Adelaide United boss Carl Veart believes a fast start could be crucial against Auckland FC on Wednesday night as the Isuzu UTE A-League’s top two sides go head-to-head at Coopers Stadium.
The Reds soared to the top of the league table on Saturday night following their thrilling 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory in the Original Rivalry.
He added: “It’s a short turnaround so we haven’t had much time to train, it’s more just about making sure we get the boys as fresh as we can to go into the game.”
Steve Corica’s Black Knights head into the game at Coopers Stadium on Wednesday night off the back of their emphatic 3-0 win over Melbourne City.
Among those to have been substituted during the second-half were key midfield duo Louis Verstraete and Felipe Gallegos.
“Louis Verstraete and Felipe (Gallegos) were exceptional in the midfield,” said Corica when speaking after the win over Melbourne City.
“I wanted to rest them as well. Louis for one, he was on four yellow cards so we wanted to get him off and Felipe was obviously feeling the amount of work that he did in the first half.
He added: “They worked extremely hard, they won the second balls and that’s the team we are. We have to compete. We’re still finding our feet of how we want to play.”
So whilst the Black Knights will have some weary legs in their squad they are boosted by the news inspirational captain Hiroki Sakai is back in the matchday squad having missed the win over Melbourne City due to the concussion he suffered during their loss to Perth Glory.
However, Auckland FC will still have a lengthy trip to contend with when factoring in international travel and Veart is hopeful a fast start will help give his side the edge.
“It’s important that we start the game (well) and play a high tempo. It’s a long trip from Auckland to here and they’ve had the short-turnaround, the same as us.
Having sold out Cooper Stadium for the hotly-anticipated game with Victory in Round 15, Veart has once again called on the club’s fans to pack out their home stadium ahead of the top-of-the-table clash.
“It’s one of the best stadiums in the country for football,” said Veart when asked how much of a difference the fans make.
“When our supporters come out in force to support us you can see the lift in the intensity that we play with as well with that support behind us and we saw that Saturday night.
“It would be fantastic as well to get a lot of supporters here tomorrow night.
Wednesday, 7:30pm (AEDT): Adelaide United v Auckland FC
Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV, 3.Bart VRIENDS, 6.Stefan MAUK, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.ISAÍAS, 9.Luka JOVANOVIĆ, 10.Zach CLOUGH, 12.Jonny YULL, 14.Jay BARNETT, 17.Ben FOLAMI, 19.Yaya DUKULY, 20.Dylan PIERIAS, 21.Javi LÓPEZ, 26.Archie GOODWIN, 40.Ethan COX, 42.Austin AYOUBI, 44.Ryan WHITE, 51.Panagiotis KIKIANIS, 55.Ethan ALAGICH, 62.Fabian TALLADIRA
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 62.Fabian TALLADIRA
Outs: 23.Luke DUZEL
Auckland FC squad: 1. Michael WOUD, 2. Hiroki SAKAI, 4. Nando PIJNAKER, 5. Tommy SMITH, 7. Cam HOWIESON, 6. Louis VERSTRAETE, 8. Luis TOOMEY, 9. Max MATA, 10. Guillermo MAY, 11. Marlee FRANÇOIS, 12. Alex PAULSEN, 14. Liam GILLION, 15. Francis DE VRIES, 17. Callan ELLIOT, 18. Finn MCKENLAY, 21. Jesse RANDALL, 22. Jake BRIMMER, 25. Neyder MORENO, 27. Logan ROGERSON, 28. Luis Felipe GALLEGOS
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: 2. Hiroki SAKAI
Outs: 3. Scott GALLOWAY
Unavailable: 23. Dan HALL
