Adrian Stenta was delighted to come away with the three points as Adelaide United made it two wins on the bounce against Canberra United on Saturday.
Dylan Holmes, Chelsie Dawber and Fiona Worts were on target for the Reds in hot conditions in the Capital, helping United to a 3-1 triumph and its biggest away win since December 2015.
Stenta said it was crucial to register consecutive victories, particularly after his side’s inconsistent start to the Liberty A-League 2021/22 season.
He was also aware of the Reds subpar record in Canberra, with the South Australians registering just its second win and first since 2014.
“I think it’s a really important result for us,” he told Paramount+ post-match as the Reds move to three wins and two defeats for the campaign.
“A little bit because of how our season has been so far. We’ve been a bit of a yo-yo side, our season’s been up and down.
“We haven’t got a good record here in Canberra and they’re always tough to beat here.
“And we knew they’d be tough to beat here because for me I think their season was on the line a little bit.
“So to come away with the points and the results after being challenged in the second-half is really pleasing.”
With Adelaide leading 2-0 at half-time it brought back flashbacks to United’s most recent visit to the venue when United squandered a two-goal advantage in December 2020.
Stenta used that disappointing result as a reminder, though was confident a repeat of that fateful day would be avoided.
“I mentioned it at half-time but only because I wanted to deal with it in the dressing room,” he revealed.
“Today felt different, it didn’t feel like the same sort of game, they had a lot more momentum and we felt confident that we could run out the game on top of them because they had a challenge after playing midweek and backing up after only a couple of days.”
The Reds temporarily climb into the top four and Stenta believes his side are capable of achieving something special this year.
“We’ve been working really hard for a number of years now not just the last couple that I’ve been in charge,” he continued.
“And the Club’s been really committed to the women’s team, we’ve had some stability with the playing group and with the coaching group as well.
“We feel like we’re in a good place to go one step further than we did last year.”
