Following Adelaide United’s impressive 2-1 win over current Hyundai A-League leaders, Perth Glory, goal scorer, Craig Goodwin, has hailed the team’s performance and their determination to come away with a win.
“(The win) was very crucial because Perth would have been 12 points clear of us at the top, but now it’s only six (points),” Goodwin said.
“It was very hot out there (on the pitch). It was (about) 44 degrees building up to the game so you could really feel it, but that’s what it was like for both teams.
“I think it took us quite a bit to get going and maybe felt a little bit flat to start with, but once we did get going, I felt we were on-top of the game, controlled possession, and had better chances to score.
“Up until the drinks-break we were a bit flat and then after that and after our first goal we really started to create some good clear-cut scoring opportunities.”
Goodwin continued by saying that the team spirit and belief within the Reds’ squad is something that keeps pushing the team over the line and encouraging them to go on and fight for each and every game, regardless of whether United is winning or losing at the time.
“I think we have a great team spirit,” he explained.
“We obviously have quality within the side and I think the belief that we have at any moment in the game – even if we’re down – we know that we can still (turn it around) if we keep playing the football that we know we can play.
“Anyone can beat anyone on the day, but we back ourselves against any team in the competition. If we can play how we did against Perth and even better than that, then hopefully by the end of the season we can be right up there towards the top.”
With the Hyundai A-League heading into a mid-season break due to Australia’s hosting of the 2015 Asian Cup, Goodwin stated that the break will be beneficial to the Reds in preparing for the second half of the season and allow the team to further develop certain parts of their game for the remainder of the campaign.
“We won the Westfield FFA Cup and that’s something that has made us want to win everything and to be able to do that we have to beat the top sides and it’s an (important) result leading into the break.
“We’ll work on all the things that we need to work on as a group, in terms of finishing and those sorts of things to try and better us as a team so we can come back even stronger in the second half of the season.”
The Adelaide United players and coaches will now go on a one week break before returning to prepare of the Reds next home game. Adelaide United will next play against the Newcastle Jets at Coopers Stadium on January 24 after the break for the Asian Cup. Click here to purchase ticket now.
