Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United played out an entertaining goalless draw at CommBank Stadium in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Sunday night.
Four days on from the Wanderers’ 2-1 victory in Adelaide on Wednesday night, the two teams squared off again but neither side could find the back of the net despite a host of chances at both ends.
It was all the Wanderers early on, the home side carving out chance after chance in the opening quarter hour.
Steven Urgakovic attempted to thread through Terry Antonis in the sixth minute but Reds keeper Joe Gauci quickly raced off his line to collect.
A minute later and Thomas Aquilina gathered the ball from inside his own half and carried it the length of the field with Ryan Kitto in pursuit.
The full-back drove towards goal and fired low and hard and hit the base of Gauci’s near post.
In the 19th minute, Antonis whipped in a dangerous cross from the left for the bounce to evade Bernie Ibini and Keijiro Ogawa got his head to it at the back post but couldn’t direct it on target.
Adelaide eventually worked their way back into the contest and controlled the second part of the first half.
Their best chance came in the 38th minute when Lachlan Brook delivered a set piece which Lachlan Barr powerfully headed toward goal but Wanderers’ keeper Daniel Margush managed a reflex save front point-blank and kept it out with his foot.
The second half started much the same way as the first, with Western Sydney dominating possession and looking the more likely to break the deadlock.
But despite camping in Adelaide’s half for much of the second half, it was the Reds who fashioned the first clear chance since the interval in the 67th minute.
Isaias released Brook on the left with the winger charging towards goal before cutting inside and shooting with this right foot. Margush parried the curler into the path of Zac Clough.
With the goal beckoning, the midfielder stabbed at the rebound and with Margush beaten, Adama Traore cleared off the line.
In the 75th minute, Wanderers’ substitute Tate Russell whipped in a cross for fellow substitute Tomer Hemed whose glancing header had Gauci scrambling.
A minute later and Brook went close again with his shot from outside the area deflected just wide.
As the clock wound down, Antonis found Hemed at the back post but again his header was saved by Gauci.
