Craig Goodwin was thrilled with the majority of Adelaide United’s showing against Melbourne Victory at Coopers Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Reds bagged two goals in the space of three first-half minutes with Victory unable to find a way back as it finished 2-0.
Goodwin and then Ken Ilsø scored for the hosts to end Melbourne’s nine-match undefeated streak.
Goodwin, who registered his 10th goal for the season in all competitions, felt Adelaide’s first 45 was the best they had played all season.
“I think the first-half possibly,” Goodwin said, when asked by reporters.
“It was a good performance, very intense with the pressing obviously we were clinical.
“I think that’s probably the thing we’ve lacked the most, that clinical finishing.
“I mean the game before against Wellington we had 32 shots and no goals, so it’s probably the one thing that’s restricted us from picking up more points, but hopefully we can improve on that in the coming games as well.”
Aussie Isa with the sausage sizzle while Victory slip on some onions. @isaias_sc8 #AUFC #ADLvMVC #OriginalRivalry
P.S. 🙋♂️🇦🇺
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— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) January 10, 2019
The 27-year-old said his side’s ability to employ a high-pressing game allowed them to catch Kevin Muscat’s team in transition.
“I think it really helped us and we know that we’re good on the counter and that we could hurt them in the transition,” he said.
“So it was good to be able to do that with a couple of goals and we just have to look at what we have to do against Sydney this weekend.”
Praise was also reserved for Captain, Isaías, who put in a man-of-the-match display, as the orchestrator in midfield.
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“He’s our Captain and he’s such an important player for us,” he said.
“And he leads with his performances on the field and last night he was first-class from start to finish.
“So very happy for him and hopefully he can have another few games like that this season.”
Goodwin agreed that boss, Marco Kurz, is going to have a few selection headaches for the Reds’ next clash against the Sky Blues on Sunday.
“I think Nathan (Konstandopoulos) came in and did really well (for the suspended Vince Lia who returns on Sunday),” he continued.
“Obviously Vinnie has done great for us so far this season as well.
“So we’ve got a lot of competition for places and we’ve done well with a few injuries throughout the season.
“We’ve got good depth and I think whoever the coach goes with we’ll be able to put out a strong side.
“But there’s also a lot of games coming up in this January period, so there’s going to be game time for everyone I think.”
Adelaide United face Sydney FC in Round 13 of the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season on Sunday, 13 January at Jubilee Stadium. Kick-off is at 5.30pm ACDT. Live on Fox Sports, and streamed on the My Football Live App.
