The last game of A-League round 19 will kick off this afternoon between Adelaide United and the Western Sydney Wanderers and for two teams equal on wins and points, their form could not be more different. We’ll have commentary from 5.00pm AEDT.
The story of the week in the A-League is the surprise resignation of Adelaide coach John Kosmina, who resigned on Monday via an emailed statement to the club, citing a lack of trust from management.
This followed a 3-1 loss to league leaders Central Coast Mariners in Gosford last Friday, during which Adelaide were leading at half time.
Adelaide has now lost two matches in a row and have sunk to fourth place on the ladder after winning 10 of their first 16 games.
By contrast, everything looks rosy for the Western Sydney Wanderers, who pulled out a 1-0 win over Melbourne Heart last weekend, playing with ten men after Jerome Polenz was sent off in the twelfth minute.
The Wanderers have won three consecutive matches and club chairman Lyall Gorman commented this week that he’s been “delighted with the outcomes and performances of our playing group.”
These two teams played just over a month ago at Parramatta Stadium and the Wanderers dominated the match, going on to win 6-1 with the club’s first-ever hat-trick from Mark Bridge.
The Wanderers have only lost one match since that game (to the Mariners) but Adelaide may take some comfort in the knowledge that they were able to best the Wanderers 1-0 way back in Round 2.
With coach Kosmina gone (after his second and most likely final stint with the club), the interim coach for Adelaide will be former assistant Mike Valkanis.
Adelaide’s top goalscorer Dario Vidosic told media this week that Kosmina had the full support of the players.
Speculation has now arisen that the departure of the coach could open the door for a return of former Golden Boot winner Serginho van Dijk, who left the club following a breakdown with Kosmina.
As for ‘Kossie’, some reports this week tagged him as a possible coach for Brisbane Roar next season.
Players to watch for Western Sydney will be marquee signing Shinji Ono, who has five goals so far this season, including a penalty to win the game last week.
For Adelaide, keep an eye on Dario Vidosic, who leads both teams with eight goals this year.
Join us The Roar for live scores and minute-by-minute updates from 5.00pm AEST.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
Fulltime Western Sydney 4 – 2 Adelaide A good match with a fairly reserved opening 40 minutes, followed by six goals in the next 50 minutes. The Wanderers will be happy to come away with a victory (although I doubt Popovic is all that pleased from allowing that last cheap goal to Ramsay) and are only four points off top spot with eight games to go. Western Sydney's attacking three were simply too much to handle for Adelaide today - Valkanis asked his midfielders to concentrate on Ono but this allowed Hersi and Bridge to connect nicely for the second and third goals. Topor-Stanley also played a wonderful role in defense, shutting Vidosic down for much of the game. Thanks for joining us this afternoon, I hope everyone enjoyed this intriguing fixture and all the goals it provided.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
Fulltime Western Sydney 4 – 2 Adelaide Western Sydney continue their hot form with another big win over Adelaide (they've outscored Adelaide 10-3 in their last two games) and will see themselves into third place. Next week the Wanderers will see Newcastle Jets, and Adelaide will face up against second place Melbourne Victory.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
90' + 2 Western Sydney 4 – 2 Adelaide A very poor challenge from Fyfe earns himself a yellow card (and lucky not to see red) shows the frustration of the Adelaide players. Western Sydney has now won their fourth game in a row.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
90' Western Sydney 4 – 2 Adelaide Cassio gives away a free kick deep in the Wanderers half which settles the nerves of Wanderers fans. Western Sydney are attempting to run the clock off the corner, as the sideline judge advises there will be three minutes added on.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
87' Western Sydney 4 – 2 Adelaide GOAL! Iain Ramsay pokes the ball past Covic as the Wanderers were just caught napping. The crowd's interest has just piqued now.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
86' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide Neither team is showing too much in the final few minutes - the result is beyond doubt now, and both teams seem content to let the whistle come. Valkanis is out of his chair encouraging his troops but everyone around the ground has resigned themselves to the final result.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
83' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide Kostopoulos is replaced by Barker-Daish in Valkanis' final change of the match. Mark Bridge is also pulled off for Haliti - Popovic has now replaced all three of his prize attacking duo.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
80' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide Topor-Stanley makes a perfect challenge on Vidosic who was through on goal - his defending has been one of the highlights in this game. Adelaide have thrown all their players forward, leaving them vulnerable to the Wanderers counter-attack.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
77' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide A quick shot of Ono on the bench sees him smiling and congratulating Hersi - his hip injury may not be all that concerning. 15 minutes to go and Poljak drives another at goal which narrowly misses - amazing to think that his goal was his first in the A-League after the finishing he has shown.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
74' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide Vidosic takes a freekick in a good position but it's straight into the wall. Adelaide earn another corner in this half which falls for Fyfe, who sliced his shot wide. Hersi is replaced by Appiah-Kubi - Hersi played a wonderful match, with two goals and an assist.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
73' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide That last goal from Poljak was a heartbreaker for the home fans - he received the ball at the back post, faked a shot and ducked inside a diving defender, and then smashed the ball home. Adelaide still pushing forward but the clock is against them now.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
71' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide Ono comes off with a hip injury, replaced by Jason Trifiro and moves into defensive midfield. For Adelaide, McKain comes off, replaced by Ian Fyfe.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
68' Western Sydney 4 – 1 Adelaide GOAL! Poljak with a calm and collected finish to beat Galekovic at his near post. That'll hurt Adelaide badly.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
68' Western Sydney 3 – 1 Adelaide Djite whips in a good ball which is headed by Kostopoulos. Looks like a great move from Valkanis moving Djite onto the field. Ono comes off with a hip injury.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
66' Western Sydney 3 – 1 Adelaide Dino Kresinger earns himself a yellow card for shirt-tugging. Two cards apiece for these teams (McKain, Boogaard, Kresinger, Mooy).
Cappuccino
Roar Guru
Technically Adelaide United are also an NSL club...
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
65' Western Sydney 3 – 1 Adelaide Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts! Adelaide are showing energy all over the pitch, and the crowd are getting very vocal. Could this be the start of a miracle comeback? Or will the Wanderers score again and move convincingly into third?
Cappuccino
Roar Guru
AU really starting to get back into it, this could be an interesting final half hour.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
61' Western Sydney 3 – 1 Adelaide GOAL! Djite comes on a supersub and finishes a left foot drive into the bottom corner, too quick for Covic. Adelaide getting back into this game now. Djite wonderfully turned his defender inside out and slammed the ball into the net.
Nigel Wakeley
Roar Guru
60' Western Sydney 3 – 0 Adelaide 30 minutes to go in this game and don't count Adelaide out, as they've put together a number of good chances including a cracking header from Boogaard, which forces an equally good save from Covic. Both keepers putting on a showcase now in this game.