Adelaide United Head Coach, Guillermo Amor, and defender, Ben Garuccio, insist the team will not go down without a fight in the Hyundai A-League, as they eye a Perth Glory scalp at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.
The Reds currently reside at the bottom of the table, but the duo are hoping to snap their present three-game winless streak against Kenny Lowe’s men.
It is the second meeting between the pair, after the Reds endured a 3-1 loss to the Glory in Perth back in Round 7.
Last week, Central Coast Mariners inflicted a 2-1 home loss on Adelaide in Canberra, while Perth returned to winning ways with a 3-2 triumph over Newcastle Jets.
With Club skipper Eugene Galekovic sidelined through a shoulder injury, Amor entrusted his confidence in whichever young shot-stopper he selects for the crucial clash.
“Eugene is a good goalkeeper, one of the best goalkeepers in Australia,” Amor said.
“He’s our captain, he’s a goalkeeper with a lot of experience and is always important for us.
“But he has a problem in this moment and we don’t know the timeframe and must wait.
“We have other goalkeepers, John (Hall) and Daniel (Margush)… both are very good goalkeepers.”
United are unbeaten in their previous six home games versus the Western Australian outfit and have further conceded just two goals in their past four encounters at Coopers Stadium.
“Three points is very important and another opportunity to win at home and we know we need these points,” Amor said when questioned about the importance of securing the victory.
“Every week without a win becomes more difficult and we’ve less chance of arriving in the top six.
“Some moments in some games, particularly last game (against Central Coast) the team deserves a better result and I’m sure the team will not stop and continue to try.”
Earlier in the week, the Reds bolstered the team after announcing the signings of former South Korean international Kim Jae-Sung, Senegalese striker Baba Diawara and ex-Red Eli Babalj.
And Garuccio is excited about the prospect of working with the new players joining the squad.
“Losing the couple of boys we did, we needed replacements so it’s obviously good to have some new boys in,” Garuccio said.
“Kim is new and he’s been training with us so it’s been very good and Eli (Babalj) also is coming back and he’s fit which is good.”
Despite United’s position on the league table, the 21-year-old says the team will continue fighting for a berth in the top six.
“I’m not going to give until Round 27, and after that if we’re in the finals then you keep going until the end,” he continued.
“You can’t give up until the end, we’ve got these games to go and we’ve won two games at home.
“So playing here against Perth that’s where we’re going to take confidence.
“I think the games we’ve have played have been very even, the game against Perth even last time was a very close game.
“And I think playing at home there’s no reason why we can’t win.”
Adelaide United host Perth Glory in Round 19 of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season on Friday, 10 February at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT.
