Mirko Boland spoke to the media following Adelaide United’s 1-0 victory against Newcastle Jets in the FFA Cup 2019 Quarter Final.
Here is a transcript of the press conference:
On being in another semi-final…
One hundred per cent, we’re really happy. That was our goal to reach the semi-final and we did that. So far we’re really happy today.
On the performance and playing against 10 men…
Every time it’s hard to play against 10 men because normally if you play with 10 you step up more. And sometimes I have the experience when you’re playing with one man more maybe you do a step less. It’s hard but I think we started really well in the game, we were good in shape especially when you look that our last game was three weeks ago. And also some missing with the national players (Olyroos) and the young players get a little bit of a holiday.
So it was not really easy in the weeks before to prepare and get a feeling of 11 vs 11. Right now we played against an A-League team, it was also a good test for us. But we did it well, I think we created a lot of chances. For me the second-half wasn’t really good because we didn’t play it smart in the moment. If you play with one man more you’ve to keep the ball more and have to wait for the right moment and let them run. But in the end the important thing was the result and that was good.
On the first-half and what to expect moving forward under Gertjan Verbeek…
We wanted to play a more offensive style, we want to create a lot of chances but we also have to improve that is also really clear. And it was also a good test that we played against 10 because we saw that it was a new situation in the game and that is also where we have to improve.
On Al Hassan Toure’s form and if it gives the team confidence moving forward…
I think he’s young and has a lot of confidence and he’s a young player. That’s the good thing if you’re young no one expects so many things of you and for him he got the chance and did it well. He scored and that’s an important thing for a striker so we’re happy to have him.
On Toure filling the void left by Craig Goodwin…
It’s allowed for everyone to score so it doesn’t matter on which position. But especially with Craig last year he was our scoring machine, but we also have on the bench Kristian (Opseth), George (Blackwood) also. We’ve a lot of good players Riley (McGree) can score, Ben (Halloran) can score. But what I said first – everyone is allowed to score.
On Toure keeping out Kristian Opseth…
I think we’ll see how it works, it’s a decision for the coach. At the moment Toure has been doing really well. I think they’re both completely different players, Toure is more a player who makes a lot of runs and Kristian is really more a box player. He’s tall, can keep the ball, good header. We’ll see maybe it’s a gameday decision from the coach, we’ll see how it goes bit it’s really important we have both types of players.
On the FFA Cup suiting Adelaide United…
I don’t really know about the past, just last year when I’ve been here. I think it’s a good test also because we have such a long pre-season, it’s good to have practice games that’s really important for us. It’s a good feeling, it’s a cup you, can win a trophy and for me last year it was also a really good experience and I would be really happy if we could do it again.
On knockout football suiting Adelaide…
I think it’s a good situation when you come into the cup and get a good feeling also for the season. It’s really important to get confidence and be good in shape.
On having the same confidence as last season…
I think it’s really similar because every time it’s a good feeling to get confidence but not too much we’ve to improve. That’s also really important and we’ll see which team we’ll have to play for the semi-final.
On the feeling within the group ahead of the Hyundai A-League and needing one or two more players…
That would be good one hundred per cent. Especially we have a couple of national players and they may leave us during the season. So for that we need a couple of good players, but at the moment the squad is really good. And also especially the young players, we talk about Toure, he’s doing well and there’s also a little surprise that nobody expects so much that he comes in and did his job so well. But especially with young players you know they can’t maybe constantly at this level, so you’ve to take care of that. But we’ll see and we’re happy at the moment with the squad.
On how Gertjan compares to previous coaches…
I know him from Germany when I played against him. It was every time hard to play against him because he has a different game style and now we play the same. It’s a little bit different but we like it. It’s an offensive style but we have to improve on that and it’s a lot different to last year, but it looks good and I think with time we’re getting better and better.
On Lewis Italiano’s red card…
It is a red card. That’s the rule. I think if there was a penalty then it just becomes a yellow card. But it was normally a one hundred per cent chance, I think Nikola (Mileusnić) normally if he doesn’t get stopped he will score so that’s a red card.
On knowing what to expect in his second season in Australia…
I feel much more comfortable this year. Also I know what’s happening in the league and also with the climate here, the weather, the different time zones. Especially when you come from Europe, maybe other players can handle that a little bit better, but last year I also got a long injury and that was a little bit of a hard time. And after that I never really came back to the level what I expect from me, what I did at the beginning of the last season. So right now I feel pretty good, feel fit and hope I can improve more and more and help the team with my style of football.
