“We need all of our supporters to come on Friday night to support the team because they bring a lot of power to our players” – Josep Gombau
Adelaide United FC will welcome back key attacking players Sergio Cirio and Jeronimo as it goes in search of a third win in a row when it meets Melbourne Heart at Coopers Stadium in Round 26 Harvey Norman Friday Night Football.
The inclusions of both Cirio and Jeronimo after a week out with hamstring strains is timely for Reds coach Josep Gombau, who will still have to make do without stoic defender Jon McKain against the Heart.
Influential winger Cirio is ready to go and looking forward to the clash after missing the bruising encounter against the Wellington Phoenix last Sunday.
“I am training well this week and I am fit to play this week. The physios have worked very well for me and now I am ready to play tomorrow. The team is playing very good and we are enjoying and the supporters are enjoying with us and this is the most important”, Cirio said.
The Reds will be aiming to make it three wins in a row with victory over Melbourne Heart following triumphs against Sydney FC and most recently the Phoenix.
Now, on the Friday night stage against a Melbourne Heart team that is expected to be without Socceroos legend Harry Kewell for the game, the Reds will be aiming to stay in the race for a top two finish but Reds coach Josep Gombau knows that United will have to be at their best to take all three points.
“I have seen their last few games and they are doing a lot of movements the same which means they know what they are doing and they are playing well as a team, tomorrow will be big game and they will be a very difficult opponent. I want that my players don-t think this is an easy game because they only lost against the two top teams in Brisbane and Western Sydney”, Gombau said.
“We have to keep working the way we are working and try to get the three points tomorrow and if we can it will be another big step for us because we are still not certain of playing in the finals so we need to bring this to the fans who are supporting us the whole year. We need all of our supporters to come on Friday night to support the team because they bring a lot of power to our players and they are very important to us. I can say to our fans that we will run and we will fight for every single ball tomorrow and I hope and I wish we can get the result we need for to make the finals”, he said.
The Heart under John van-t Schipt have been one of the best performed teams of the competition in the second half of this season and with a host of dangerous attacking players such as Williams, Dugandzic and Ramsay have a team capable of upsetting any team in the A-League and the Reds will need to be at their sharpest to keep their top two hopes alive.
Kick-Off is at 7.00pm ACDT and tickets are available through Ticketek or www.adelaideunited.com.au
Hyundai A-League 2013/14 Round 26 – Ins and Outs
Friday, 4 April 2014
Adelaide United v Melbourne Heart
Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Kick-off: 7.00pm local (7:30pm AEDT)
Referee: Ben Williams
Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream
Assistant Referee 2: Hakan Anaz
Fourth Official: Daniel Elder
TV broadcast: 6.30pm (AEDT) Live coverage on FOX Sports 1HD and SBS2, SBS HD.
Live Match Stream: FFA will be streaming live coverage of the fixture in our Match Centre. Available (AUS & NZ only) to view here: http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/aleague/matchcentre/Adelaide-United-v-Melbourne-Heart-Hyundai-A-League/3210
Radio Broadcast: ABC Grandstand Online/Mobile phone app. SBS Radio.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #ADLvMHT
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (GK) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 5.Osama MALIK, 7.JERONIMO, 8.ISAIAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.Cameron WATSON, 17.Awer MABIL, 18.Michael ZULLO, 20.Paul IZZO (GK), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 25.Ryan KITTO, 32.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS
**Two to be omitted**
Ins: 7.JERONIMO (returns from injury), 9.Sergio CIRIO (returns from injury)
Outs: nil
Unavailable: 4.Jon McKAIN (quad 1 week), 6.CASSIO (hamstring tendon – indefinite)
Melbourne Heart FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3.Robbie WIELAERT (C), 4.Orlando ENGELAAR, 6.Patrick GERHARDT, 7.Iain RAMSAY, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 13.Jonatan GERMANO, 15.David WILLIAMS, 16. Aziz BEHICH, 17.Jason HOFFMAN, 19.Benjamin GARUCCIO, 20.Tando VELAPHI (GK), 21.Stefan MAUK, 22.Nicholas KALMAR, 23.Mate DUGANDZIC, 24.Patrick KISNORBO, 28. Paulo RETRE
**One to be omitted**
Ins: 13.Jonatan GERMANO (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 10.Harry KEWELL (abdominal strain – one week)
