Adelaide United FC is under no elusion of the task in front of it tomorrow as the Reds attempt to bring an in form Melbourne Heart back down to earth at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Adelaide United FC is under no elusion of the task in front of it tomorrow as the Reds attempt to bring an in form Melbourne Heart back down to earth at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Riding high after putting four goals past Brisbane Roar last weekend, the Heart come to Adelaide with a spring in their step and a talented playing list that is beginning to blossom under new coach John Aloisi.
Reds Coach John Kosmina is fully aware of the danger the Heart can pose all over the field, while there is one player in particular he believes has been a barometer for the team from the Victorian capital.
“Richard Garcia more than anything – he-s a fantastic player,” Kosmina said on what the Reds would have to look out for on Saturday afternoon.
“I guess for me he was a catalyst for the whole thing coming together and he-s just a quality player.”
“Apart from that they move the ball around really well. Matty Thompson in the middle of the park has got a great work rate, Mate Dugandzic has been playing well, Nick Kalmar is a good player, Tadic has shown he-s not a bad number nine so they-ve got a fairly potent attack and they-re pretty experienced at the back as well.”
“They put a lot of pressure on Brisbane and that-s what they-ll probably do with us as well. They forced them on the back foot and they-ve got the players who can do that. They-ve got pace and the work rate in the middle of the park, and experience as well.”
“We-ve had a look at the way they go about their business and hopefully we can stop them – it-ll be a good game.”
While Kosmina has done his homework on the Reds- Week 7 opponents, he is more interested in the progress his own side his making.
Marcelo Carrusca and Dario Vidosic-s partnership as dual playmakers is starting to show real promise, and Kosmina says the balance and style of how he wants the Reds to play is gradually taking effect as each game passes.
“We-ve chopped and changed a bit trying to find the best combination and I think we-re starting to get the understanding between Dario and Marcelo,” Kosmina said.
“I like to play with two tens and I like to play with width as well, so the half and half when we play with Jeronimo and a nine, we tend to be a bit short in midfield so we-ve got the width, we-ve got the cover and we-ve got the expertise in the middle of the park.”
“We-re looking the same as last week, the only problem we-ve got is Daniel Bowles pulled up sore from the last game so he-s having a rest this week and Cameron Watson will come into his spot,” Kosmina said.
Bowles- absence and Watson-s elevation to the starting eleven means Fabian Barbiero will take up a spot on the bench.
Kick-Off is at 5.00pm ACDT, with gates open at 2.00pm and the Reds- Youth Team to play a curtain raiser against Melbourne Heart Youth from 2.15pm.
Hyundai A-League 2012/13 Season – Week 7
ADELAIDE UNITED FC v MELBOURE HEART
Saturday 17 November 2012, Hindmarsh Stadium
Kick-Off: 5.00pm ACDT
Referee: Ben Williams
Tickets: Available through Ticketek (call 132849, online at www.ticketek.com.au)
TV: Live & Exclusive on Fox Sports 1
Radio: Live on ABC 891 Adelaide, ABC Local Radio across SA, 891 Digital & online
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adelutd_fc (hash tag #REDSvMH)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene Galekovic (gk) (c), 2.Osama Malik, 3.Nigel Boogaard, 5.Iain Fyfe, 6.Cassio, 8.Marcelo Carrusca, 10.Dario Vidosic, 11.Bruce Djite, 14.Cameron Watson, 17.Iain Ramsay, 18.Fabian Barbiero, 21.Jeronimo Neumann, 22.Fabio Ferreira, 23.Evan Kostopoulos, 30.John Hall (gk)
Ins: Fabian Barbiero (promoted)
Outs: Daniel Bowles (hip – 1-2 weeks)
Unavailable: Jon McKain (leg – under review), Jake Barker-Daish (groin – 3-4 weeks), Paul Izzo (gk) (International duty – Qantas Young Socceroos)
Melbourne Heart squad: 1.Clint Bolton (gk), 2.Michael Marrone, 4.Simon Colosimo, 6.Patrick Gerhardt, 8.Matthew Thompson, 9.Dylan Macallister, 10.Josip Tadic, 11.Richard Garcia, 15.David Williams, 16.Aziz Behich, 17.Jason Hoffman, 20.Andrew Redmayne (gk), 22.Nick Kalmar, 23.Mate Dugandzic, 24.Sam Mitchinson
Ins: Nil
Outs: Fred (c) (hamstring – one week), Jonatan Germano (fitness – undisclosed), Golgol Mebrahtu, Steven Gray (knee – one week), David Vrankovic (international duty – Qantas Young Socceroos), Ben Garuccio (international duty – Qantas Young Socceroos)
Unavailable: Vince Grella
