Adelaide United Head Coach Airton Andrioli spoke to the media following an agonising 2-1 defeat to Auckland FC on Saturday afternoon.
The Reds dominated large periods of the match – particularly in the second half – but were left to rue missed opportunities against the reigning Premiers, as a single lapse in concentration proved costly.
Andrioli on the team’s performance…
“Obviously we’re disappointed with the result, but extremely happy about some of the things within the game, especially in the second half. In the first half, our passing was a little off, some unusual mistakes that we don’t normally make. We spoke about that at halftime, and in the second half we came back strong and pushed Auckland back.
They’re a resilient, defensively strong team, and I think we controlled most of the half. One lapse in concentration and a quick transition cost us the game – that’s football. Nobody likes to lose, but when you perform like that, there are a lot of positives to take away.”
On the quick turnaround and travel challenges…
“It’s been a tricky schedule – Friday, Monday, now Saturday – but football’s about adapting and being ready for any circumstance. We travelled, trained twice here, adjusted to the conditions and the time difference, and I think the boys were up for it. We just walk away a bit unfortunate not to have something to show for another good performance.”
On Luka Jovanović’s first A-League goal of the campaign…
“We have a lot of confidence in Luka. He’s desperate to score, and sometimes that works against you as a young striker. We spoke to him this week about being calm and composed in front of goal, and he showed that today. It’s great for him to get his first one, and hopefully there’s plenty more to come.”
On player fitness and next steps…
“No injuries reported, which is good. There’s always the usual fatigue after travel and back-to-back games, but everyone’s fine. We’ll recover, regroup, and get back to training because we need to be ready for the next match.”
On Auckland’s quality…
“This is a very difficult place to play. They’re a strong team, they haven’t changed much from last season, and they don’t give much away. If you give them half a chance, they’ll punish you – that’s what good teams do. But credit to my players, they did a tremendous job. If we’d taken one of our chances in the second half, it could have been a very different outcome.”