Daniel Adlung says Adelaide United faced an uphill battle the moment they lost control of the game against Sydney FC.
The Reds’ three-match unbeaten run ended following a 3-0 defeat to the recently crowned premiers at Allianz Stadium on Sunday night.
Adelaide conceded at the worst possible time when Matt Simon’s header past Paul Izzo in first-half stoppage time to give the Sky Blues a crucial lead.
United never really recovered from that point on and Brazilian striker Bobo bagged a second-half brace.
“We’re disappointed but against Sydney FC you can lose and they played really good,” Adlung said at Adelaide Airport.
“I think we started the game not too bad the first ten, fifteen minutes we played very good.
“But after fifteen minutes we lose the control and they take the game so it was difficult on Sunday and also another experience for us for the future and also for the finals.
“Maybe we play them again so we know the style of how they play and we have to improve ourselves.”
Adlung said the Reds still believe they can make a legitimate run in the finals, but stressed it was important to take it game by game.
“I think everything is possible because if you want to make the grand final you have to win two games,” he said.
“So probably it would be better to play the first game at home but even away we can win games and we showed that in the past.
“So we are preparing for the first match of the finals and we want to win for sure.”
The German also felt that the loss can serve as a positive moving forward whereby the Reds can learn from their mistakes.
“I think Sydney is the best team in the league and they showed it again on Sunday,” he said.
“Because they know each other and they played two or three years together with the same coach and the same style.
“It’s the best team and you can learn a lot from these games.”
Adelaide United face Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 27 of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season on Sunday, 15 April at ANZ Stadium. Kick-off is at 4.30pm ACST.
