Stefan Mauk insists Adelaide United can beat any team on its day provided they play to the best of their ability.
The Reds finished the regular season in fifth spot and travel to Queensland to tackle Brisbane Roar in an Elimination Final on Sunday.
It is United’s first appearance in the A-League Finals Series since 2019.
Although Mauk was disappointed his side did not finish the campaign in a higher position, he felt all the remaining teams are beatable.
“I think at the start of the season you set out to make the finals,” the Reds Captain said.
“I believe we should’ve finished a little bit higher, but we believe we can beat anyone on the day and we’re very confident going into the finals now.”
Adelaide has recorded wins over every team in the top six this season, reinforcing the belief within the squad.
However, the Reds’ form did wane towards the end of the season but Mauk suggested they can turn that frustration into motivation ahead of the playoffs.
“I think we’ve beaten Sydney FC, we’ve Melbourne City who are the top two teams and we’re very confident if we get up against any team we’re going to be able to beat them on the day,” he said.
“So it’s obviously more challenging. You have to play the first final to get to a semi-final, but we’re more than happy to play and going up to Brisbane is going to be a great game.”
Brisbane clinched fourth spot on the table despite suffering a 2-0 loss against Sydney FC at the weekend.
The 25-year-old midfielder, who has scored 7 goals this year, is anticipating a tough clash but one he expects United can progress to the Semi-final.
“I think they’re obviously a good team, they’ve made the finals,” he discussed.
“They’ve been a pretty solid team and you know they’re going to work hard and be very well organised.
“But we’re going to be focusing on us this week and we know we’re more than capable to beat them as we showed when we were here (at Coopers Stadium).”
Match details:
Sunday, 13 June vs Brisbane Roar
A-League 2020/21 – Elimination Final
Kick-off 2.35pm ACST
Venue: Moreton Daily Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
