Reds grind out win over Wanderers

Adelaide United has jumped to fifth place on the Hyundai A-League ladder after securing a 1-0 win over the Wanderers at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.

A lone strike from Marcelo Carrusca in the fourth minute was enough to seal all the points for United who battled all game against a side facing their third game in just eight days.

United started brightly and were rewarded for their industry however there was a hint of controversy in the Reds’ opener.

After a goalmouth scramble in the Wanderers’ area, Bruce Djite cut the ball back to Carrusca after it appeared to cross the line. Carrusca finished with aplomb to give Adelaide the lead amid protests from the Wanderers.

After coming off matches against Sydney and Melbourne Victory, Tony Popovic’s side had just five days to recover for the clash at Coopers Stadium however he felt his team was more than competitive against an in-form Adelaide.

“Overall the performance was good,” Popovic said.

“It was a much improved performance as a team with the character they showed.

“I thought right up until the final whistle I was positive that we could get a goal, so there were good signs there,” he said.

The win took Adelaide into equal-fifth place with Perth to earn a place in the final six after weeks of improved performances, however, head coach Josep Gombau is ensuring his side doesn’t get ahead of itself.

“What we need to do is take it game-by-game and try to do the best we can,” Gombau said.

“We want to win every single game and we will fight for every single game and in the end if we are in the finals, perfect,” he said.

Despite being pleased with his side’s efforts, Popovic feels the Wanderers will need a big improvement in the final third after failing to breach Adelaide’s defence.

“We probed, got a lot of opportunities around the edge of the box but our final ball let us down today,” Popovic said.

“There were a lot of opportunities with a 3-on-2 or a 4-on-2 and we just didn’t capitalize on it.

“The decision making of our final ball is something we really need to work on,” he said.




Adelaide United: Galekovic (gk), Boogaard, McKain, Malik, Neumann, Isaias, Carrusca, Djite, Watson, Zullo, Elrich

Subs: Lustica, Mabil, Izzo (gk), Elsey, Griffiths


Western Sydney Wanderers: Covic (gk), D'Apuzzo, Beauchamp, Haliti, Juric, Mooy, Hersi, Ono, Heffernan, Fofanah, Alessi

Subs: Cole, Santalab, Bridge, Tyson (gk), Trifiro