Adelaide United continued its preparations for the 2026/27 campaign with a 2-0 pre-season victory over the Playford Patriots at Ramsay Park on Monday night.
Goals from Jonny Yull and Juan Muñiz secured the win in the 75-minute hit-out, with Assistant Coach IsaĂas pleased by another valuable step towards next week’s Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against South Melbourne.
For IsaĂas, however, the result was secondary to continuing to build match fitness and implementing the team’s playing style ahead of the competitive season.
“It was a good performance from the boys,” IsaĂas said.
“Winning the game is important, but the most important thing today was getting more minutes into the boys’ legs.
“They’re still building towards full match fitness, and these games are really helping us get ready.”
With just one week remaining until the Reds’ Australia Cup opener, IsaĂas said the coaching staff are already seeing encouraging signs of what they want the team to produce this season.
“We’ve been working over the last two or three weeks on the things we want to see in the next match.
“We’ve also been watching South Melbourne and preparing for that challenge, but having the same coaching staff and a very similar squad from last season means the players already understand our philosophy and how we want to play.”
New signing Jacob Brazete was among those to feature, with IsaĂas impressed by how quickly the exciting winger has settled into his new surroundings.
“I think he settled really, really quickly,” he said.
“He’s a very good player and I think he’s going to be very helpful for us.
“We’ve loved what we’ve seen so far.”
There was also a familiar face watching on from the sidelines, with Socceroo Nestory Irankunda making the trip to Ramsay Park fresh from representing Australia at the FIFA World Cup. The former Red spent time catching up with players, staff and supporters following the match.
Monday night’s fixture attracted another strong crowd in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, continuing the Club’s tradition of taking pre-season football into the local community.
IsaĂas thanked Playford and the local football community for their continued support.
“Thanks a lot to them,” he said.“They always welcome us really well.
“It’s always a pleasure to come here and play these matches. They always bring great numbers to watch the game, so it’s fantastic for us to come to the north and connect with the local football community.”
With another valuable hit-out complete, the Reds now turn their full attention to next week’s Australia Cup opener against South Melbourne before attention shifts to the AFC Champions League Elite Play-Off against CĂ´ng An HĂ Ná»™i FC at Coopers Stadium on Tuesday, 11 August.
Squad
Starting XI: Smits, Barnett, Vriends, Kikianis, Kitto, Yull, Duzel, Alagich, Goodwin, Anselmo, Muñiz.
Substitutes: Vartuli, Cox, Knight, Crawford, Brazete, Grelli, White.
