Marco Kurz says destiny is still in Adelaide United’s hands after their top three finals aspirations took a blow against Brisbane Roar on Saturday night.
The Reds went down 1-0 to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium courtesy of Eric Bautheac’s 41st minute free-kick.
Kurz lamented his side’s sluggish start to the game and a lack of intensity allowed the Roar to create several decent openings.
“I think the first-half was not good enough from us,” he admitted in the post-match press conference.
“We gave Brisbane too much space to turn and to play against our back four line.
“The pressure we did was not good and they had a couple of chances to score two goals or more.”
Kurz believed his side improved in the second-half, but an inability to take their chances proved costly.
“At half-time we did a couple of corrections and I think the second-half was okay,” he said.
“But you must score a goal to get points and that’s one of the mistakes today and also in the first-half I think after we won the ball we lost the ball immediately.
“It was too easy for Brisbane and I think the result until the end was correct, Brisbane was the better team today.”
After successive losses, Kurz said the confidence within the group remained high and was adamant qualification to the final series would be sealed if they play to their potential.
“We stay in a good position even though the last two results we are not happy,” he said.
“But now we have three home games and we stay in the finals position and now it’s up to us to fight and get points to reach the finals.
“That’s in our hands and I think if we do a good job other teams will have no chance and now it’s up to us to win more games than the teams behind us.”
Adelaide United host Melbourne City in Round 23 of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season on Friday, 16 March at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT.
