Carl Veart admits a draw was probably a fair result after playing out a 1-1 stalemate with premiers Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on Thursday night.
Jordan Elsey’s emphatic header gave United the lead inside 13 minutes before Adam Le Fondre finished off an incisive counter-attacking move prior to the break.
Veart said it was frustrating not to collect all three points, but praised Sydney goalkeeper, Andrew Redmayne, for two outstanding stops to deny Lachlan Brook and Riley McGree in the second stanza.
“We’re disappointed, I think the boys did well tonight,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“In the second-half their ‘keeper made two fantastic saves and on another night, maybe another ‘keeper, I think both would’ve gone in.
“So disappointed but over the balance of the game it was probably a fair result.”
The Reds extended their unbeaten streak to four matches, all coming post-lockdown and while Veart has been at the helm as interim Head Coach.
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The 50-year-old felt his side were sometimes careless in possession but overall was content with the team’s display against the ladder leaders.
“We’ve made a few changes to the way that we play,” he said.
“And tonight I was happy for most of the game, I think at times though we still turned the ball over a bit too easily in the middle of the park and that sort of played into Sydney’s strengths with that transition that they’ve got.
“So there’s a few things that we need to improve on but generally I’m happy.”
Adelaide move five points clear of seventh-placed Western United to 35 points, who still have four games to play compared to United’s one.
That match for the South Australians is against Melbourne City on Tuesday night and Veart said all they can do is win that clash and then rely on favourable results to reach the finals.
“We knew coming in that we had five really tough games against the five top teams,” he explained.
“And we knew from past seasons we need 37, 38 points maybe to make the six.
“This year that might not even be enough, so we’ve got another game Tuesday, we need to get the three points.
“At the moment we’ve the points on the board, Western United got the games in hand but they need to win those games.”
Adelaide United face Melbourne City in the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 season on Tuesday, 11 August at ANZ Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACST. Live and Exclusive on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and the MyFootball Live App.
