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17Dec22
Adelaide Edge Past Gallant Cellar-Dwellers
by Jeremy Ruane
Liberty A-League co-leaders Adelaide United eked out a 1-0 win over a gallant Wellington Phoenix at Sky Stadium on December 17, as the bottom-placed side's ongoing search for their first points of the season was foiled by an unfortunate own goal on this occasion.
The visitors had the better of the early exchanges, with Brianna Edwards dashing out of her goal just five minutes into the contest to prevent the speedy Emilia Murray from latching onto Chelsie Dawber's penetrating pass.
Six minutes later, Wellington's 'keeper was right behind a twenty-five yard strike from Paige Hayward, while a vital cut-out of Dylan Holmes pass to Fiona Worts by Michaela Foster prevented the visitors from getting in behind the fullback on Wellington's left flank.
Wellington's right back for this match was making her long overdue first start of the season, and Saskia Vosper wasted little time in emphasising why she should be a regular starter on merit - she had a great game, along with Foster and the tireless and tenacious Betsy Hassett, who enjoyed her best game in the home team's engine room to date.
One of the attributes which Vosper brings to the party is her long throw-in prowess, which was first in evidence in the seventh minute of play. It nearly paid immediate dividends, with Hassett's flick-on culminating in a Chloe Knott snapshot which Adelaide 'keeper Annalie Grove did superbly well to keep out at close range.
Eight minutes later, Knott and Hassett combined to open up the United rearguard, with the pace of Paige Satchell causing further mayhem before she sent a cross zooming across the goalmouth. Adelaide failed to clear their lines, allowing Grace Wisnewski - a welcome return to the fray - to let fly. Grove parried this effort to safety as well.
United responded via a Melindaj Barbieri free-kick which Edwards punched clear, only to take out Vosper in the process. A dose of smelling salts, a shake of the head and a swig of water and she was back in business - having been denied a starting spot for so long, there was no way on earth a bit of friendly fire was going to force Vosper off the park early doors after nineteen minutes.
Three minutes later, the visitors took the lead via an unlikely and desperately unlucky source. Dawber and Worts worked a one-two on the right, with no one tracking the former's run, a blemish which was to have telling consequences.
For Dawber delivered a delicious ball into the corridor of uncertainty which Mackenzie Barry instinctively sought to prevent from reaching one of the Adelaide players racing in behind her. Unfortunately for the defender, her actions merely diverted the ball beyond Edwards and into the far corner of the net - 1-0 Adelaide.
Barry was crestfallen, understandably, and even more so after the final whistle. But when one considers the number of occasions in which this Football Fern's fearless defensive efforts have foiled the opposition - and she produced a few more in this match - one can forgive her this "oggie", particularly given she was carrying the can for a team-mate's lapse in concentration.
Adelaide swiftly looked to build on their advantage, Edwards smothering a shot from Holmes within a minute of the goal, then turning a twenty-five yarder from Worts round the post five minutes later, with the resulting corner being headed off the line by Marisa van der Meer.
Wellington, meanwhile, went close from a corner of their own in the 25th minute. Foster's delivery picked out the head of Emma Rolston, the most prolific markswoman in the history of NZ age-grade international women's football. Grove had followed her out of the goalmouth, however, and was on hand to divert Rolston's headed attempt to equalise over the bar.
That was the home team's last attempt of note to equalise before half-time, while any efforts by Adelaide to increase their lead foundered on Wellington's formidable back four - Vosper, Barry, van der Meer and Foster were all stoic in the face of adversity, and continued in that vein throughout the second spell.
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The visitors were eager to add to their tally, coming close to doing so within seconds of the resumption of play. Murray's delightfully angled pass rewarded the diagonal run of Dawber in behind the defence, but she hadn't reckoned on being shepherded to safety by Edwards - her best game for the team in the injury-enforced absence of Lily Alfeld.
Three minutes later, Adelaide pressed again, Holmes intercepting Knott's pass and slipping the ball into the stride of Worts, who dragged her shot past the far post - the visitors' last chance of note for a considerable period.
For Wellington took the game to their opponents soon afterwards, Satchell then Hassett leading the charge before Vosper ranged up on the outside of the long-serving Football Ferns midfielder. The fullback pinged a peach of a pass in behind United's rearguard, looking to reward the run of Ava Pritchard, but Maruscha Waldus' timely intervention denied her on this occasion.
In the 57th minute, Satchell brought Pritchard into play on the right, from where she evaded a challenge before fizzing in a cross which ricocheted off a defender into the grateful gloves of Grove, who plucked a Foster cross off the head of Pritchard soon after as Wellington pressed again.
Twenty minutes from time, and following the premature departure of the lively Satchell as a precaution for a tweaked knee, her replacement, Michaela Robertson, combined with Hassett to create an opening for Pritchard to exploit. Grove was quick to respond to the threat and averted the danger in authoritative fashion.
The diminutive duo of Hassett and Robertson caused Adelaide more problems in midfield soon afterwards, with Pritchard and Vosper also getting in on the act. The last-mentioned's delectable angled ball in behind the defence sought out the runs of Rolston and Wisnewski, but United captain Jenna McCormick headed clear - she had a sound game at the heart of Adelaide's defence.
Their captain's stand was the catalyst for the visitors to resume their bid to double their lead in the minutes remaining. Both Vosper and Barry respectively blocked shots from Dawber and Holmes in the 73rd minute, following a Murray corner, while Barry blocked a Murray shot seconds later, the rebound inviting Holmes to launch into a spectacular scissors-like kick which was headed clear by van der Meer.
An Emily Condon corner was cleared to Holmes ten minutes from time, only for the midfielder to see her goalbound shot blocked to safety by Rolston. Wellington responded to this via Vosper, whose free-kick from halfway wasn't cleared, thus inviting substitute Charlotte Lancaster to get a shot in on goal. Grove foiled her at point-blank range eight minutes from time.
Four minutes later, Condon's gem of a lofted pass on the counter-attack found Hayward storming forward from deep. She shot early, forcing Edwards into a scrambled save which the 'keeper was relieved to see pass the post.
Following this, the visitors moved into game management mode, and closed out the match superbly, never affording Wellington so much as a sniff of an equaliser in the time remaining, including over six minutes of stoppage time. They carved out one opening in the dying minutes, the unmarked figure of Worts heading wide from six yards on receipt of a pinpoint free-kick from substitute Nanako Sasaki.
An equaliser proved beyond Wellington, for whom this result marked five successive defeats from the start of the season. But they'll take plenty of encouragement from their performance against the co-leaders in this match - easily their best of the campaign so far.
Wellington: Edwards; Vosper (Cicco, 90), Barry, van der Meer, Foster (booked, 9); Hassett (booked, 66), Knott (Lancaster, 78), Wisnewski (Walker, 78 (booked, 90)); Satchell (Robertson, 66), Pritchard, Rolston
Adelaide: Grove; Hayward, McCormick, Waldus, E. Hodgson; Barbieri (booked, 81) (Westland, 88), Holmes, Condon (Sasaki, 90); Dawber, Worts, Murray (Tolland, 78)
Referee: Isabella Blaess
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