Captain Eugene Galekovic has given a blunt assessment of the Reds’ performance against Sydney FC, not shying away from the fact it was well below par and well below the expectations the players had set.
Reds captain Eugene Galekovic has given a blunt assessment of the Reds- performance against Sydney FC, not shying away from the fact it was well below par and well below the expectations the players had set.
After a pulsating display full of intensity at home against Melbourne Victory a week earlier, the Reds had put an emphasis on bringing more of the same to the match at Allianz Stadium.
However, that failed to transpire as United struggled to fire a shot on target in the first 45 minutes before Sydney FC broke the shackles to take a two goal lead after half time. New signing Tomi Juric-s strike with just his second touch of the game after coming off the bench gave the Reds a sniff, but it was a rare highlight as the Reds missed a chance to close the gap on the top two.
Touching down back in Adelaide, Galekovic was the first to admit the Reds had failed to carry their work rate and up tempo style onto the field against the Sky Blues.
“It was very disappointing. Coming from the Melbourne Victory game – a good display and good result, and then going to Sydney and dishing that up wasn-t good enough,” Galekovic said.
“We were second to the ball. You look back a week ago and we were winning the fifty-fifties, we were winning the second ball, and it just wasn-t the case last night.”
The result left the Reds winless away from home since late November and with just ten points from an available 30 on offer on their travels so far this season. Juric-s goal sprung the Reds to life for the final 12 minutes but Galekovic cannot put a finger on why it took so long to get going.
“I don-t know – it-s a question we have to ask ourselves,” Galekovic said.
“We had a chat and said it wasn-t good enough. We-ve got to rectify that – our home form is good but playing away we-ve got to get better at it.”
One possible reason or suggestion the Reds- keeper dismissed was that of interim coach Michael Valkanis- one match ban, which saw him forced to watch on from the stands. Galekovic strongly refuted Valkanis- absence from the touchline had anything to do with how the Reds went about it.
“I don-t think so. We prepared through the week, we knew our jobs but in the end we didn-t perform,” Galekovic said.
“Our focus is just on next week now. If we get three points then the landscape changes a little bit depending on if the others drop points or not.”
While the Reds went down on the scoreboard, Galekovic had a win of sorts in his running battle with standout Sydney FC marksman Alessandro Del Piero.
The Italian and Juventus legend drilled a number of shots on the Reds- goal, most of which came from free kicks, and while the post saved Galekovic once, the Reds keeper prevented Del Piero from adding to his season tally.
