Referee Kris Griffiths Jones helped Adelaide to an undeserved point in a soggy 0-0 draw tonight.
With Adelaide in 10th place, and the Wanderers yet to score a victory at the Olympic Showground, the Red & Black wanted to make a statement against the cellar dwellers. Their quest began in earnest in the 20th minute, with Nico Martinez lifting a cross from a short corner to Kearyn Baccus, the young midfielder headed back across goal for Lachlan Scott. He beat the keeper with his toepoke toward goal but not a defender on the goal-line who turned the shot away.
Just prior to the break the Wanderers should have taken the lead but were unfairly denied by the referee. Jumpei Kusukami & Jack Clisby combined down the left flank, the fullback fired in a cross that Daniel Margush spilled at the feet of the onrushing Scott, sparking an almighty goalmouth scramble between Terry Antonis, Dimas, Scott, four Adelaide defenders and their goalkeeper. Margush dived to the turf in a recovery attempt but the slippery surface had him beat, he dropped the rebound off Scott, Dimas had a lash at the ball, Margush could only watch the ball slide out of his hands, Dimas smashed the ball home finally to the delight of the home fans but like so many other games this season, the Wanderers were killed by an incorrect decision.
Rescuing the keeper, Griffiths-Jones decided that somewhere in the scramble that there was a foul on the keeper, when the reality was that the keeper had simply dropped the ball and had not regained control. Lachlan Scott was also denied a goal via a dubious offside call.
Despite the poor refereeing on display, the Wanderers should have done the job in the second half but once again a lack of penetration and quality with the final ball let them down. Terry Antonis forced a good save out of Margush with a long range left foot strike that the keeper turned over the bar. Scott couldn't buy a goal, his 50th minute effort of a header he nodded on target despite having to jump backwards was also saved by Margush.
Kearyn Baccus dodged and weaved through the Adelaide defence 3 minutes before time, passing through Tarek Elrich and other defenders, linking with Ryan Griffiths before smashing his shot wide. Jaushua Sotirio had a shot deflected away for a corner and the last chance of the game was a free kick for Antonis, but inexplicably he failed to realised it was awarded as an indirect free kick, not that it mattered as he crashed the shot on the crossbar.
It was another game of short corners and poorly taken long corners, being either unable to beat the first man, or smashing it far across the penalty area, fullbacks who cross the ball to people who aren't in a position to attack the ball, and forwards who couldn't fire home. The refereeing on display was the usual ineptitude in the A-League, the pitch was a disgrace but the Wanderers should have put three past the poor Adelaide side.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now