Gertjan Verbeek lamented Adelaide United’s lapses in concentration against Newcastle Jets which contributed to a fourth successive loss.
Adelaide failed to score in match for the first time under the Dutchman’s tutelage as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Coopers Stadium.
Verbeek said his side were the better side before conceding in the 40th minute when Roy O’Donovan broke the deadlock with a simple finish.
“I think it was not so much going wrong in the first-half,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“We were a little bit sloppy when we had the ball. We defended well until one moment before half-time in the 40th minute.
“And even then we had enough people and it was three against two or even four against two when you count the goalkeeper and still he scored.
“I think at 1-0 (down) you are still in the game and then you give it away in five minutes in the second-half.
“Again it was not very good defending… It’s very disappointing that you have two home games and two losses and eight goals against us.”
The Reds remain outside of the top six in seventh place with 27 points, but Verbeek was remaining optimistic of his side’s chances of reaching a finals berth.
He acknowledged in order for that to happen United, who have a bye next weekend, must improve.
“We have five games to go and even though we lost today it was better than last week, and it was not good enough,” he explained.
“But I said already from the beginning of the season, we can beat every team but we can also lose against every team.
“It has to be a team effort and I think last week we were eleven individual players, and today we were more a team.
“And that’s the only thing you can reach to get more points and win games when you stay together as a team.
“We have a bye next week so that’s helping us and probably Ben (Halloran) will be returning now.
“I hope in the last few weeks there’s good competition, you see when the young guys come in they bring a lot of energy to the team and that’s good, but we still have to improve.”
