A-League Women Rd 17 - Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United

Adrian Stenta prior to the Round 17 A-League Women match between Wellington Phoenix and Adelaide United at Porirua Park in the 2024/25 season. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images. Supplied by Adelaide United.

Adelaide United came away the 1-0 victors at Coopers Stadium on Sunday, marking the first time that the women’s side has won a finals match.

It was a very close-run affair, with the Reds showing their resilience to defend a slim lead late into the game.

Head coach Adrian Stenta praised the mentality and fortitude of his side, even in a game where they could have been better.

“It was a challenging game, probably not at our best but we were really resilient and defended really well,” he said.

“Even though we gave up a lot of shots, I didn’t feel like any of them were really big chances.

“Sometimes you’ve got to just find a way, and we were able to do that again.”

It was Adelaide’s defensive unit that stood up and performed when the team needed it.

Matilda McNamara’s header from an Emily Condon corner in the first half gave the Reds the lead, and while the girls couldn’t add to the scoreline, they made sure they didn’t falter.

A real stand-out was goalkeeper Claudia Jenkins, who made numerous clutch saves in one-on-one situations, including a great diving save in the 90th minute to keep the advantage in favour of Adelaide.

Stenta praised the whole defence, and suggested that perhaps a couple of his players should be getting some more attention for national team selection.

“I’m very proud [of the whole defensive unit], especially because it was only the second start for Tiarna Karambasis,” he said.

“And then we know how good Claudia (Jenkins), Matilda (McNamara) and Ella (Tonkin) have been all year.

“And, especially with Matilda and Ella, I think the national team selector should take some note because they’re fantastic players and they deserve that opportunity at some point.”

Adelaide will now look ahead to next weekend, where the first-leg of a two-legged semi-finals match up against rivals Melbourne Victory await them.

The side is full of confidence that they can push on from this historic result and cause problems for Melbourne.

“We’ve still got players that we’re trying to re-integrate back in that still aren’t at 90 minutes yet,” Stenta said.

“You think about Erin Healy and Chelsie Dawber are two that sort of jump off the page.

“We’ve got full confidence in whoever we call upon in the squad to stand up and do a job.

“We’ll come up with a plan and a squad that we think can really take it to Victory next week.”

Sunday’s other Elimination Final between the Central Coast Mariners and Canberra United was postponed until 6pm AEST Monday due to a water-logged pitch after heavy rain in Gosford.

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