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?
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