Adelaide United defender, Nigel Boogaard, has praised the efforts of his teammates after the Reds won the Westfield FFA Cup trophy on Tuesday night at Coopers Stadium.
Following the 1-0 triumph over Perth Glory on Tuesday, Boogaard said the achievement of winning the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup competition was monumental and something the players won’t be forgetting any time soon.
“It was a massive achievement to bring some silverware back to the club (and) it’s great for the fans and the club,” Boogaard said.
“It’s (great) for the players (too) and not only the current players, but the past players as well that have been to a few grand finals and haven’t quite gotten over the line.
“You work hard your whole career day in, day out to try and achieve things like this (and) it meant a lot to us and the club put a lot of emphasis on it, (so too) the coach (Josep Gombau).
“All the playing group were out there together and I think our celebrations show how close we are as a group this year.
“We as players bought into that initially and thought it would be great to look back, once we’ve finished playing, and be able to say that we won the first season of the (competition). I’m sure, in years to come, the boys will realise how special (Tuesday night) was.
Boogaard also mentioned the significance of the competition in being able to bring together multiple tiers of Australian football and also the great chance it provides clubs in being able to chase silverware.
“The cup gives everyone, lower-league teams and A-League teams, a chance to go head-to-head and really prove that they’re the best team in Australia,” he continued.
“I haven’t won anything in 10 years of the A-League and (Tuesday night) was a big chance to get some silverware.
When questioned about the match itself, Boogaard said although the Glory went down to 10 men, United’s task wasn’t made a whole lot easier, as they still had to fight until the final whistle.
“You’ve got to play straight to the end, especially only with a 1-0 lead. I think (Perth) going down to ten men made our job a little bit easier, but credit to the team because playing against ten isn’t easy sometimes.
“I think the boys did really well to stick to the game plan because in football you can never think the game is over, regardless of what the score line is.”
