Adelaide United had to settle for a 1-1 draw against the Western Sydney Wanderers at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
The Reds found themselves ahead as Tarek Elrich’s cut-back fortuitously deflected off Andreu and past the onlooking Andrew Redmayne on 21 minutes. The lively contest ebbed and flowed throughout the first-half with the Wanderers close to equalising on two occasions had it not been for some desperate defending by Dylan McGowan and Elrich.
However, with seven minutes remaining Spanish midfielder Andreu restored parity, capitalising on Elrich’s woeful clearance to hand the away outfit a point in front of 9,942 spectators.
Dylan McGowan’s last-ditch defending a sight to behold
The 24-year-old illustrated experience beyond his years after committing a plethora of last-ditch challenges to keep his side in the match and ahead when the Reds took the lead through an own goal. Three tackles in particular certainly caught the eyes of the largely partisan crowd, who showed its appreciation by clapping and cheering loudly when McGowan aptly dealt with the ominous situations. The centre-half was isolated on a couple of instances with Romeo Castelen running at full speed, however it did not seem to bother him as he expertly timed his tackles to perfection to deny the Dutchman. After the interval it was no different as McGowan continued to portray his class in what is looking to be a real break out year for the young defender.
Romeo Castelen a bright spot for the Wanderers
As alluded to earlier, Castelen was immense in Western Sydney’s attacking play. The former Feyenoord man looked lively during proceedings and caused the usually unflappable Elrich a few defensive headaches. The once Hamburg winger continuously provided the outlet for his team as his composure and holdup play on the ball offered the Wanderers defence some respite. The ex-Netherlands international was without a doubt the best player on the park for the visitors and could have a goal late on, only for his low curling strike blocked by who else but again McGowan. Judging by this positive performance if the 32-year-old can maintain this sort of form boss Tony Popovic will be quietly pleased, given he struggled with injury last season – limited to just 16 league matches.
Clear-cut chances still a concern for Amor
Despite the lively outing by his team Guillermo Amor will still be lamenting his side’s inability to muster clear-cut scoring opportunities. Eli Babalj started the match but again went missing and was substituted at half-time following another quiet appearance. With Bruce Djite still sidelined with a groin injury, Amor will have to make some sort of alteration in that number nine position. Pablo Sanchez is a glaring option, but was inexplicably left on the bench. The 32-year-old may get the nod next week to lead the front-line given the Reds failure to generate routine chances.
Outside90 Player of the Year votes:
3 – Dylan McGowan
2 – Romeo Castelen
1 – Osama Malik
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