Boxing Day presents Adelaide United FC with the chance to put last Friday’s hiccup well and truly behind them as they host Brisbane Roar at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Boxing Day presents Adelaide United FC with the chance to put last Friday night-s hiccup to the Western Sydney Wanderers well and truly behind them as they host reigning Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane Roar at Hindmarsh Stadium (Kick-Off 7.00pm ACDT).
It is often suggested the best way to bounce back after a heavy fall is to jump straight back on the horse, and the Reds get to do exactly that just five days after the defeat to the Wanderers.
The squad hit the training track this morning for the first time since last Friday and it was immediately noticeable there was an added air of intent evident among the players that they are determined to put things right.
“There-s not much you can do after an outcome like we got last Friday night,” Coach John Kosmina said.
“We talked a little bit before training about the whys and wherefores but we didn-t even look at the video because sometimes you get those games where nothing you do turns out right.”
“I think partly it was our fault and they had a lot of good bounces of the ball as well, so we put it behind us and get on with it because we haven-t got time to dwell on it.”
“You would expect that the players would want to get the bad blood out of the system and the best way to do it is on the training paddock.”
Positively, despite the result at Parramatta Stadium the Reds still hold down second spot and a five point gap to the chasing pack, making the match against a Roar side that is without a win in its past three games and Monday-s New Years Eve blockbuster against Sydney FC all the more pivotal.
The Roar started life under new coach Mike Mulvey with a narrow loss to Perth Glory but Kosmina believes it is just a matter of time before the champions of the last two seasons begin to find their mojo again.
“They-re a good team…maybe a good side out of luck,” Kosmina said.
“They didn-t get the bounce of the ball the other night, they hit the crossbar, but when you-ve dug a hole for yourself it takes a little while to fill it back up again and I think they-re in that process at the moment, we-ve just got to make sure they don-t get too much filling on Wednesday.”
“But it-s not so much about Brisbane, it-s about us. If we can get a good positive outcome on Wednesday then last Friday doesn-t matter that much anymore does it.”
Considering the short turnaround between games, Kosmina appears hesitant to make wholesale changes against the Roar, although he has put the players that took the field against the Wanderers on notice and will be looking to see this resilience that has been built up over the past 12 months come to the fore.
“I tossed up a couple of different ideas, bounced it around with the other coaching staff and we-ll make a final decision tomorrow,” Kosmina said on what, if any, changes could be likely.
“You-ve got to think carefully about it because you can take the doom and gloom aspect of it and start making too many changes. If you make too many changes, we haven-t had a lot of time to practise anything either, so do you keep the changes down and say – here-s another crack at it but it might be your last one.”
An opportunity to test their unbeaten record at home against the champions should provide the Reds with more than enough motivation to show that last Friday was just an off night.
Tickets for the match are available through Ticketek.
Hyundai A-League 2012/13 Season – Week 13
ADELAIDE UNITED FC v BRISBANE ROAR
Wednesday 26 December 2012, Hindmarsh Stadium
Kick-Off: 7.00pm ACDT
Referee: Adam Kersey
Tickets: Available through Ticketek (call 132849, online at www.ticketek.com.au)
TV: LIVE & Exclusive on Fox Sports 1
Radio: Live coverage on 891 ABC Adelaide, ABC Local Radio across SA, Grandstand Digital and streaming online
Twitter: twitter.com/adelutd_fc (hash tag #REDSvROAR)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene Galekovic (gk) (c), 2.Osama Malik, 3.Nigel Boogaard, 5.Iain Fyfe, 6.Cassio, 7.Zenon Caravella, 8.Marcelo Carrusca, 9.Sergio van Dijk, 10.Dario Vidosic, 11.Bruce Djite, 12.Antony Golec, 14.Cameron Watson, 16.Daniel Bowles, 17.Iain Ramsay, 18.Fabian Barbiero, 20.Paul Izzo (gk), 21.Jeronimo Neumann, 22.Fabio Ferreira, 23.Evan Kostopoulos
*four to be omitted
In: Zenon Caravella, Sergio van Dijk, Antony Golec, Daniel Bowles, Paul Izzo (gk) (all promoted)
Out: John Hall (gk) (returns to NYL)
Unavailable: Nil
Adelaide United FC vs. Brisbane Roar – Hyundai A-League HEAD TO HEAD Record:
Played 23 – 9 wins, 8 draws, 6 losses
At Hindmarsh Stadium
Played 11; Adelaide United 4, Brisbane Roar 4, Draws 3
Last time they met
4-Nov-2012 Week 5, Hyundai A-League 2012/13 Season at Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Roar 0
Adelaide United FC 1 (Vidosic 3-)
