Nikola Mileusnic believes his hat-trick against Heidelberg United serves as an ideal confidence booster ahead of the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
The 24-year-old starred for the Reds, scoring three goals to propel Adelaide United into the semi-finals of the Westfield FFA Cup, following a 3-0 win over the Bergers at Olympic Village on Wednesday night.
Mileusnic grabbed two goals inside the opening 11 minutes of proceedings, before completing his maiden professional treble after half-time.
It was also the Club’s first-ever hat-trick in the Westfield FFA Cup, in a game where Marco Kurz’s men took total control – delivering an assured performance.
Fresh from his hat-trick, Mileusnic was delighted with his display and said there are a number of positives to take away from the clash.
“It’s good to get the hat-trick, scoring a goal you never really get sick of that feeling,” he said.
“And scoring three in one night was a bit of a shock, but it was good and we got the three points, so that’s the main thing.
“It’s definitely a good confidence builder as well going into the semi-final in a few weeks will be good and know we can score goals now.”
However, despite his three-goal haul, Mileusnic insisted the most important aspect was advancing from the quarter finals.
“I’m definitely proud of Wednesday’s performance, not just from myself but by everyone,” he said.
“Everyone played well, we kept a clean sheet as well and 1-0 would’ve been okay as long as we got through that was the main thing.”
The Reds are yet to be breached during this season’s cup competition, having kept three clean sheets and are additionally undefeated in pre-season.
Mileusnic believes Kurz’s identity he has instilled is beginning to come to the fore, but stressed the side still has plenty of room for improvement.
“I think we’re getting more and more comfortable each game and with each training,” he admitted.
“From the start I think we’ve grown a lot as a team and as a formation as well.
“However, we still have a lot of work to do and I think Marco is implementing his style and philosophy on us as much as he can.
“And we’re trying to perform to the best that we can, to how he wants us to play and I think it’s working so far, but there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement.”
Mileusnic further discussed the performance of Karim Matmour, who played 84 minutes in his Reds debut.
The ex-Algerian international was impressive throughout and almost pulled off an audacious rabona attempt, had he not been agonisingly denied by the underside of the crossbar.
“He’s (Matmour) a very skilful and he’s got plenty more in his locker other than the rabona,” he said.
“He’s got a wealth of experience and as one of our most experienced players he’s very skilful, very fast and very strong.
“And he knows a lot about the game which helps a lot of us young boys as well.”
The speedster also said the team is not fussed who they draw for a chance to reach the final for a second time in the Club’s history.
“It doesn’t really matter who we play,” he continued.
“I think we’ll prepare the same for every team whether it’s a NPL team or an A-League team.
“We just want to get the job done and go to the next round and hopefully make the final.”
