A resurgent Adelaide United and the league-leading Wanderers cancelled each other out in a 0-0 stalemate at Pirtek stadium earlier tonight.
End-to-end football from both teams resulted in the chances coming quickly for the likes of Federico Piovaccari and Bruce Djite, yet these opportunities at goal would lead to early controversy. Referee Ben Williams took the spotlight by denying a penalty at either end of the pitch, first when the Western Sydney striker was locked in a physical battle with Dylan McGowan and soon after when Michael Marrone crashed with Nikolai Topor-Stanley inside the area.
The hosts had numerous attacks towards goal cutout early due to Piovaccari’s problems with the offside flag, while Adelaide came the closest in the 70th minute with a Craig Goodwin header.
As was to be expected, Ben Williams was blasted over social media by both sets of fans after the game, although many did show respect for his actions after the game, stating he was wrong about the penalty decisions. There was a sense of satisfaction with the final result though, as the Wanderers take their unbeaten run to 10-games, while Adelaide are back in contention for the top six.
Here are the best reactions to come from Twitter after the game:
Players and coaches are accountable. When will Ben Williams be made accountable? Been performing like this for way too long #WSWvADL
— Tom Chadwick (@TomChadwickFox) January 1, 2016
Nice job Ben Williams. Penalties are soooooooooo 2015. #WSWvADL
— Sam Mac & Jules (@thebleague) January 1, 2016
imagine being Ben Williams and collecting a full-time wage for being a professional referee. incredible #WSWvADL
— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) January 1, 2016
Timely reminder Ben Williams is one of the few A-League referees who is on a full-time contract #WSWvADL
— The Football Sack (@TheFootballSack) January 1, 2016
Ben Williams 1, Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide 0 #WSWvADL
— Benjamin Solah (@benjaminsolah) January 1, 2016
January 2015: Ben Williams infuriates Iran. January 2016: Ben Williams infuriates Adelaide
— Ned Zelic (@NedZelic) January 1, 2016
Me waiting for Ben Williams to talk to Bozza #WSWvADL #BeautifulGame # pic.twitter.com/wqsvKsylaZ
— Matthew Storey (@MattJStorey) January 1, 2016
Great to see Ben Williams come and admit he got the penalty decisions wrong. #WSWvADL #aleague
— Jordan Thurtell (@JordanThurtell) January 1, 2016
Well done, Ben Williams. Fronting up and admitting his mistakes.
— Ryan Reynolds (@Reynolds_R) January 1, 2016
Tonight's the first time ever I've seen a ref own up to their mistakes to the public post game in any sport. Well done Ben Williams #WSWvADL
— Hayden Nadolny (@HBNadolny) January 1, 2016
Reckon WSW should have gone on to win that. Good point for Adelaide on the road. #WSWvADL
— Katie Lambeski (@katielambeski) January 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/_Musie10/status/682872852945584128
10 games unbeaten. I'll settle for that. #WSWvADL
— Kirky (@kirky0110) January 1, 2016
Remember when Adelaide could break at will? And play fast attacking football? Oh those were the days… #WSWvADL #sbsaleague
— Ahmed Yussuf (@ahmedyussuf10) January 1, 2016
Probably would've taken 0-0 before the game. Decent result away to the top team #WSWvADL #COYR
— Andrew (@melatonii) January 1, 2016
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