Adelaide United’s Ninja A-League Women’s side suffered a 3-1 defeat against Perth Glory, conceding three goals from set pieces in what Adrian Stenta described as an inconsistent performance. Here’s what the Reds’ head coach had to say in his post-match reflection:
On the performance overall…
“We didn’t play very well and take advantage of that in the first half. The big difference in the game was that we lost quite a few of our 50/50s and duels. I haven’t seen the statistics, but I would imagine Perth won all of those. Our 1 v 1 defending was a little bit off, and when you’re off in this league, it’s really close, so we paid for that.”
On conceding set-piece goals…
“To concede three set piece goals or dead ball goals was disappointing. I think they made a lot more of their set piece opportunities than we did.”
On the team’s second-half response…
“I was happy with our response at the start of the second half. We had a good 20-minute period, we were on top, and we got ourselves back into the game. Then, the penalty came for us again, losing a 50/50 ball in the middle of the park.”
On Erin’s injury…
“Not sure yet, just walking around in a moon boot at the moment. She just felt something in her foot. To be honest, she’s had the crap kicked out of her the last two weeks. The decision-making behind protecting players in this league by referees has been very inconsistent.”
On playing with and against the wind:
“It certainly wasn’t my instruction. Playing into the wind forces you to play more possession style, and that’s how I want my team to play. We didn’t use it very well in the first half and didn’t play to our strengths.”
On Claudia’s performance in goal:
“Claudia’s been great for us all year. She’s a great shot stopper and determined to protect her goal. We’ve been pretty good at keeping the ball out of the net, so it’s disappointing that we conceded from set pieces.”
Stenta now looks ahead to Adelaide’s upcoming match against Melbourne City, part of a Friday night double header at Coopers Stadium.
Video credit: Perth Glory
