Adelaide United Head Coach, Marco Kurz, and Captain, Isaías, are feeling confident ahead of the Westfield FFA Cup Final 2017 against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Reds will be vying to become the first side to lift the trophy for the second time after clinching the inaugural title in 2014.
Adelaide snapped a three match losing streak in the league thanks to a last-gasp 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Central Coast Mariners on Thursday.
Kurz believes that victory was a timely confidence booster, heading into their biggest game to date this season.
“I think to feel more confidence, the win was very important,” Kurz said at the official pre-match press conference.
“I think also the style we played was good in our last game and I think now we are ready for the big game tomorrow.”
The South Australians accounted for three Hyundai A-League sides on route to the showpiece event and most recently prevailed 2-1 against Western Sydney Wanderers in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues reached their second consecutive Cup Final courtesy of a 5-1 rout of South Melbourne.
Kurz admitted the pressure was on Graham Arnold’s men since they are playing at home, with the German going on to state his team are the underdog.
“I think Sydney FC is a very good team, a very strong team,” he said.
“It’s the champion from last year, it’s the favourite tomorrow but it’s one game and I think in one game you have the chance as an underdog to win.
“That’s our goal tomorrow we are very proud to be in the final, but we are in Sydney for a chance to win.”
#AUFC’s @FFACup pre-match press conference ✅
🎟 Tickets: https://t.co/4Sympa7VDf pic.twitter.com/lJWSoCOwHS
— Adelaide United (@AdelaideUnited) November 20, 2017
Kurz also gave no indications of his starting line-up, opting to keep his cards close to his chest.
“I think we need tomorrow a good performance from each player,” he said.
“Because I think the quality from Sydney is very big, but our team is also ready for the game.”
Isaías said he is fully aware of the magnitude of the clash, and believes Adelaide deserve their place in the title decider.
“This is massive, we know that it’s not easy to arrive to a final,” the Reds’ Captain said.
“But we worked really hard from the start of the pre-season, we did well to arrive here and I’m really happy with the way we are playing at the moment.
“I think we deserve to be in the final.”
The Spaniard went on to reiterate the sentiments of his boss, insisting if Coopers Stadium hosted the Final, it would have been a capacity crowd.
“When I play football I don’t see the crowd so for me it doesn’t matter,” he said.
“I agree with him (Marco), I think that if we played in Adelaide it would be a full stadium, for sure.
“But the federation decided to play here (at Allianz Stadium) and we play here so for us it doesn’t matter.
“We know that we need to play a final and we need to win it, it doesn’t matter where.”
Westfield FFA Cup Record
Adelaide United
2014 – Champions
2015 – Quarter finals
2016 – Round of 32
Sydney FC
2014 – Quarter finals
2015 – Round of 16
2016 – Runners up
Adelaide United will face Sydney FC in the Grand Final of the 2017 Westfield FFA Cup on Tuesday, 21 November at Allianz Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACDT.
