By Johnathan Stack
Adelaide United 1-2 Western United (4/12/22)
Above: Western United celebrate a dramatic winner. Photo: @wufcofficial twitter
There were astonishing scenes at the ServiceFM Stadium as Western United pulled off a dramatic late comeback against Adelaide United.
Mark Torcaso’s side ran out 2-1 winners after scoring two goals in second half stoppage time with the winner hitting the net in the 97th minute. Strikes from Sydney Cummings and Emma Robers sealed the fight back to send Western United top of the Liberty A-League table.
Western United was forced into an early change as Stacey Papadopoulos took a nasty fall during a challenge following Adelaide keeper Annalee Grove’s clearance. The club have subsequently made a statement via social media that Papadopoulos sustained a concussion and was taken to hospital for precautionary scans which have come back clear.
With the second half just a minute old, there was a golden opportunity for Adelaide to hit the front when Emilia Murray missed from close range after Xiao YuYi squared the ball across the box.
The South Australian hosts had better luck 10 minutes later when Chelsie Dawber broke the deadlock with her first goal of the season. The striker was played through and Western United centre-back Alana Cerne and keeper Hillary Beall ran into each other leaving Dawber to place her right-footed shot from the middle of the box into the bottom left corner of the empty goal.
With the Victoria-based side introducing Matildas’ star Chloe Logarzo off the bench, they gained a greater foothold in midfield and began to be far more threatening. Cummings played through Aimee Medwin but her effort smashed the crossbar.
With 90 minutes on the clock, Western United got the equaliser from a thrown-in on the left-hand side that made its way to Hannah Keane. The in-form attacker teed up Cummings on the edge of the box whose shot was deflected and found its way into the back of the net.
Then in the 97th minute, the competition’s newest team won it in some style. Chloe Logarzo’s corner was initially cleared by Dawber but waiting on the edge of the box was Robers who crashed a thunderous strike into the back of the net to seal the victory for Western United and send them top of the Liberty A-League.
Teams: ADELAIDE UNITED (4-3-3): Grove, Hodgson, Tonkin (McCormick), Waldus, Hayward, Condon (Barbieri), Sasaki, Holmes, Dawber, Xiang (Bowler), Murray (Westland). Substitutes not used: Westland, Wilson.
Scorer: Dawber 56′.
WESTERN UNITED (4-1-4-1): Beall, Papadopoulos (Medwin, Sinclair), Cerne, Cummings, Vlajnic, McDonald, M Taranto, Robers, A Taranto (Logarzo), Iermano (Dakic), Keane. Substitute not used: Dakic.
Scorers: Cummings 90+1′, Robers 97+7′.
Referee Lara Lee.
Attendance: 1,013.
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