10-man Wanderers pip Adelaide in 1-0 ALM win

Wanderers' Josh Brillante (left) leaves the field after being shown a red card against Adelaide. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Western Sydney Wanderers boss Marko Rudan praised his side’s fight after they overcame a Josh Brillante send-off to register a 1-0 win over Adelaide in the A-League Men. 

Dylan Pierias’s first-half strike secured victory for the Wanderers at CommBank Stadium on Friday as they temporarily returned to the top of the table.

But Brillante’s send-off in the 78th minute ensured the Wanderers had to dig deep as Adelaide went in search of a late equaliser.

Nestory Irankunda hit the woodwork and Jonny Yull had a goal disallowed, but the Wanderers hung on to condemn the Reds to a third straight defeat.

“I’ve got to give my players a heap of credit,” Rudan said. 

"They showed a lot of heart, a lot of spirit and that will and desire to fight for everything.

“That's us, and I thought our DNA was back.”

Brillante was in trouble because of a studs-up challenge on Adelaide’s Ryan Tunnicliffe. After referee Alireza Faghani viewed a replay on VAR, the experienced Wanderers midfielder was shown a straight red. 

However, Rudan was confused with Faghani's consistency in officating such tackles. 

“I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard it was studs-up and if that’s the case we need to be more consistent," Rudan said.

Western Sydney Wanderers' Dylan Pierias
Western Sydney Wanderers' Dylan Pierias is all smiles after scoring against Adelaide United.

“They went studs-up twice in the first half and I said to the fourth official, ‘I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore’.

“I’ve spoken to Josh and he felt he got the ball.” 

Adding to Rudan’s woes was a first-half groin injury to defender Tom Beadling, which prompted Dutch midfielder Jorritt Hendrix to shift into defence.

The switch to the back didn’t prevent Hendrix from probing forward, and it was through one promising jaunt upfield that the Wanderers broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute.

Hendrix drove forward and his long diagonal ball was knocked down into the path of Pierias, who took one touch and sent a speculative lob over Joe Gauci and into the back of the net.

Pierias had further chances to double his tally five minutes later, but he could only drag his effort wide after being played in behind.

Adelaide struggled for impetus in the first half, but Irankunda had a handful of glimpses of quality when thrown on at half-time by Carl Veart.

The teen whiz was subbed off in tears in last week’s loss to Brisbane, but threatened to be the hero late on Friday when he forced Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas to spill one of his trademark rockets.

Yull tucked home, only for replays to show he was offside and try as they might Adelaide couldn’t conjure up a late winner.

“We worked extremely hard and threw everything at the Wanderers,” Veart said.

“In  the end we just didn't make the most of those opportunities that we did create.

“At times we could have created a few more if we had a little bit more care with the ball in the final third, or had a little bit more desperation to get players in the box.” 

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store