Adelaide United will head to Melbourne next weekend needing to overturn a two-goal deficit after a 3-1 loss to rivals Melbourne Victory in the first leg of their Semi-Final clash. Despite the result, Head Coach Adrian Stenta believes there’s plenty to take from the performance — and insists the tie is far from over.
Stenta on the first-leg result…
“That’s not the result we wanted. But I was pleased with the performance — especially in the first half, we caused a lot of problems for the opposition. It’s just a shame we let ourselves down with a couple of set pieces. I’m not sure the scoreline was an accurate reflection of how we played.”
Stenta on creating chances but not converting…
“Probably the most frustrating part is not being able to turn those promising passages into really big chances. That’s what it takes to score against a side like Victory — they’ve kept a lot of clean sheets and are hard to break down. But I think we showed enough to take confidence into next week.”
Stenta on positives to build from…
“I thought we were a lot braver in possession compared to last week. We moved the ball well, executed most of our plan, and we varied our tempo depending on what was in front of us. We just needed to be a bit stronger physically, because it was clear those moments weren’t going to be given as fouls.”
Stenta on Erin Healy’s impact…
“Erin was outstanding. She scored the goal and was central to our attacking build-up. We’ve managed her minutes carefully, but she stepped up again tonight and showed her quality.”
Stenta on the approach to the second leg…
“We’re just going to go for it. The score doesn’t matter at this point. We’ll attack, we’ll be aggressive, and we’ll put everything on the line. That’s who we are — we trust our defenders, and we believe in our attacking weapons. Why not go all the way?”
Stenta on defending set pieces…
“It’s disappointing because we defended really well in open play. We’ve been strong from set pieces all season, but those moments cost us tonight. We’ll review them and aim to be better next week.”
Stenta on the crowd at Coopers Stadium…
“The support was brilliant. If we want to keep growing the women’s game and keep playing games like this at Coopers, we need fans turning up and making noise. These players deserve it.”
Stenta on the injury to Tiarna Karambasis
“I haven’t had a chance to speak with her or the doctor yet, but based on the way she went down, I’d be surprised if she’s available next week. Player safety comes first, and we’ll make sure she’s looked after properly.”
