Adelaide United defender, Tarek Elrich, believes the Reds must learn quickly from the mistakes that cost them against Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night in the Westfield FFA Cup Quarter Finals.
After going down 3-1 to Melbourne Victory in the Westfield FFA Cup Quarter Final, United defender, Tarek Elrich, lamented the Reds’ performance, saying that by the time the Hyundai A-League season comes around, all issues must be rectified.
“No game is easy to lose,” Elrich claimed.
“Personally, I think the way they (Victory) play is by sitting and waiting (for their opposition) to make a mistake, which is what happened (to us).
“Two of their goals came from us playing the ball into the middle of the park and giving it away cheaply and they punished us.
“They’re the sort of team that you can’t give half chances to because they’ll make them count, like they did last night.
“We did have our chances before we pulled it back to 2-1 and some half chances after that, but they caught us on the break (for their third goal).
“We’re going to learn from this, though, and we’ll look over the footage before Round 1 (of the A-League) and build on it and get a good result at Adelaide Oval – we have to.”
Undeterred by the result, however, Elrich refused to accept the reason for United’s defeat was because of a lack of confidence, firmly stating that belief is high within the squad, something the side will use as they prepare for Round 1 of their domestic campaign.
“We have a lot of belief in the squad and there hasn’t been too many changes, which is always great for the team’s chemistry,” he explained.
“We always believe in each other and we also believe in what the coach is trying to achieve, so we’re confident in what we can do (and the success we can have).
“Now we have to put last night’s result to the side, learn as much as possible from it, and look forward to the start of the (A-League) season.”
On a personal level, Elrich was left with mixed emotions following the result, having officially found out on Wednesday morning that he had once again been selected to participate in the 23-man Socceroos squad for their upcoming World Cup Qualifier against Jordan in Amman.
It will be the fourth consecutive time United’s No. 21 will be included in the national team’s camp following an outstanding 2014/15 season, with Elrich in-line to potentially achieve his third cap for his country.
“It’s a great honour to be selected to represent my country (in the 23-man squad) again,” Elrich continued.
“Even with the bad result that we had last night (Tuesday), it’s always good to wake up to the news that I’m going to be involved in the Socceroos camp.
“When the teams finally get announced officially, it really hits you (as a player) and just being involved with the national team is always a massive honour.
“But it’s great to get back stuck into things and there’s nothing better than putting on that green and gold.
“(To play for the Socceroos) has been a dream of mine and it’s finally happening and I’m really enjoying it.
“It’s my fourth camp in a row and it’s massive for me. With our season starting very soon too, it just makes me more hungry to be at my best each game.”
Reds Captain, Eugene Galekovic, was also selected by Ange Postecoglou to feature in the 23-man squad.
Speaking on Galekovic’s inclusion, Elrich said his fellow Red-man has been of significant support since Elrich’s first national team call-up, praising his club Captain as a fantastic mentor.
Due to their inclusions with the Socceroos, though, Elrich and Galekovic will both be unavailable for United’s Hyundai A-League 2015/16 Round 1 fixture against Victory at Adelaide Oval, leaving Elrich understandably disappointed.
But the full-back reaffirmed his confidence in his teammates’ abilities and their capacity to produce a positive performance and achieve an even better result.
“Eugene has been involved with the Socceroos squad for a very long time and he’s always giving me advice and talking things through with me when we’re in camp.
“It’s great to go into camp with someone I know and to travel with too.
“It’ll obviously be bitterly disappointing (for Eugene and myself) to be missing the first game (of the A-League season) against Victory.
“But the boys can get the job done, and hopefully we can get it done with the national team as well.”
