We caught up with Isuzu UTE A-League head coach Carl Veart at Adelaide Airport on Friday afternoon, before his side jetted off to Sydney to face The Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
Veart is expecting goals in Sydney and is looking for his side to build on the strong start against Perth Glory last week.
Carl Veart on the positives from last week’s match against Perth Glory (3-3):
“I was very pleased generally with most of the game. Conceding from set pieces and a goal kick is not where we want to be, and it’s important that we maintain our focus for the full 90 minutes. If we don’t maintain our focus in this league, teams will punish us, and that’s what happened last week. It’s important that we don’t allow it to happen this week.”
Carl Veart on his expectations of facing Sydney FC:
“We know we have to be on point with everything we do because in the first game of the season when we played them, we didn’t get things right, and they gave us a good lesson. It’s important that we bring the right attitude and work ethic because Sydney will punish us. They are a very good side with some really high-quality players, especially in the attacking half. It’s important that we limit their opportunities.”
Carl Veart on the Reds’ defence:
“Both teams like to attack, so I wouldn’t discount a few goals. It’s something that we’ve been working on this week, our defensive shape. Throughout the season, we’ve conceded too many goals, and that’s something that we need to address. We’ve put in work this week, and hopefully, we can keep a clean sheet and secure three points tomorrow.”
Carl Veart on the ‘non-negotiables’ and the squad’s positive attitude:
“I think the first half last week showcased what we want to be as a football team. It’s important that we, especially against Sydney, a high-pressing team, come with the same intent we had in the first half last week.”
“Over the course of the week and the season, we’ve worked extremely hard, and when each individual has done their job, we’ve had success. However, we haven’t been consistent enough this season with that. We’ve had many good discussions over the last couple of weeks about that. It was pleasing to see the improvement last week, and we expect further improvement this week.”
Match details:
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 17
Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Saturday, 17 February 2024, Kick-off: 5:30pm ACDT
Allianz Stadium
