The Adelaide United Youth Team will host the MetroStars in Round 4 of the 2016 National Premier League at the Elite Systems Football Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Following the Young Reds’ narrow 2-1 victory against South Adelaide away from home last weekend, which saw United go down to nine men, their attention quickly shifted towards their next opponents, MetroStars.
United’s Youth Team Head Coach, Mark Jones, said that his side was pleased to have collected the three points in testing circumstances, but conceded that discipline needs to be in place when facing experienced opposition.
“It was definitely a game which if we took our chances early, we could have wrapped the game up in the early stages,” Jones said.
“However, by not taking our chances we then fell into the trap of getting caught in the battle and certainly lost our composure within the heat of the game.
“So we need to be smarter, knowing that if we do get into physical battles we must look away and let our football do the talking.
“If we move the ball quicker, then teams won’t get close enough to foul but that’s something we will work on going into the game against MetroStars.”
Ahead of this week’s match, Jones notably admired the MetroStars for being such a strong side in NPL over the years, understanding his Young Reds will need to be at their best to take something from the match.
“They’ve (MetroStars) have always been a strong team in this competition and they are a very good football team,” Jones said.
“So we need to go out and try to play the football that we know we can, move the ball around quickly and stay out of battles if they arise.
“The three games that we’ve played so far this season have helped us learn a lot about this competition and it’ll be a tough match.
“Overall, we will need to do our best against a good football side by playing the game smartly as well as creating space and allowing the football to do the talking.”
Adelaide United Youth Team will face MetroStars in Round 4 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League on Sunday, 20 March at the Elite Systems Football Centre. Kick-off is at 5.00pm.
