Adelaide United aims to gets W-League finals bid back on track after Western Sydney thrashing

ADELAIDE United coach Ivan Karlovic says the Reds have five days to turn demoralising defeat into a valuable lesson as they bid to keep their W-League finals dream alive.

Adelaide United goalkeeper Sarah Willacy’s display was a rare bright spot in the Reds’ loss to Western Sydney Wanderers. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

ADELAIDE United has five days to turn demoralising defeat into a valuable lesson as it bids to keep its W-League finals dream alive.

That was the message from Reds coach Ivan Karlovic after his side was thumped 4-1 by cellar-dweller Western Sydney Wanderers at Marden Sports Complex on Saturday.

United entered the weekend with its destiny in its own hands ahead of three straight home games to round out the regular season. Karlovic said it needed to regroup quickly for Friday’s clash with Newcastle Jets, when its playoff hopes would again be on the line.

“We were second best all day and deserved what we got out of the game,” said Karlovic, of the shock loss to the previously winless Wanderers. “But we have to learn from it.

“As a group we’ve had many different challenges across the course of the year and this is another challenge.

“We’ve got two games (left) and I think if we get two wins out of that, I dare say we should be in the finals.

“It’s not doom and gloom. They’re a good group and they’ll bounce back.”

Adelaide never recovered from Rachel Lowe’s second-minute opener for the visitors and was indebted to goalkeeper Sarah Willacy’s heroics for keeping the scoreline down.

Karlovic said individual mistakes and a collective lack of ferocity had hurt his fifth-placed side, which recorded back-to-back defeats for the first time this summer.

“You can’t expect to get a result when ... there’s poor skill errors, no intensity, no want or desire,” the mentor said.

Adelaide United coach Ivan Karlovic speaks to striker Michelle Heyman during the Reds’ clash with Western Sydney Wanderers. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

“It was just one of those days where unfortunately we had too many players that didn’t turn up.

“They’re different challenges for us because we’re coming up against a side that’s dropping off and giving us a lot of the ball. We have to start to make the play a little bit more and look to get the ball moving quickly. But it’s just a bump in the road for us.”

The Reds sorely missed the influence of Icelandic duo Fanndis Fridriksdottir and Gunnhildur Jonsdottir, who were away on international duty Karlovic said the return of the experienced pair for the meeting with the Jets would be a boost, but called for the entire squad to step up.

“If you take two players of that calibre out of any side it makes a huge difference.

“But in saying that, we have more than enough quality on the park.”