Adelaide United, Head Coach, Guillermo Amor and defender, Michael Marrone insist the Reds’ top six aspirations are still alive, ahead of their clash with Wellington Phoenix at Coopers Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
United will be hopeful of securing back-to-back home wins for the first time this year, in a bid to build momentum for the remainder of the campaign.
It is the third meeting between these two sides with the Reds triumphing 2-0 in Round 9, before recording a goalless draw on New Year’s Day.
Last matchday, United suffered a 2-0 loss to league leaders Sydney FC, while the Phoenix endured a last-gasp 1-0 defeat at the hands of Brisbane Roar.
Reds Boss, Amor, believes the squad can take positives heading into the match after their performances against Wellington earlier in the campaign.
“We need to win and we showed that against Wellington in the last game we won 2-0 here (at Coopers Stadium,” Amor said.
“And we drew 0-0 with them (in Wellington) and I’m sure we can win tomorrow, I don’t lose this confidence in my players.”
The Spanish tactician praised the impact Marrone has had at the Club, after recently signing a two-year contract extension.
“I’m happy for Michael, because he’s fantastic, he’s a very good player and a very good person,” Amor said.
“He deserves his contract of two years, to stay here and he’s happy in Adelaide and this is very good for the team.”
Moreover, the Reds are undefeated in their previous four meetings with Wellington (W3, D1), and have kept a clean sheet on each of those four occasions.
Meanwhile, fresh from penning his new deal with the Club, Marrone expressed his delight and revealed it was “a very easy decision”.
“We’re not in a good moment at the moment… But the Club has had some good success with the FFA Cup and the league last year,” Marrone said.
“And I want to be a part of something in the future and I’d love to be on a winning team in a grand final again.
“Being from Adelaide as well it was a very easy decision.”
The consistent defender is also adamant the Reds can still salvage something from the season.
“There’s not a lot of time left, but there’s still time,” Marrone said. “The way this league is set up any team can beat any other team on any game.
“The top can beat the bottom and the bottom can beat the top anything can happen.
“We’ve still got some games, there’s still plenty of points, and we’ll keep fighting and just get as many points as we can.”
The 30-year-old is confident of claiming the victory on Sunday, but stressed the squad will have to be wary of the ‘Nix’s attacking threats.
“They’re a good side and they lost their coach and changed it up a little bit with formation and brought in some new personnel,” he continued.
“They can be very dangerous and we’ve to be prepared, especially they’ve got pace with their wingers and strikers and we’ve to be aware of them.
“I think if we can control the game tomorrow we’ve got a really good chance.”
Adelaide United host Wellington Phoenix in Round 17 of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season on Sunday, 29 January at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 4.30pm ACDT.
