Adelaide United Youth Team plays at home against Adelaide City in the fourth round of the 2018 National Premier League SA this week.
The Young Reds’ Head Coach, Paul Pezos, is hoping his boys can bounce back after a tough away game against MetroStars.
In what was one of the games of the season last week, Pezos’ team went down to 10 men in the first half.
Pezos, was ultimately upset with the result, but took positives from his team’s performance in the second half.
“I am disappointed with the first half and we allowed them to be comfortable on the ball and our pressing wasn’t executed to plan.
“I was proud of the boys, especially when we went down to 10 men, they showed character and fight right to the end.”
An extraordinary second half saw the Reds come back from 2-0 down, but it wasn’t to be, however, as the game finished 4-3 after an exciting finish with three goals coming in the last 15 minutes.
Pezos is looking forward to this week’s clash with Adelaide City, saying his team is ready to bounce back.
“We’ve got a hard run in the first five or six games, so it’ll be another tough test for us this week, but we’ve matched the top teams thus far.
“In terms of pushing teams right to the end we’ve got a good base and Adelaide City are a good team that’s won some premierships, but we’re up for the challenge.
Pezos also mentioned the improvement in Apostolos Stamatelopoulos’ game, saying: “A.P. has warranted a starting position with us now and we’ll see him this week against City.
“He showed his qualities last week, his enthusiasm, he’s strong and he’s got the ability to bring other players into the game.
“He did what we wanted him to do and he’s another young lad that’s got potential and a bright future and hopefully he can step up again this week.
Pezos was also excited about the recent scholarship signing of Pacifique Niyongabire to the United first team.
“Like I’ve said before he’s something different, he’s got that x-factor, he’s got the desire to work hard and play at a higher level.
“He’s got professionalism and I hope this is a stepping stone for what is a bright future for him.”
Adelaide United Youth Team will face Adelaide City in Round 4 of the 2018 National Premier League SA at Smith Partners Stadium on Sunday, 11 March 2018. Kick-off is at 5:00pm, Reserves kick-off at 3:00pm.
