Jacob Stevens 
Adelaide's Ryan Kitto in an aerial duel with the Mariners Storm Roux during Round 25 of the 2023/24 A-League Men season. Photo: Texi Smith
It again took extra time for Carl Veart’s side, but Adelaide United had just enough to see off the Western Sydney Wanderers in a game that perhaps didn’t live up to expectations.
With the Wanderers in scoring form, and the Reds battling their usual defensive ineptitude, it seemed as though this match was destined to have a lot of goals.
Instead, the two sides played out a very cagey affair, with neither able to firmly stamp their authority on the game.
Austin Ayoubi continues to be the revelation of the preseason for United, firing a rocket into the top corner of the net to open the scoring in the first half.
Indeed it was Ayoubi who looked the most positive and showed the most intent of the Reds’ attackers, who would surely now consider himself a shoo-in for that starting winger spot.
The Wanderers really struggled to break down United’s midfield for most of the first half, with Jay Barnett making his return to the team alongside Ethan Alagich.
The young pair looked incredibly dynamic – especially in defensive transition. Barnett reads the game incredibly well for someone with such limited experience, and made a number of key interceptions.
Alagich, meanwhile, maintained an absolutely massive work rate throughout the game, often proving to be the ball winner as the Wanderers players found themselves between lines.
On the other side of things, Alen Stajcic’s men looked very poor – uncharacteristically so given their form in the cup so far.
Brandon Borrello struggled to find any impact coming up against Isaias as the centre back, and the Wanderers full backs were too overeager in possession, with Dylan Pierias exploiting that routinely with pacey runs up the wing.
Add to the mix the inability to get a foothold in the midfield for the first 45 and you can see why they struggled.
That being said, Western Sydney created some decent chances, and were it not for poor finishing could have easily headed into the break 2-1 up.
The game seemed absolutely destined to head to extra time after Nicolas Milanovic found the ball at his feet inside the box and nailed a quick snap shot into the bottom corner just after the hour mark.
Both teams settled into a slower tempo, with neither side wanting to make that final, fatal, mistake.
Ultimately, it was a well taken Ryan Kitto goal in extra time that sealed it for Adelaide – just rewards for his efforts in attack throughout the game.
But both sides will arguably feel displeased with the final outcome.
United were still not fantastic. The single centre back formation, coupled with Pierias’ advanced role, was again shaky in defence, and James Delianov needed to put in a shift between the sticks to keep the Wanderers from scoring.
There were also times that the Reds had the ball in the attacking third and wasted their chances through heavy touches, poor crosses or a lack of initiative to take a shot.
It could have been a more comfortable scoreline and you would presume that the team know that.
Meanwhile, for the Wanderers, it was a case of ‘not good enough’ in the final third. Poor finishing and a lack of explosive attacking plays was no help.
They did not look completely awful; it was just a bad day in the office and they lost out.
But, hey. That’s cup football for you.