Ivan Karlovic says that a win against Melbourne Victory on Friday night is the perfect opportunity to get a reward for their performance, something that hasn’t gone their way this season.
The Reds will be aiming to cap off their season on a positive note, following their 2-4 defeat to league leaders, Brisbane Roar on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Victory have too experienced a rough patch, and will also put up a fight for the three points after their 1-2 loss to Sydney FC.
It is the second phase of the Original Rivalry this year, and there will be no better way to end the season than seeking revenge after the Melbournians took home a 4-0 win in Round 7.
Karlovic admitted that it has been disappointing to not achieve the results as the Reds have displayed moments of excellence, but he believes that this only means there is still room to improve.
“It’s definitely disappointing from a results point-of-view as we expected to do better in that sense,” Karlovic said.
“But the football we’ve played has been a positive aspect, and I think we have been dominant in a lot of our games with little reward.
“But that of course goes to show that we’re still not quite there and still lacking in areas, but being such a young side it is to be expected.
“But we have learnt a lot, and know now what we need to do to improve for next year.”
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Commenting on the match at the weekend, Karlovic said the defeat is something his players can learn from and they will only get better with experience.
“It probably came down to a number of things, possibly fatigue and the experience factor.
“After the drinks break, we had conceded and the momentum had shifted onto Brisbane and gave them the wind in their sail.
“We struggled from that point but they have a lot of seasoned players that have been around for a long time whereas we have a lot of players who are still learning.
“We have to learn from those moments and get better.”
Karlovic is hoping for a win against Melbourne Victory, a result that will reflect on his Reds’ football, and it is something that he wishes will continue to evolve for 2018/19.
“Like every other game, we want to go in and play some good football,” Karlovic continued.
“Hopefully for a change, the result reflects the football and the dominance that we’ve had in games.
“Over the last month, we’ve played extremely well against the top sides, so we want to finish off on a positive note.
“If we can continue the way we’ve been playing and continue to learn, we can get the result we are looking for and that goes for the future as well.
“We have started planning for next season and we want to aim to increase the level of professionalism in the squad and continue to raise the bar and strive for excellence.
“We definitely won’t back down on the standards we’re looking for and will always demand success and have a winning mentality.”
Adelaide United face Melbourne Victory in Round 14 of the Westfield W-League 2017/18 season at Marden Sports Complex on Friday, 2 February 2018. Kick-off at 7.30pm.
