Adelaide United coach Carl Veart has backed the A-Leagues’ decision to shift his side’s Round 2 game to accommodate Melbourne City’s return from a mid-week Asian Champions League game in Thailand.
The Reds were originally scheduled to play City at Coopers Stadium tonight, but the game was pushed back a day following the Melbourne side’s ACL match against Buriram.
While he was wary of the threat City could pose through its quality experienced players, Veart said giving an Australian side the best chance to succeed in two competitions was fair.
Speaking to the media at Coopers Stadium after his side’s final training run on Saturday morning, the coach also discussed the importance of starting the season well, the injury keeping Spaniard Javi Lopez out of the side, and how exciting winger Nestory Irankunda pulled up after his first A-League start.
Sunday’s game at Coopers Stadium kicks off at 6:30pm with tickets available here, including an exciting $40 family ticket offer.
Carl Veart on last week’s win against Central Coast:
“It’s always good to start the season with three points and in the manner that we played as well so everyone, as you can imagine, is up and about. We know we’ve got another big game on Sunday night so the players are really looking forward to it.
“It’s still a long way to go. We’ve got an extra game this year as well so there’s still a long, long way to go. But as I said, it’s really important to just start the season on a positive note. And it gives confidence to the playing group, and also gives confidence to your supporters as well.”
Carl Veart on winger Nestory Irankunda’s week after his first A-League start:
“He was a little bit sore first couple of days after the game. But, close to the game again, he seems to get another burst of life. That’s what he wants to do. He just wants to play games. So yeah, he’s ready to go again. For his first start, he ticked all the boxes that we’ve been asking from him. So, hopefully tomorrow he can get a goal and keep doing what he’s been doing for us.
“He’s still got a lot more development to go. And at the moment, where we’re very fortunate that we’ve got a full squad, other than the long-term injuries so we’ve got good competition for those positions. We have Bernardo and Musa (Toure) that did really well, when they came on last week so they’re knocking on the door. And Luka (Jovanović) has just come back from being away with the national team as well. So, we’ve got some tough decisions to make. If the team keep performing, they’ll make it difficult for me.”
Carl Veart on the Round 2 game being moved from Saturday night to Sunday night to accommodate Melbourne City’s Asian Champions League travel to Thailand:
“We want to have quality football matches and I think it’s fair that they’re representing all the (Australian) teams in the Champions League so it’s important that we look after those teams and don’t put too much stress of getting back and trying to play. It becomes unfair because it’s the same for Central Coast and Macarthur as well. We have to do what’s right for those teams to make sure that they have success in Asia and as well as being able to perform in the A-League”
Carl Veart on what he’s made of Melbourne City’s early season form:
“They’re going to take a little while to gel. They’ve got a lot of new players, a lot of new foreigners, they’ve had some key injuries to some of the key players as well with the preseason so that will take time, I think to find that form again. But they’ve got quality players all over the park so if you take them lightly, they will punish you. It’s important that we play at our best because we’re going to need to be at our best to win.
Carl Veart on his side facing both of last season’s Grand Finalists to start the season:
“It certainly tells you where you are straight away. And Central Coast were very good last week against us at times. I suppose we’re very fortunate that we’ve got the best goalkeeper in Australia at the moment that made some crucial saves for us last weekend. As coach, I was very happy that the whole team contributed to the weekend. Hopefully, we will get that same effort from everyone again tomorrow night and get the win again.
“Even though we’ve got difficult opposition, it’s always good to play at home. We had great support with the Red Army last week, who were as loud as I’ve heard them for a long time. Their support was excellent last week and we’re going to need that again tomorrow night.”
Carl Veart on the absence of Spanish defender Javi Lopez from the selected squad:
“He’s got a slight quad strain, so he’ll be out for two to three weeks. There’s no real rush, because we’ve got the international break coming up as well so we’re just taking our time with his recovery and making sure we get him right for after the international break.”
