Adelaide edge past Western United to make it five in a row

Adelaide United made it five wins in a row and locked up a home elimination final with a 2-1 victory over Western United on Sunday. 

Nothing was left to be desired in this clash as both sides found the back of the net within a quarter of an hour. 

The visitors struck first as a determined Lachlan Wales drove down right side of the pitch and crossed the simplest of balls into Dylan Wenzel-Halls feet in front of an empty net. 

Thankfully for the home fans, it only took nine minutes for the Reds to respond as Javi Lopez curled in a stunning goal from outside of the box to level the game.  

In this match the calm came after the storm, as both sides were unable to find the back of the net for the remainder of the first half.  

The Reds’ defence, however, left a lot to be desired as Western United’s attackers continued to find themselves deep inside Adelaide’s penalty box. 

It then took until the last seconds of the first half for the next major chance, as Isaías’ diving header – that even Robin Van Persie would have been proud of – was terrifically saved by Western United’s man in net Jamie Young. 

The second half kicked off in nearly identical fashion to the first, as the Reds’ leaky defence continued to invite Western United deep into their penalty box. 

But just like the first half, Adelaide was able to respond through a stunning goal – this time through another fullback in Ryan Kitto. 

From outside the box, Kitto unleashed a right-footed curler into the top right corner to give United a 2-1 lead. 

Each side had their moments in the second half, as George Blackwood, Aleksandar Prijovic and Lachlan Brook and all had goalscoring opportunities – but none were able to get past the men in net. 

With the win, Adelaide locked in a fourth-place finish and will host an elimination final against Central Coast Mariners.   

Adelaide United 2 (Lopez 14’, Kitto 51’) 

Western United 1 (Wenzel-Halls 5’)  

Stadium: Coopers Stadium 

Referee: Shaun Evans 

Assistant Referees: Matthew Cream, Owen Goldrick 

Fourth Official: Daniel Cook 

Adelaide United: Joe GAUCI (GK), Ryan KITTO, Kusini YENGI, (Zach CLOUGH 60’) ISAÍAS, Craig GOODWIN (C), George BLACKWOOD (Hiroshi IBUSUKI 71’), Javi LOPEZ, Lachlan BARR, JUANDE, Bernardo OLIVEIRA (Lachlan BROOK 60’), Alexandar POPOVIC, 

Unused Subs: Louis D’ARRIGO, Michael JAKOBSEN, Joshua CAVALLO, Steven HALL (gk) 

 Western United: Jamie YOUNG (GK), Tomoki IMAI, Lachlan WALES, Dylan HALLS (Benjamin COLLINS), Connor PAIN, Rene KRHIN, Benjamin GARUCCIO, Jerry SKOTADIS (Rhys BOZINOVSKI 81’), Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (C) (Noah BOTIC), Neil KILKENNY, Aleksandar PRIJOVIC 

Unused Subs: Luke DUZEL, Nicola MILANOVIC, Christian THEOHAROUS, Ryan SCOTT (gk) 

Featured Image Credit: Jordan Trombetta