Ben Halloran lamented another slow start from Adelaide United after losing 3-1 away to Brisbane Roar on Saturday night.
The Reds’ inconsistent start to the season was made apparent again after being unable to consolidate on last weekend’s win against Melbourne Victory.
Adelaide struggled on the road against Perth Glory in Matchweek 04 and their lacklustre beginning to the game quickly drew comparisons to that clash.
Carl Veart’s side were never really in the contest in the first-half and found themselves 2-0 down at the break.
“It’s just slack,” a frustrated Halloran told Fox Sports after the game.
“We’ve been really strong at home, I don’t know what to put it down to.
“But we started slowly in both (away) games and it’s not good enough.
“When you’re 3-0 down it’s great to get a goal back, but the game was already finished.
“Brisbane to their credit played well but we’ve really got to look at the mirror and do a lot better.”
The Reds improved after the re-start which coincided with Captain Stefan Mauk’s introduction, but after conceding a third without reply the damage was done.
Nathan Konstandopoulos provided energy off the bench and scored an 82nd minute consolation goal.
Halloran felt his side could not adjust to Brisbane’s three-man defence and believed both their full-backs were allowed far too much time and space on the ball.
“They got in behind way too easy,” he said.
“And the three at the back nullified our pace in behind which was what won us the game last week (against Melbourne Victory).
“We’ve got to communicate better and you can’t give the full-backs that much space.
“Jack Hingert and Corey Brown are both quality players, so we just have to go back to Adelaide and fix things up.”
Next match details:
Game date: Friday, 5 February vs Perth Glory
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 07
Kick-off 6.35pm ACDT
Gates open 5.35pm ACDT
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
