Adrian Stenta says the 1-1 draw with Canberra United was a "fair result" for Adelaide United, who extended their unbeaten run in the A-League Women to nine games yesterday.
Adrian Stenta is content with Adelaide United's 1-1 draw with Canberra United. (Image: Ben Blaess/BDb.media)
Adelaide United's A-League Women's head coach, Adrian Stenta, believes his side's draw with in-form Canberra United was a fitting result after both sides had enough chances to come away with all three points at Coopers Stadium.
After a tussle for much of the first half that saw the Reds dominate possession without creating many notable chances, the visitors shocked the home crowd when Darcey Malone pounced on Adelaide's inability to clear a corner with a close-range header on the stroke of half-time.
Reds goalkeeper Claudia Jenkins atoned for her error in the lead-up to the opener by making a crucial save early in the second stanza to keep the score at 1-0. From there, Stenta's side began to impose their will, creating more dangerous final third entries and being able to find gaps behind Canberra's defence with more regularity.
The introductions of Dylan Holmes and star striker Fiona Worts from the bench further helped Adelaide build their case for an equaliser. It ultimately came when the latter teed up in-form attacker Chelsie Dawber on the edge of the box, who netted her seventh goal of the season with a superb finish.
Both sides had big chances to clinch a late winner but had to settle for a point each after a pulsating second half. The result means Adelaide have momentarily moved up to second on the A-League Women's ladder - above Melbourne Victory, who play later today - while Canberra remain just outside the top six despite extending their unbeaten run to five games.
"We had a lot of the ball and dominated the possession, more passes, probably more shots and things like that, but probably not as many on target as them, and they were dangerous on the counter," Stenta told reporters post-match.
"Both teams had some goal-line clearances at the end, and some chances there, so I think it was a fair result overall, and credit to Canberra for the way that they came, the plan that they had in place, and how they stuck to their defensive principles."
The Reds won the shot count convincingly in the end, accumulating 21 to Canberra's 12, but Antoni Jagarinec's side did create two "big chances" - defined as being a clear-cut scoring opportunity where a player is expected to score - including a chaotic goal-mouth scramble in the 82nd minute where Jenkins was forced into making two close-range saves and defender Ella Tonkin made a pivotal goal-line clearance.
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Stenta praised his backline for their resilience post-game, mainly due to their ability to keep Matildas striker Michelle Heyman quiet - the striker only registered one shot on goal, two touches in the opposition box, and was primarily isolated throughout. That stat line is a major surprise when considering that Heyman scored three goals across Canberra's two games against Adelaide last season.
"I think Michelle likes scoring goals against Adelaide over the seasons, so she probably always circles this game and looks forward to it. But I think in both games we've played them this year, we've done a great job on Michelle," Stenta said.
"I can't speak highly enough of our backline because what we're asking of them is not easy, and they just keep turning up every week, playing 90 minutes, really difficult to score against, and I'm just so proud of the way those three players (Tonkin, Matilda McNamara, and Zoe Tolland) have played all season and they were outstanding again today."
After the international break next weekend, the Reds will travel to Wellington to face Paul Temple's Phoenix side, looking to extend their nine-game unbeaten run.
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Agree with Stenta - a fair result in the end. As a Canberra supporter I really enjoyed watching Adelaide play this season - good luck for the rest of the campaign and hope to see you in the finals