Adelaide United falls 3-2 to Western Sydney Wanderers in heated A-League clash at Hindmarsh Stadium
Adelaide United has slipped to its third A-League loss in four games after a dramatic defeat to Western Sydney Wanderers which included two late Reds penalties and plenty of VAR controversy.
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ADELAIDE United’s eye-catching early-season form is in danger of becoming a fading memory after it slumped to a third loss in four games to slip into a mid-table dogfight.
The Reds went down 3-2 to Western Sydney at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night in breathless encounter which included two penalties at the death for the hosts.
But George Blackwood blazed the second spot kick over the bar in stoppage time, just moments after converting the first in a heated clash marked by VAR controversy.
A pair of Nicolai Muller headers – one in each half – left the home side chasing the game in blistering 36C heat.
Adelaide’s bright start was momentarily rewarded when Al Hassan Toure finished off a clever pass by Nikola Mileusnic to draw the Reds level on 19 minutes.
But United’s second-half fade out was punished when Mohamed Adam grabbed his maiden A-League goal to seemingly settle the contest 13 minutes from time before the late drama.
It secured the previously struggling Wanderers’ first triumph in eight attempts.
The result also left Adelaide, which recorded four-stright victories in October-November, fifth and locked in a logjam of finals hopefuls heading into the new year.
MINDSET MATTERS
Coach Verbeek slammed his side’s attitude and mentality following last Sunday’s shock loss on the road to cellar-dweller Central Coast Mariners.
His charges, who had been sluggish starters for most of the past month, powered out the blocks and created three opportunities in the first 10 minutes.
Toure failed to make contact with Mileusnic’s low cross from 8m out, before the Reds’ wide man tested Daniel Lopar and Blackwood was also denied by the visitors No.1.
But the Reds’ positive early work was undone soon after when the Wanderers benefited from a slice of luck to take the lead.
Mitch Duke fed the ball wide to Adam, whose low delivery deflected off Michael Jakobsen into the path of Müller to head cleverly over the stranded Paul Izzo.
RETURNING REDS
Centre back Jordan Elsey came in for his first start since round one in place of Michael Marrone and goalkeeper Izzo returned after missing last week with adductor problem.
While the Adelaide custodian saved well from Patrick Ziegler in the opening period, the pair were unable to shore up the Reds defence which failed to record its second clean sheet of the campaign.
Blackwood, restored to the side in midfield after sitting out the Mariners match with a calf problem, was industrious before his vastly contrasting fortunes from the penalty spot.
But United again missed the drive of leading scorer Riley McGree in the engine room, as the Australian under-23 star was sidelined for a third-straight fixture with a knee injury.
PASSING INTEREST
Adelaide (75 per cent) came into the match with worst passing accuracy in the competition.
But a slick piece of interplay deservedly dragged the hosts level.
The busy Mileusnic exchanged a smart give and go with Ben Halloran, before squaring across the face of goal for Toure to tap home from close range.
It was the teenager striker’s first strike in nine matches.
Another incisive Reds move just shy of the break ended with Mileusnic again finding Toure, who screwed his effort wide when well placed.
But United’s passing dropped off after half-time, as too many balls failed to find their target or were played behind a teammate blunting promising attacks before they developed.
VAR-Y DEBATABLE
The video assistant had their say on string of contentious decisions with mixed success.
There was a four-minute first-half delay as Lopar was correctly adjudged to have kept out Blackwood’s snap shot, despite the custodian’s starting position being behind his goal line.
But the call to overlook Duke’s kick-out at Ben Halloran after the Western Sydney captain was bundled over by Reds winger was more questionable.
Both players, who were involved in a game of push and shove after the incident, escaped without punishment after a lengthy VAR look.
Referee Chris Beath later consulted the sideline replay screen to determine that Ziegler had up-ended Toure in injury time for Blackwood’s successful spot kick.
The official followed the same process to award Daniel Georgievski’s handball from Jakobsen’s cross, but Blackwood threw away his second chance from 12 yards.
FADING OUT
Adelaide went into the break with the momentum following a promising first-half display.
But it dropped off markedly in the second period, to allow ex-Red Tarek Elrich to come off the bench and cross expertly for Muller’s brilliant far post header on 59 minutes.
It got worse when Adelaide’s back four was caught square by Pirmin Schwegler’s through ball for Adam to score at the second attempt after Izzo had saved his initial effort.
The Reds showed character to force two penalties at the death.
But as the 8846 home crowd found its voice, they came up short to leave Verbeek with more questions than answers at the midway point of his first campaign at the helm.