Stenta pleased with opening round performance

Adrian Stenta has praised his side for seeing out a 1-0 over Sydney FC in Round 1 of the Liberty A-League season.

Adelaide United Head Coach, Adrian Stenta, has praised his side for seeing out a 1-0 over Sydney FC in Round 1 of the Liberty A-League season.

Stenta’s side took the lead in the dying stages of the clash after Emilia Murray flicked a Chelsie Dawber pin-point ball into the back of the net.

Overall performance:
“I think the conditions made it a little bit challenging at times to play and you saw that for Sydney, who were a little bit different in the way that they approached the first half to the second half.

Emily Condon bursting through the midfield against Sydney FC.

“But I do feel like we were able to control possession and get the ball into some dangerous areas, we just didn’t make enough of the positions we found ourselves in in the first half in particular.

“In the second half, it was probably a bit more of a defensive performance, but we really stuck out and and protected our goal and took advantage of the opportunity when it came.

“To keep a clean sheet when three of our back four were ‘new’ and didn’t play last year in those specific positions is a positive.

“I feel like a lot of Sydney’s chances were from distance, although they did have a couple of close calls in the box.

Paige Hayward challenging for a ball against Sydney FC.

“So, at the end of the day, probably not our best performance, but it’s good to get away with the three points.”

Refining for next week:
“We need work on being a little bit more positive and forward thinking especially in transition.

“Today we were a little bit hesitant at times and not as aggressive as we should have been

“Like I said, I was happy in the first half with the positions we found ourselves in, but I think our final ball and that quality in the final third was just lacking a little bit, so we’ll focus on these things moving forward.”