The Adelaide United Youth Team hosts the Western Strikers in Round 9 of the NPL State League at the Elite Systems Football Centre on Wednesday Night.
Coach of the Young Reds Michael Valkanis said the tournament was a success in their eyes and believes his performed well throughout each match they played.
“Too be honest I think we exceeded our expectations. Myself and Ange were very happy that we improved on last years results and standings,” said Valkanis.
“Last year when we finished the tournament we reviewed what we learnt from it and where we need to improve and I think we put some of that in place and taking a young squad over we did really well.
“In looking at how we performed overall we did a very good job, one playing good football and secondly having the experience to play against sides like Barcelona and Malaga was fantastic to watch and be a part of.”
Valkanis also added that he was pleased with his side’s ability to keep structure and most importantly play to the style of football, which has proven successful within both the NPL State League and Foxtel National Youth League.
“There’s no better occasion than going to Spain and playing against Barcelona who we try to match our style with and competing against kids who are trained and mentored by the best coaches in the World is a great opportunity,” said Valkanis.
“So for us it was let’s play to our style, challenge them to the best of our ability and gage ourselves against them and I think we did that but were unfortunate to get a result.”
The Young Reds now shift their attention to the NPL State League, which they were defeated in their previous match against Adelaide Olympic.
“The boys seem switched on and are focused on Wednesday’s game against Western Strikers,” said Valkanis.
“I think the loss to Olympic has made the boys hungrier and we respect everyone in the State League meaning the competition and each team and we know it’s not easy.
“So obviously we need to be in high concentration very similar to the Barcelona game and that we take our chances and play well from start to finish.”
Adelaide United Squad: Samed Altundag, Niko Apostolopoulos, Nathan Konstandopoulos, Thomas Love, Clifford Maina, Alec Maiolo, Daniel Margush, Riley McGree, Yiannis Nestoras, Mark Ochieng, Adam Piscioneri, Doni Pollock, Jordan Pudler, Dylan Smith, Ruon Tongyik, Antoni Trimboli, Ben Warland, Alex Woodlands, Oliver Zafiridis
Adelaide United will host Western Strikers tonight (Wednesday 15 April 2015) at the Elite Systems Football Centre in Round 9 of the NPL State League Season. Kick-off at 7:30pm.
