Lady Reds fly past the Jets in emphatic victory

Adelaide United has stormed to its first win of the Westfield W-League season with a commanding 3-1 win over the Newcastle Jets at Burton Park.

After a 1-1 draw with the Wanderers and a 2-0 home loss to the Victory, Adelaide bounced back with an unstoppable attacking display that put the home side in the driving seat and the crowd on their feet for the majority of the match.

In what was Rachael Quigley’s 50th W-League appearance, a brace to Tiarn Powell and a goal to Alexandra Gummer gave the Lady Reds all three points against a lacklustre Jets side. Newcastle netted a consolation goal deep into stoppage time through Jasmin Courtenay however the damage had been done by then with Adelaide on top for most of the match.

The Lady Reds took the lead in the 25th minute with Tiarn Powell using her pace and strength to power past her defender. Newcastle ‘keeper Eliza Campbell rushed out to shut down the angles but Powell calmly slotted the ball home to put Adelaide 1-0 up. Powell’s goal helped the Reds take a stranglehold of the match as Captain Kristy Moore’s mazy run unlocked the Jets defence and fired into the side-netting just a minute later, almost putting the home side 2-0 up.

Newcastle had no response to the Reds onslaught and it was just a matter of time before they doubled their lead, this time Alexandra Gummer the beneficiary. An Adelaide corner was lofted into the box and headed to the far post into Gummer’s path. The left-back found herself goal-side of her defender and had plenty of time to put away her second goal of the season and put her side in complete control.

Powell put the cherry on top of a commanding performance in the 32nd minute as she fired a thunderbolt that Campbell had no hope of stopping. The striker’s through ball to Moore had the crowd on its feet in anticipation of something special. The veteran held up possession and laid the ball back to the charging Powell who struck an unstoppable first-time shot to send the home crowd into raptures. Powell’s goal capped off a seven-minute assault that resulted in three Adelaide goals.

The Jets’ best chance of the first half fell to Captain Gema Simon in the 36th minute. Simon’s fierce strike looked destined for the back of the net. Melissa Barbieri was on-hand to make an acrobatic diving save to her left however to maintain her clean sheet.

The second half saw the introduction of Rachael Quigley who became the first Lady Red to reach 50 games for the club. The 22-year-old almost made an immediate impact, getting onto the end of a number of Adelaide attacks as she searched for the perfect way to mark her milestone match.

Both sides were much more restrained in the second half as they tired from the heat and frantic pace of the opening 45 minutes. Chances were few and far between for both teams as the Lady Reds concentrated on holding out their opposition for an emphatic victory.

A mix-up at the back allowed the Jets in for a late consolation goal however the Lady Reds had already put enough distance between them and their opposition after a dominant first-half performance.

--

Goal(s): Powell 25’ (1-0), Gummer 30’(2-0), Powell 32’(3-0), Courtenay ‘90+ (3-1)

--

Adelaide Starting XI: Barbieri (gk), Gummer, Wharepouri, Stockdale, Woods, Borg, Brown, McCormick, Powell, Di Bartolo, Moore (c)

Subs: Quigley, Iannella, Barltrop (gk), Veljanovska

--

Newcastle Starting XI: Campbell (gk), Day, McCormack, Spina, Simon (c), Searl, Andrews, Dobson, Beard, Nenadovic, Jones

Subs: Bozanic, Courtenay, Davis, Buchanan