Western United 0-0 Adelaide United

Western United were lucky to not lose many players through the offseason and lined up with a largely familiar side in their regular 5-2-3 formation. The experienced Spaniard Victor Sanchez made his debut in midfield, with the other new boy Lachlan Wales replacing Max Burgess on the left, while Dylan Pierias replaced Josh Risdon, who's picked up a long term injury.

Adelaide, on the other hand, had plenty of players leave and Tomi Juric, Yaya Dukuly, Caletti, Smith and Delianov made their debuts in a new look Adelaide United. They lined up in a 4-3-3 formation.

Adelaide United’s Attack

Western United’s defensive setup saw a variation from last season, with them taking up a 5-3-2 shape, with Diamanti staying on the first line on the right with Berisha and Wales dropping to slot into a midfield slot on the left. When Adelaide built up down the flanks, the closest central midfielder (Lustica or Wales) would step up to press the full back, with Victor Sanchez and the other midfielder shifting over in response to cover the midfield area vacated.

This meant that whichever flank Adelaide attempted to attack, they were met by a back 5, protected by two in midfield. 

The solution for Adelaide was to attack with numbers themselves.

With the departure of two of Adelaide’s main attackers Riley McGree and Kristian Opseth, Adelaide saw their attack reshuffled. While Tomi Juric provided a like-for-like replacement for Opseth, the dynamic attacking industry and thrust of McGree is more difficult to replace, especially with the additional departure of James Troisi, who would have been able to pick up the same role a lot easier.

Instead, we saw more attacking contributions from the midfielders through Stefan Mauk and Louis D’Arrigo. When playing out of defence, the two midfielders roamed forwards, shielded by the debutant Caletti, who maintained his position in front of the centre backs. The two wingers could either come short to open space for the midfielder to exploit in the channels, or alternatively stay high and wide, leaving space for the full back to drive forwards with the ball and combine with the midfield.

From here, Adelaide would try to move the defensive coverage of Western United by playing the ball side to side to open up gaps. D’Arrigo and Mauk’s movement in particular gave Western United headaches, as Victor Sanchez would frequently have to leave his position in midfield to cover on either flank. This meant that following a switch of play to the opposite side, Adelaide generally had more time and space to attack down the flank. This was productive for Adelaide, and they were able to create opportunities through crosses and cutting inside to take shots.

Western United’s Buildup

Western United’s attack was also focused on wide areas.

On the right, Lustica would push up to help create space for Diamanti, while Pierias positioned himself aggressively on the flank almost as a winger to make threatening runs in behind with his pace, which he did throughout the game to great effect.

On the left, Wales continued his hybrid midfield role, being instructed to offset Pain's aggressive positioning by tucking inside deeper and more centrally. They aimed to overload Strain at right back and combined well to create space for Pain on the outside. Pain seemed to be lacking a bit of sharpness and misplaced a few passes in promising positions. 

Meanwhile, Wales couldn't take advantage when he received the ball in the more congested areas in the inside left channel. He's shown that he's a lot better in space and struggled to progress with the ball at feet in tight spaces, which is something that Burgess excels at – taking on and beating defenders, before combining with teammates inside. The one time he managed to do that led to a dangerous opportunity for Pierias down the right, who beat his man with his pace before firing a shot that was saved.

However, getting the ball forwards proved to be fairly difficult to begin with. Adelaide set up in a 4-4-2 defensively, with Mauk joining Juric up front, and D’Arrigo dropping to partner Caletti. This granted Adelaide a good coverage of the entire pitch, with their fullbacks protected by wingers, and crucially, a solid central coverage. Diamanti was starved of possession, with D’Arrigo marshalling him well and winning physical battles.

Diamanti’s contributions to creation were limited to in transition or when he managed to get on the ball by coming short on the right. When he was able to get on the ball, however, the magical touch that we’ve come to expect from Diamanti was missing, and rather than threading the needle in dangerous areas, he instead lost Western United possession.

Second Half

The start of the second half was largely the same, with a few alterations from Western United

Victor Sanchez had been kept quiet during buildup play in the first half, with Adelaide’s front two blocking passes into him. He made more movements to free himself from their marking, dropping to the side or pushing forwards to allow himself to receive the ball and make it difficult for Adelaide to pick him up without disorganising their entire structure. This made it easier for Western United to get the ball out of defence.

Tomoki Imai was also given more license to get forward. He had pushed out of defence with the ball on a few occasions in the first half, but seemed to be moving forward with more regularity.

Finally, Caletti was given a lot less time on the ball – Victor Sanchez pushed up to close him down, and with the later introduction of Ayom Majok, he was given even less time

Two substitutions were made around 60 minutes, Pacifique Niyongabire on for the electric Yaya Dukuly and Ayom Majok on for the subdued Besart Berisha.

The half went on as somewhat more congested, yet also end-to-end with both sides getting good (but not great) opportunities.

Summary

It was a very entertaining game for a goalless draw, but also a bit frustrating – for all the attacking opportunities that either side created they only managed a total of 1.25xG between them. Western United never really seemed to get fully going, while Adelaide United couldn’t convert their dangerous build up and attacks into shots on target (without being too pedantic – I don’t think either of the two goal line clearances from Western United were actually going in).

Western United will be hoping that their key attacking players can get ticking again. Berisha was ineffectual today (although it was mentioned that he was not yet at full fitness), while Diamanti and Pain were well off their best. They’ll be pleased that Pierias was able to have such an impressive attacking output.

From a worrying offseason, Adelaide have shown that they’ll be alright. Juric provides an excellent focal point for the attack, and their attacking traditions of expansive wing play and energy from midfield remain fully intact. This sets up their upcoming fixture with Melbourne City as one with two sides aiming to play similar styles of football.