A Fiona Worts double propelled Adelaide United to third place on the Ninja A-Leagues ladder after a determined defensive display saw them overcome the Newcastle Jets this afternoon at ServiceFM Stadium, Gepps Cross.
The Reds battled throughout, with the Jets pressing hard, but Adelaide’s clinical finishing and resilience at the back ultimately secured the points.
Matilda McNamara was a last-minute but welcome addition, flying in from Matildas duty just hours before the match.
United started with high intensity, pressing aggressively up the pitch, but the Jets responded in kind, putting the Reds under constant pressure and disrupting their ability to play out from the back.
Former Newcastle Knights rugby player Sheridan Gallagher was booked in the 11th minute after a rough challenge on Zoe Tolland.
While the Jets looked more threatening early on, they couldn’t turn their energy into clear chances. Deven Jackson came closest in the 20th minute, with her header drifting just wide of Claudia Jenkins’ goal.
Erin Healy was United’s standout performer in the first half, finding herself one-on-one with the keeper in the 8th minute, only to be denied by a brave stop. She followed up with a powerful strike just before the half-hour mark, but it sailed wide.
Despite the Jets’ early dominance, it was Adelaide who broke the deadlock. In the 43rd minute, Emily Condon’s free kick led to a chaotic goalmouth scramble, with Fiona Worts eventually bundling the ball over the line to give the Reds the lead.
United began the second half with the same energy, and Erin Healy nearly connected with a dangerous cross from Worts within minutes of the restart.
In defence, Ella Tonkin and Matilda McNamara were impenetrable, forming a solid partnership that shut down any Jets attack and kept the backline watertight.
Lucia León’s relentless work rate paid off in the 60th minute when she won the ball on the halfway line, surged forward, and set up Worts, who calmly slid home her second goal of the day. The goal was the product of León’s hard graft, and she left everything on the pitch before being substituted for Meleri Mullan.
Claudia Jenkins put on a goalkeeping masterclass with a series of heroic saves. First, she clawed the ball off the line to deny Sheridan Gallagher, then made a stunning recovery to tip the ball onto the bar, followed by an incredible point-blank save to keep the Jets at bay.
Sian Dewey came close to adding a third for United in the 77th minute, striking the crossbar with a brilliant free kick.
Chelsie Dawber made her long-awaited return from injury, coming on for the final six minutes of regulation time to help see out the match.
Adelaide United held firm in the closing stages to secure a vital clean sheet and claim a hard-earned win, moving them up to third on the A-League Women’s table.
Coach Adrian Stenta said:
“We’ve committed to a playing style and a mental attitude about the way we want to play games. We’re not focusing on just shutting up shop—we want to keep going, keep attacking, and provide entertainment for the people who come to watch us. If that means we expose ourselves a bit, so be it.”
