Adelaide held at home by 10-man Wellington in fiery clash

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:26 am

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz said his side wasted another opportunity to find form at Coopers Stadium after the Reds were held to a 0-0 draw by a spirited Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.

United failed to find the net with a flurry of chances in the final 28 minutes after Wellington midfielder Mandi was sent off for lashing out at Vince Lia.

Despite the numerical advantage, some poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from Filip Kurto meant United could not add to their solitary home this season.

The Reds' poor home record reads four draws, two losses and a win with Kurz again lamenting his side's inability to secure maximum points.

"We want to show our opponent this is our home ground, they can come here and fly back without any points. We want to show them our confidence," he said.

Kurz did tinker with tactics at half-time and Adelaide did carve out a handful of chances after the interval.

But with Wellington reduced to 10 men and United peppering the Phoenix goal, the German was again left to rue Adelaide's toothless attack.

"The second half was much better. From the first moment we played with a lot of pressure but at the end you need a killer instinct," he said.

Wellington's Mandi was sent off in the second half following a row between the two teams.
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Wellington coach Mark Rudan heaped praise on his troops following a gusty half hour where his side produced some desperate defending to hang on for a share of the spoils.

"Ten men against 11, away from home against a side that's desperate who've just come off a win away from home themselves ... we showed tremendous spirit, tremendous determination," he said.

"It's a massive point, in the whole scheme of things - another huge step forward."

The draw extended Wellington's unbeaten run to six which coincidentally started following the 3-1 home loss to Adelaide in round five.

Rudan said his squad is continuing to grow in confidence and said they have showed significant signs of progression in the last six weeks.

"The players know we're in a good place right now. They're quite determined and their expectations are now rising which is good," he said.