Adelaide United Liberty A-League coach Adrian Stenta says his side showed resilience in yesterday’s victory over Western Sydney Wanderers.
The 2-1 result was the third time the Reds have come-from-behind to win this season.
After conceding a penalty late in the first half, Hannah Blake equalised with a composed finish in the 71st minute, before Chrissy Panagaris scored her first A-League goal, just three minutes after coming off the bench.
Speaking after the game, Stenta said he is pleased with the recent progress his team has been making. He also discussed yesterday’s performance, how the tough conditions impacted the game and Chrissy Panagaris’ first A-League goal.
Adrian Stenta on the performance:
I was really pleased that the girls got some reward for their effort. Because even though we were down one nil at halftime, I felt like we had some really positive patches in the first half, got into some good areas, but just lacked a little bit of, you know, clinical finishing and also quality in the final third. To concede the way that we did at the stage of the half that it was, it could have had the potential to knock us around a little bit. But to come out in the second half and come from behind two weeks in a row, I think is a really positive outcome.
Adrian Stenta on his team’s resilience:
I think all the players that played today did a role and were very good for us. I think it shows probably a little bit of resilience in the group that has been lacking at times this year. So that says to me that we’re making some positive steps forward. And the group is starting to grow and gel together, which is pleasing for me as a coach.
Adrian Stenta on the conditions and flow of the game:
The conditions were the same for both teams. I think when you have two drinks breaks in a half, it can disrupt the flow of the game. So we just tried to break it down into 15 minute blocks, get the girls some information and readjust if we needed to once the next stoppage happened.
Adrian Stenta on the penalty decision and Hannah Blakes response:
To be honest, I didn’t see it properly live. And I haven’t seen a replay of it. I just asked the question of the fourth official at halftime and yeah, the decisions made, so I can’t really comment on it because I didn’t get a really good look at it at the time.
It’s a great response from Hannah (Blake). She’s someone that we’ve thrown around a lot this year, she’s played in multiple roles for us. And that can be quite difficult and disruptive for a player to find their groove and their rhythm. But she’s a quality person and a quality footballer. And when she’s playing well, she adds a lot to our side.
Adrian Stenta on Chrissy Panagaris’ first A-League goal:
You can see from my reaction how happy I was for her because it’s a good story for the league. Someone that did some training with us at a young age and then went away for a period of time, worked on her game came back to us, and has been working really hard to get herself in physical condition to be a real impact player at this level. So she’s someone that we’re keen to continue to work with and see where she can get to and I think it’s a good story for the club and for the local league and for our A-League as well.
