Adelaide United Head Coach, Marco Kurz, and midfielder, Isaías, are anticipating a tricky encounter against Newcastle Jets in their Westfield FFA Cup Round of 32 game at Marden Sports Complex on Wednesday night.
The Reds will be looking to kick-start the tournament with a win and seal progression to the Round of 16 in Kurz’s first competitive game in charge of the Club.
It will be the inaugural 2014 Champions’ first-ever Cup meeting against Newcastle, who have never advanced from the opening round of the competition in three attempts.
Adelaide’s last meaningful match at Marden resulted in a 1-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix at the same stage of the Cup three years’ ago, and the Reds will be after a repeat of that success this time around.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Kurz expected a difficult contest against the Novocastrian outfit.
“I think Newcastle is very strong and a very experienced team,” he said.
“We want to reach the next round of the Cup.
“That’s our first objective and then we will see what can happen.”
With the Reds still in pre-season, the German said he is hoping to see aspects of what has been learned on the training track come to fruition in the clash.
“I think for us we hope that we see many training elements in the game,” he said.
“For example our build-up play, to create chances or to score goals.
“But when I start a game I always want to win.”
Meanwhile, Isaías, is keen to begin this year’s Cup campaign in a much more convincing manner compared to last year’s Round of 32 exit.
“We know the result we got last year wasn’t good enough,” he said.
“We hope to start this season with a better result and go to the next round.
“Newcastle is a good team and will be a tough game, but we have been working very hard the last few weeks to arrive in this moment to compete.
“I think for us it’s very important to start winning every game that we play, to start getting this winning mentality.”
The Spaniard, who has worn the captain’s armband for the past two pre-season friendly matches, said he will be honoured if he is bestowed the Club captaincy.
“It’s something nice and it would be a pleasure for me,” he explained.
“But it’s something the coach will decide, when the right moment arrives and if that happens I’ll be very happy.”
Westfield FFA Cup Record
Adelaide United
2014 – Champions
2015 – Quarter finals
2016 – Round of 32
Newcastle Jets
2014 – Round of 32
2015 – Round of 32
2016 – Round of 32
Adelaide United host Newcastle Jets in the Round of 32 of the 2017 Westfield FFA Cup on Wednesday, 9 August at Marden Sports Complex. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACST.
