minute and preserve the lead against her former team.
“She’s a number one ‘keeper,” Stenta continued.
“So we’re fortunate that we’ve got two number ones in our side.
“She’s been ready to play for a while, but I’ve been really happy how Macca’s been going.
“She’s been patient, she’s waited for her opportunity and I’m really happy for her because she took it today.”
Next match details:
Game date: Sunday, 21 February vs Sydney FC Women
Westfield W-League 2020/21 – Round 9
Kick-off 3.35pm ACDT
Venue: Cromer Park
Broadcast: ABC, Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
