Adelaide United Head Coach, Marco Kurz, says his side will not be taking Bentleigh Greens lightly following the FFA Cup 2018 Semi-final draw.
The Reds recorded a hard-fought 2-0 win over APIA Leichhardt in the last eight on Wednesday night.
Two second-half goals, one a magnificent long-range strike from Craig Goodwin and the other via Mirko Boland’s head sealed United’s passage to the final four.
With the draw pitting Adelaide against Victorian National Premier League side, Bentleigh, in Melbourne next week, Kurz insisted it will be another gruelling affair.
“They’ve nothing to lose, NPL teams have nothing to lose,” Kurz told Fox Sports post-match.
“And we’ve a lot of respect for Bentleigh because if you reach the semi-final as an NPL team you must have a good team.
“But now we’re happy to reach the semi-final and now it’s our job to have a good recovery and to prepare the team the best we can do to reach the final.”
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Kurz added it was crucial his team is playing as many competitive games as possible in such a protracted pre-season ahead of the Hyundai A-League.
He also revealed before a ball had even been kicked this term, that the Club’s ambition was to reach a second consecutive final.
“I think the pre-season is a long time in Australia,” he said.
“And for us it was very important to reach each round step by step and our goal or aim was always the final.
“And now we have to go the last step, a strong step but we’re happy with the result today and we’re happy that we’ve the chance to reach the final again.”
The German also reserved praise when asked about the impact of Goodwin since his return to the Reds from a two-year stint in Europe.
The 26-year-old has adapted seamlessly into the starting XI with his screamer against APIA his third goal in this year’s FFA Cup.
“I think we’re very happy that Goody (Goodwin) signed the contract with Adelaide,” he continued.
“He’s back in his hometown and the quality is very high and I’m sure that we’ll have a lot of fun with Goody and it’s a great signing.”
Adelaide United face Bentleigh Greens in the semi-finals of the FFA Cup 2018. Match details to be confirmed.
