Goals from Nathan Andijanto and Tom Briscoe sealed a two-nil win for West Adelaide over MetroStars in Round 22 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia on Saturday.

After a fairly scrappy first 45 where neither side generated any clear cut opportunities, the play became much more open in the second period resulting in Andijanto breaking the deadlock for the visitors with a well taken goal on 63 minutes.

Andijanto was played through on a tight angle, but managed to dink it around the on-rushing Daniel Godley and evade a last-ditch attempt at a clearance by Michael D’Aloisio.

Three minutes later Briscoe caught the Metro back four unaware, hitting them on the counter after a long ball was played out by keeper Lewis Moss. Briscoe’s pace was too much for the Metro defenders, collecting the ball just outside the 18 yard box and easily finishing.

Metro pushed hard for a consolation goal in the last few minutes of the game, but West Adelaide managed to hold on for the clean sheet.

The win sees West Adelaide return to the top of the table, equal on points with West Torrens Birkalla after their 1-0 loss to Campbelltown City.

Despite the loss, MetroStars coach Michael Pirone was quick to underline that a mounting injury list was not an excuse for the club’s dip in form.

“We offer no excuses, but the reality is we had eight first team players missing.

“Eight out of 18 is tough for any side, but having said that you put 11 players out and they need to do the job.

“I thought for long periods of the game we did really well, so hopefully things will turn for us this week.”

Pirone praised the effort of his team, labelling it a much more improved performance in comparison to recent weeks.

“It was probably the best we have played over the last three or four weeks.

“We concentrated on getting the basics right during the week, I was happy with the week on the track and that carried through to the game.

“We were right in it, it was a cagey game but I thought we came out after half time and really started well.

“I’m really disappointed, but I couldn’t fault the intent of the players and the effort but in the end it just wasn’t good enough.”

West Adelaide defender Robby Lippett said the win was much needed after a poor month previously, especially heading into the business end of the season.

“We knew it was going to be a tough challenge, but it was a much needed win for us and has given us confidence heading into the final rounds.

“We didn’t try to force play on Saturday like we had in the last few weeks, we stuck to our structure, didn’t panic and came away with the result.”

West Adelaide now have a chance to break away from fellow league leaders Birkalla as they host Port Adelaide Pirates in Round 23, but Lippett said the team wasn’t looking too far ahead.

“We aren’t going to look too far into the future, we’re just going to take it one game at a time now.

“Paul’s set the standards pretty high, but from Monday we’re just going to be focusing on the game ahead.

“We’re not going to worry about the other team too much, one thing we did on the weekend was not worry about our opposition but focus on our strengths and let them worry about us.

“It’s another big game for us, we’re going to treat it like a final and not go easy just because they’re further down the table.”

Article by Brendan Simpkins