Sydney made to sweat..

After the dissapointment of our performance in Melbourne a week ago the visit of one of the League favourites Sydney was always going to be a big test for the girls. I had confidence that we would bounce back from the Melbourne 'blip' and I was not wrong!

Despite many people thinking playing at Hindmarsh on a big pitch against a Sydney side boasting 11 Matildas (including AFC Youth Player of the Year Caitlin Foord) was crazy, I had faith in the work that we have done both on our fitness and on our tactical organisation.

Sydney started the stronger and if it were not for two fantastic early saves and a couple of smart clearances outside her box from Sian McLaren we could have been 2 or 3 down early on. Slowly we started to get a foothold in the game and after a timely interception from Ashleigh Gunning, playing her best game since her return, Ebony Philcox found herself with a scoring opportunity which she narrowly failed to convert. Ebony is a young player, experiencing her first taste of W League football and she will go on to score goals in the league, of that I have no doubt.

Minutes later Marijana Rajcic sent the small but vocal home crowd into hysterics when she latched on to a lovely through ball from Anna Green to lob the Sydney keeper and put Adelaide into the lead! Shortly after MJ struck an even nicer lob/volley that brought out a stunning finger tip save from Allison Lipsher. Despite dominating possession Sydney could quite easily have found themselves 3 down at half time!

Unfortunately that was all about to change! With half time looming Sydney exploited a turn over in possession to break quickly, catching a number of Adelaide players momentarily out of position. Sarah Walsh and Heather Garriock combined to grab the equaliser for Sydney, which Garriock curled into the top corner, leaving McLaren with no chance. Just as it looked like 1-1 would be the half time score, Servet Uzunlar flighted a cross/shot in to the Adelaide area which was unfortunately spilt by Sian McLaren and gave the Sydney side an unlikely lead going into the break.

After the break Adelaide came out strongly, and enjoyed a greater share of the possession. Donna Cockayne looked dangerous on the right, especially when she was direct and positive with her running and MJ remained a constant threat. With Adelaide looking the most likely to score next and Sydney having their opportunities snuffed out by a combination of determined defending and more quality saves from Sian McLaren, disaster struck.. In the 67th minute, the much improved Emma Checker mistimed a tackle on Caitlin Foord and the referee on this occasion showed no hesitation in correctly pointing to the penalty spot. The penalty kick sent Macca the wrong way put found the far post. Just as it seemed the penalty taker would convert the rebound Anna Green intervened and with her defensive team mates managed to clear the ball.

The relief that followed the penalty miss was soon extinguished as under pressure from Leena Khamis Sian McLarens attempted punched clearance from an inswinging corner found its way into the back of the net to ease Sydneys fears of an Adelaide comeback. Moments later a fierce strike from Caitlin Foord slipped through Macca's grasp and gave Sydney a very flattering 4-1 victory.

Despite the scoreline this Adelaide performance was one of heart, discipline and real effort. Yes we need to keep the ball better, yes we need our attacking players to play closer together and yes we still need to be fitter but there have been huge improvements in many aspects of our play this season and there is more to come! The average age of the side at the weekend was under 20 and all but the 3 International players (Abby, Anna and Ashleigh) are South Australian girls. This is a side for the future and one that will continue to grow and improve.

The life a goalkeeper is not an easy one (http://www.radiolab.org/). As mentioned in the podcast link above a goalkeeper can make millions of saves which get forgotten due to 1 mistake that leads to a goal! Having rewatched the footage, Macca made 14 saves, 3 of which could or should have led to goals for Sydney during the game, these included 1 on 1's, shots from inside the box etc. all of which have been forgotten due to the couple of errors she made! Trust me noone is more upset or dissapointed than Macca with those mistakes but she is a top goalkeper and I back her 100% to bounce back.

We now have a weekend off from W League action and we will be using this week to recharge the batteries a little before pushing on for the last 4 regular season games against Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Melbourne. Our last 2 home games will be at Burton Park on the 17th December (Perth) and 15th January (Melbourne). I would love to see a huge crowd at both of these games to show the girls how much their efforts are appreciated but also to show the rest of the League and Australia how serious SA is about their Women's Football. Record crowds have been seen at Newcastle and Canberra this season, how great would it be for 1000+ people to be inside Burton Park to see the Lady Reds and celebrate more goals from MJ, Quigs and the team. Can we meet that challenge South Australia? 

'Blip'

After 4 games of improved performances this weekend saw the 'blip'. After consistent improvement and 4 games where the Lady Reds have been competitive, this weekend saw us produce our poorest performance of the season.

We could make excuses, like travelling in on the day or playing on astroturf for the first time or having players out through injury (with Ruth Wallace joining Ang Fimmano) but the fact is none of those things can and should be used as an excuse for our poor display. Melbourne were a good side and played a clever brand of football that suited the slick surface. We on the other hand had an off day which was to some extent to be expected after the huge lift in training and physical demands placed upon the girls over the last couple of months.

We lacked the defensive shape and cohesion that we showed against Brisbane and we lacked the composure in possession that we showed in Perth. This was just one of those days, which in a 10 game season, we can't really afford.

A couple of positives still came from the game with Sian McLaren returning from a year long injury and making a couple of excellent saves and youngsters Grace Henry and Ebony Philcox showing the confidence to play under pressure and retain possession. Donna Cockayne also came off the bench and showed signs of her 'old self' with the confidence to use her pace and power to get at her fullback.

Next weekend will see Sydney visit Hindmarsh for the live television game. This is another huge game for Adelaide and will require a much improved performance from The Lady Reds. The response at training tonight was very positive and the intensity rose again with the team eager to put on a show for the home crowd after the great support we received against Brisbane last week.

Highlights vs Brisbane

Highlights vs Brisbane

The Roar squeak past The Lady Reds

I have not yet watched the footage from the game yesterday but what a game.. What started as quite a tense arm wrestle, with both teams defending slightly deeper and preventing space in behind them, ended up as a high tempo, high pressing final 10 minutes when the Lady Reds could easily have snatched a draw or maybe even more..

Brisbane came into the game as hot favourites, last years champions and a side full of International experience, but the Adelaide girls are improving rapidly and were once again quietly confident going into the game. Having spent the bulk of the week working on our out of possession shape and defensive structure, it was pleasing to see us limit Brisbane to half chances and long range shots. Whilst we didn't create too many clear cut chances ourselves early on we did look dangerous on the break through Marijana Rajcic (MJ), Rachael Quigley and Donna Cockayne. As we tired slightly towards the end of the first half, Claire Polkingthorne was given too much time and space 30yeards out from goal and she took the most of that opportunity to strike at goal. A slight defelction on the shot appeared to loop it over Kristi Harvey to give Brisbane a 1-0 lead going into half time.

The second half started with Brisbane dominating possession and territory as fatigue started to affect our ability to press and maintain defensive shape. Substitutions were needed and Ashley Gunning, Greta French-Kennedy and Daniela DiBartolo were introduced to freshen things up. Before the substitutions could take effect, with Ruth Wallace off the pitch receiving treatment for a blood nose, Brisbane exploited their extra man and scored a second through Ashley Spina.

The second goal could have seen Adelaide drop their heads and maybe concede further goals, but driven on by the substitutes and their fresh legs, the opposite happened. Adelaide started to press higher and force Brisbane into mistakes. A quickly taken throw in and a great cross from the once again impressive Anna Green saw the Brisbane keeper fail to hold the cross under pressure and for once luck was on Adelaide's side with the ball dropping to Marijana Rajcic, who smashed it into the open goal to make the score 1-2. The momentum was definitely with Adelaide now and the final 10 minutes saw 3 or 4 very good chances fall to the Lady Reds; Donna Cockayne just failed to steer another wicked Anna Green cross in at the far post, Abby Erceg made a scything run from half way, linking well with Donna Coackayne to force another dangerous corner and Dani DiBartolo saw her powerful drive from an Ashleigh Gunning cross well saved by Kishi in the Brisbane goal who after looking a little edgy early on saved her team at the end with 2 or 3 very smart saves.

At the final whistle with the score still 1-2 the Brisbane side were very relieved and the Adelaide girls were visibly disappointed, which is a sign of their new found expectations and demands upon themselves. They now expect to beat anyone they play and they are not happy when they don't achieve what they want, they are no longer satisfied with coming close or simply being competitive, they expect to win. It may be a bit soon to be thinking that way, as it has always been said that there would be no quick fix for this side and that it would take time to get to a point where we could seriously challenge for titles against the 'big names' in the league, but the fact the team remains upbeat, positive and has retained the high expectations and demands placed upon them after such a tough start is very, very promising.

I am very proud of the side and the efforts and strides they have already made and I am very excited about how much further the team can progress. With the three U17 girls set to return this week, Sian McLaren getting closer to match fitness and Angela Fimmano starting her return, competition for places is going to intensify, which can only be a positive.

Finally I would like to thank all of the supporters who made their way to Burton at the weekend, the flags and the vocal support was much appreciated and certainly helped the girls push on in the final stages of the match, so thank you all.

Frustration.

After a couple of defeats against Canberra and Newcastle, two of this seasons favourites for the title, last weekend saw us travel to Perth for a game we genuinely felt we could win.

The opening moments of the game only served to support that feeling. Our out of possession pressing was causing the Perth backline problems, we were stealing ball in their defensive third of the field and in only the second minute Rachael Quigley opened the scoring with an athletic overhead kick (make sure you watch it) after some good work from Marijana Rajcic on the right.

At this point it looked like Adelaide could run away with the game and we probably should have to be honest. Unfortunately only 4 minutes after taking the lead, a tough refereeing call led to a Perth free-kick on the edge of the area. Despite blocking the initial shot, the ball could not be fully cleared and Erika Elze was able to bundle the ball over the line to level the scores. This boosted Perth and gave them hope after the initial shock of going a goal behind.

The Lady Reds continued to create chances but lacked the real desire or willingness to let fly in front of goal. "If you don't shoot, you won't score" Although we were dominating possession and territory Perth always looked dangerous on the counter attack through the pacey and hard working Emma Kete. Far too often we lacked the awareness to track her runs or pressure the ball before it got to her which cost us dearly in the 37th minute. From an attacking position, with a throw-in in the Perth defensive third, we went from having a shot on goal blocked to picking the ball out of the net. On the break, Emma Kete again drifted between two defenders and although our cover prevented her from scoring it could not prevent her finding Jukic who slotted past Kristi Harvey to give Perth an unlikely lead.

Despite the scoreline at half time we were confident of turning the game around, we put things in place to prevent us being susceptible to the Perth counter attack and looked to exploit our greater share of possession and territory more effectively in the second half. Unfortunately despite having close to 60% of the second half possession and creating over 20 on target shots we could not find a way past the impressive Mackenzie Arnold in the Perth goal.

The more we pushed forward in an attempt to get an equaliser, the more gaps that appeared for Perth to exploit but a slightly better out of possession showing in the second half also prevented Perth from adding to their score, despite a couple of close calls.

We had two, maybe three calls for penalties in this game, two where MJ was bundled over in the box and one where Georgia Macri was flattened by the keeper. I'm not sure how close the penalty calls were but I can say we have not had the rub of the green as far as decisions have gone so far; Kath Ebbs sending off which saw her miss this game, these penalty calls and even the free-kick decision against Ruth Wallace that led to Perth's equaliser could all have gone another way on a different day..

Having said that this was a game we should still have won and it is one that we sat down after and had a good talk about both in terms of our performances, our desire to win, but probably most importantly our belief that we can win! This is a new team, a new coach, a new season and the history of the previous 27 games needs to be discarded! This team is 3 games old, yes three lost games but in every game we have been competitive, we have created scoring opportunities (20+ against Perth!), we have possessed the ball and we have PLAYED FOOTBALL.

This team can and will win games as long as we believe we truly can and as long as we keep putting the effort in on and off the field. Despite being disappointed with the result, I am more than ever convinced that this group of players can be successful!

Highlights vs Newcastle (sorry about sound)

Video 2 'offside'

video 1 'sending off'

Round 2 vs Newcastle

Sorry for the delay in reporting on Round 2 but with the Qantas strikes, we found ourselves stuck in Sydney until today (more on that later).

After travelling to Newcastle on the Friday and picking Ashleigh Gunning up from Sydney airport the Lady Reds settled into the hotel in preparation for Saturday's Round 2 clash against the big spending Newcastle Jets.

On arrival at Adamstown Oval, despite a less than pristine playing surface, the team were confident of further progressing from last weeks opening round performance against Canberra. The game started brightly for Adelaide United, with aggressive pressure from the front line causing German International, Ariane Hingst into an early mistake and gifting the Lady Reds some early possession. The opening 5 minutes saw Adelaide on top and playing some nice football, but as last week an early defensive slip saw the opposition take the lead after a Lisa De Vanna cross was turned into the Adelaide net from a very tight angle by Linda O'Neill.

For the second time in 2 weeks the Lady Reds saw themselves concede an early goal, but again didn't let that fact affect their performance. Despite the early set back, Adelaide settled into their game and started to cause Newcastle some problems. Donna Cockayne was leading fomer Adelaide United player, Stacey Day, a merry dance out wide and Ashleigh Gunning showed glimpses of her potential. It was Marijana Rajcic though who caused the Jets their biggest cause for concern. After some neat midfield interplay, MJ stole in front of Hingst with a clever touch and shot across Melissa Barbieri. Unfortunately the shot was not quite what MJ had planned and Barbieri was relieved to see the ball slide past the far post. The rest of the first half followed a similar pattern with both sides creating half chances and sharing possession, in fact it was Adelaide who came closest to adding to the scoreline from a well worked corner between Anna Green and Abby Erceg, only for Barbieri to take the ball off Erceg's head just as it looked like she would power the ball into the back of the net.

Having limited Newcastle's team of superstars to half chances and creating a couple of scoring opportunities themselves in the first half Adelaide started the second half in buoyant mood and dominated the opening passages of play. From an Adelaide attacking position on the left flank, Newcastle stole the ball and in smashing a clearance downfield caught the Adelaide backline out of position and allowed the pacey Lisa De Vanna an opportunity to slot past Kristi Harvey in the 49th minute. Another early goal against is certainly something that needs to be addressed before next weekend!

The Lady reds bounced back from this latest set back and once again matched Newcastle throughout the game. But for a moment of madness in the 69th minute, Ruth Wallace, Abby Erceg, Anna Green and Nenita Burgess looked solid at the back despite the constant threat of De Vanna, Tara Andrews and Emily Van Egmond. Having appeared to deal with the initial attacking threat a mix up between Ruth Wallace and Rachael Quigley, gifted Newcastle possession in the Adelaide area and Lisa De Vanna struck a shot underneath Kristi Harvey to make the score 3-0. 

With Ashleigh Gunning struggling from her travel exertions, Georgia Macri was introduced into the game and as last week made a pleasing contribution, looking sharp and dangerous. Her link up play with MJ led to Adelaides best opportunity when Georgia beat the retreating Hingst and from the edge of the box hit a low shot past the despairing Barbieri, only to see the ball agonisingly bounce back off the inside of the far post. Barbieri, who came close to signing for Adelaide was tested further. MJ had her beaten with a powerful shot, only to see the ball shave the outside of the far post and she was lucky not to be beaten after some great wing play from Donna Cockayne saw Donna get a return pass from MJ 8 yds out only to hit her shot straight at the Newcastle keeper.

In the closing stages of the game two incredible decisions soured the day for the Lady Reds. I can't comment on refereeing decisions and am more than aware that the officials have a difficult job but to be penalised for offside from a throw-in is certainly a first for me. The sending off of Katherine Ebbs was difficult to understand and I think the reaction of the crowd reflected their opinion of the decision too. The Newcastle crowd (an impressive 847) were very generous with their applause and support for Katherine as she left the field visibly upset.

So a second defeat in a tough opening couple of games for the Lady Reds but once again many positives to be taken from the game. Nenita Burgess came in for U17 International Emma Checker and looked assured at right back, Ruth Wallace and Abby Erceg look to be growing as a central defensive pairing and Anna Green was again impressive at left back. Leanne Slater had a solid game in the midfield and provided a physical presence in the middle of the park. MJ is looking sharper every game and Donna Cockayne had an impressive game on the right wing creating a number of good attacking situations.

Following the end of the game the team were faced with the news that Qantas flights had been grounded and that we may be stuck in Newcastle or Sydney for a day or two. The reaction of the team was utterly professional and a glowing reflection on the character of the girls and the team spirit that has been created. Thanks to Fitness First on Market Street in Sydney, the team performed a double session on Monday, with a strength session in the morning followed by a tough High Intensity Interval Training session in the afternoon. (photos to follow)

Next week, sees another away game, this time a trip to Perth, where I am sure both teams will be looking to notch up their first points of the season in the weekends televised game.