Marco Kurz says Adelaide United must show great concentration to overcome a tough Newcastle Jets outfit and was also confident his side’s fortunes will change in attack at Coopers Stadium.
The Reds will be desperate for the three points against Newcastle on Friday night, something they have not been able to secure in their past four matches this year.
Last round Adelaide played out a 1-1 home draw against Melbourne City, while the Jets won 1-0 in Wellington against the Phoenix.
Kurz anticipated Newcastle to persist with their all-out attacking style and was impressed with the Reds’ attentiveness during training in the build up to such an important game.
“Newcastle’s a strong team, they’ve played a fantastic season,” Kurz said in the pre-match press conference.
“They only play offensive, that’s the style from Ernie (Merrick) and from the team but we’re looking forward because I think in the last away game against them we played well.
“But we didn’t have the game luck with the decisions and now we feel confident.
“I thought the players this week were very focused and there were intense training sessions this week because every player is fighting for a position in the game.
“And that’s good because the quality is higher in the training.”
Despite Newcastle missing three first-team regulars in Dimitri Petratos, Roy O’Donovan and Nigel Boogaard for the clash, Kurz warned the Jets remain a very imposing outfit.
The ex-Schalke 04 defender added his team must play to their potential if they want to taste success tomorrow night.
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“We expect a strong team, players like (Patricio) Rodriguez and (Ronald) Vargas are back and the squad is very strong from them,” Kurz admitted.
“They beat Sydney two weeks ago with ten men and they play for the first place.
“We are focused and the concentration must be very high for the ninety minutes if we want to have a chance of getting three points.”
The Reds have struggled to find the back-of-the-net with consistency this campaign and Kurz believed it was simply attributed to the final ball lacking polish.
However, he said he would be more concerned if his side were not creating good opportunities.
“I think it’s the quality in the last pass or the quality in the final shot,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s the experience, the calmness on the ball but for me it’s better to know that we have the chances.
“I think for a coach it’s not so good if you score no goals and have no chances.
“We have a couple of good chances in every game and we always work hard to make it better and try to score more goals.”
Adelaide United host Newcastle Jets in Round 24 of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season on Friday, 23 March at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT. Junior (6-14 years old) tickets are just $10 online or at the gate.
