Adelaide United Youth control their destiny heading into the final round of the Foxtel Y-League 2019/20 season.
The Young Reds know a win over bitter rivals Melbourne Victory Youth will guarantee top spot in the Conference A standings and a place in the Grand Final.
Both teams trail Brisbane Roar Youth – who have already finished their campaign – by a point with Adelaide boasting a superior goal difference.
United Youth defender, Cooper Nunn, said the squad is fully aware of what is at stake, but was confident his teammates would not lose focus.
“Obviously the boys know it’s an important game, if not the most important game of the season so far,” Nunn said.
“I’d assume all the boys are going to approach the game like we normally we do.
“We know how we’re going to play and we know that we’re a strong side and we’ll be able to play against this team quite well and I believe all the boys will be quite confident.”
Paul Pezos’ side endured a narrow 1-0 loss back in November against Victory Youth.
Nunn added the approach going into the game stays the same regardless of Victory Youth’s line-up and stressed converting early opportunities will be crucial.
“No matter who they drop, if they do, if not, we’ll still look at how they play the same way they normally do,” he said.
“We’ll approach the game in the week as we normally would.
“We lost 1-0 in a game we probably should’ve taken the lead quite early and we were quite dominant throughout the whole game I feel.
“I think one of the main things we’ll need to take into this game is we’ll need to definitely put our chances away as soon as we can.
“And make sure we don’t give them the time on the ball.”
In what has been largely a new look line-up with a number of players making the jump from the United Reserves squad, Nunn said he has been impressed with how seamless the transition has been, indicative of the talent coming through.
“Obviously this season we’ve had quite a few young players come up and play in the team,” he continued.
“And there are some new faces but they all knew they had to step up and when they play in the team they’ve got a position to take and they’ve to play at a certain standard.
“And everyone who’s come up and played has played very well and performed how they should and as a good as they can.”
Adelaide United Youth face Melbourne Victory Youth in Round 10 of the Foxtel Y-League 2019/20 season on Saturday, 25 January at Epping Stadium. Kick-off is at 10.00am ACDT.
