Adelaide United Ninja A-League head coach Theo Tsiounis says the Reds are determined to respond after last week’s trip to Canberra, as they return home to face Newcastle Jets at ServiceFM Stadium on Saturday afternoon with Finals qualification in sight.
Tsiounis on assessing last week’s three-game stretch…
“Yeah, I think it was definitely a challenge. We went from not playing a competitive game for three weeks into playing three competitive games within a week. Canberra wasn’t our best performance. We looked a little bit flat, weren’t as sharp as what we have been, but credit to Canberra, because they’re probably the most aggressive side that we’ve come up against as well.”
Tsiounis on whether fatigue played a part…
“Yeah, absolutely. We were all feeling a little bit flat. We were second to most challenges in winning the ball, which is probably one of our stronger areas. So we’ll look to bounce back and improve in those spaces, and look forward to our game against Newcastle.”
Tsiounis on squad health and opportunities for others…
“With those games being very close together, it’s taken a bit of a toll on a number of players. It gives an opportunity for other girls to step in. We always talk about all the players contributing to this journey. Players will get an opportunity this week that may not have had as many minutes previously.”
Tsiounis on players impacting games, including Sian Dewey…
“Sian was exceptional, came in and managed to score. No different to this week- players that aren’t starting have an opportunity to come in, change a game and impact the game. And that’s what we expect to see from all our players.”
Tsiounis on keeping the fight to finish as high as possible…
“We’ll take one game at a time, because if you look too far ahead, things change before you know it. So we’re purely focusing on Newcastle, and we’ll be looking to do the best that we can to get a result against Newcastle.”
Tsiounis on what Newcastle will bring…
“They’re a team that plays with intensity, plays with speed. They’ve got some quality individual players that can change outcomes of games in key moments. We’re aware of their strengths, but we’ll continue to focus on what we’re doing and try and improve how we do things.”
Tsiounis on Lara Gooch facing her former club…
“Lara has some exceptional qualities. We’ve been building her up for this part of the season. She can definitely add a lot of value. She’s a very explosive player, a technical player, and she’s super excited as well. She’s raring to go.”
Tsiounis on playing at ServiceFM Stadium…
“It’s a little advantage to play a game on the field that we train on, we’ll be familiar with that. It’s one percenters, and we want to make the most of those little things.”
Tsiounis on Ilona Melegh’s international call-up and Claudia Jenkins stepping in…
“Illy has been exceptional, she’s been rewarded for the fantastic work that she’s done. Claudia has been exceptional as well, she continuously trains hard. She’ll pick up where Illy left off, and there won’t be much of a difference at all.”
