Western Sydney Wanderers assistant coach Jean-Paul De Marigny believes his side executed their game plan perfectly against Adelaide United in their 2-1 A-League Men victory at Coopers Stadium.
The Wanderers scored two almost identical goals on Saturday, with Nicolas Milanovic bagging a first-half brace in Adelaide before Luka Jovanovic grabbed a consolation goal in stoppage time.
Milanovic broke the deadlock on 18 minutes, heading in a bullet Aidan Simmons’ cross from the right, before nodding in a Lachie Brook cross, also from the right, on 35 minutes.
De Marigny, who was taking charge while coach Marko Rudan served a two-game suspension, suggested Western Sydney had exploited a Reds’ weakness and took full advantage.
“Everyone has got a type of DNA in their style of playing and our job is to make sure we do previews and maximise what the opponents' weaknesses are, and create as many moments as possible within that,” he said.
“So it’s about creating as many moments as possible within that weakness and being ready to take those big moments. I thought we did that really well.”
The headers from Milanovic were well taken, as he skipped in ahead of the United defence on both occasions to latch on to pinpoint crosses.
De Marigny praised the 22-year-old who took his tally to six goals for the campaign.
“It was a solid performance; Nick has got a few goals in his mind,” he said.
“We continue to develop him and he’s starting to understand his role a little bit better. It’s nice he’s getting rewarded for that and that’ll encourage him to do those type of movements.
“He’s working much harder without the ball also so we need to continue to develop that in him.”
United finished the match with 10 men when Ben Halloran was given his marching orders on 75 minutes.
The Reds’ attacker chased down Simmons, and in the pursuit, caught him on the calf with referee Alex King issuing a straight red card.
The decision looked harsh on the replay, as Adelaide had their own claims for a Wanderers’ red card after only five minutes.
Defender Alex Bonetig caught Harry Van Der Saag in the midriff with raised studs, leaving a clearly visible wound on the Reds’ player.
United coach Carl Veart was honest in his assessment and felt neither incident warranted a red card.
“The referee made those decisions and there’s not much we can do about them,” he said.
“I don’t think the first one with Bonetig was a red, and I don’t think the second one with Halloran was a red.
“I think we’ve made it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. We’re looking for reasons to have players sent off.
“We need teams to be playing eleven against eleven unless it’s a dangerous challenge and I didn’t see that in either of those challenges.”
