Adelaide United are up into fourth on the Ninja A-League ladder after defeating Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 at Wanderers Football Park on Sunday evening.
The away side started the brighter at Wanderers Football Park and would have taken the lead were it not for an excellent piece of defending from Poppie Hooks, who cleared a Fiona Worts effort off the line in the 11th minute.
Irish forward Erin Healy then lashed a powerful effort narrowly wide of the upright as the Wanderers defence found themselves camped on the edge of their own box.
The Wanderers had their best chance of the first half on the approach to half time as Millie Bennett fired first-time effort towards goal which was comfortable saved by Ilona Melegh in the Adelaide goal.
The breakthrough came in the 59th minute and it was an unfortunate moment for Wanderers defender Danika Matos, who could do little to stop the ball from bouncing off her leg and into the net after Matilda McNamara’s initial effort then hit her after hitting the post.
Now a goal down the Wanderers looked to level things up and came close to doing so in the 68th minute, however Melegh pulled off a top save to tip Allyssa Ng-Saad’s dipping effort around the post.
The home side pushed for a late equaliser but Adelaide held firm to seal a ninth-straight win against the Wanderers.
The result pushes them up into fourth spot on the ladder whilst defeat for the Wanderers means they remain second-last, three points clear of rivals Sydney FC.
