Adelaide United Head Coach Airton Andrioli reflects on the Reds’ 2-0 defeat to Công An Hà Nội in the AFC Champions League Elite Preliminary Stage at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Andrioli on the performance against Công An Hà Nội…
“We knew they were an excellent team, a very good team. We knew it was going to be a difficult game.
“We’re not surprised by the opposition, but in saying that, I think we let ourselves down in two moments of the game, and goals changed momentum.
“We defended well, but in those key moments of the game, two moments, we didn’t do the job as good as we could have, and as you know, in football, goals change the game.”
Andrioli on moving forward into the AFC Champions League Two…
“We’re in Asia. We’re obviously happy for that. We were doing everything we could to maybe go into that Elite competition, but it was not meant to be.
“We’re looking forward to playing Asia in that second-tier competition, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that the Club is well represented.”
Andrioli on the two goals conceded…
“You’ve just got to be switched on for the whole game.
“I think we came back in the second half doing really well. We were pushing for an equaliser.
“I think we did extremely well and defended well in the majority of the game. As I said, two moments, and in football, goals talk a lot.”
Andrioli on remaining positive during pre-season…
“No concerns. Football training as usual. We need to prepare for the season.
“We need to stay positive. It’s early. Obviously, we played two competitive matches, it didn’t go our way, but we’re going to continue to prepare the team.
“We’re confident that we can do well like we did last season.”
Andrioli on the attacking options in the squad…
“At the moment, we’re focusing on getting the players that can play in that position, like Anselmo and Brody Burkitt, fit. At the moment, neither of them are 100 per cent fit.
“We need to give a player like Burkitt an opportunity to play to see what he can do more consistently.
“We just have to be creative, and I would like to give those players that I just mentioned the opportunity to get fit and see what they can do for us.”
Andrioli on the opportunity presented by the AFC Champions League Two…
“I’m expecting to grow as a Club, as a team.
“We are a Club that places a lot of emphasis on young players, and nothing better for those players than to have a different experience.
“If you play a whole season in the A-League, that’s great as a young player. But if you can play in Asia, it’s just another level.
“Those teams bring something different to the game because of the quality of the players, not just the quality, but the different attributes that those players have.”
Andrioli on making the most of Asian football this season…
“We’re extremely disappointed we didn’t make it into that Elite pool, but we have this competition to play in Asia.
“We’re going to make the most of it and grow as a Club and continue to develop our players.
“At the end of the season, we’ll probably be talking here about another two or three players that surprise many people, and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Andrioli on continuing to build towards the season…
“We just have to continue to stay positive, keep building, and hopefully we can again surprise many people like we did last season.”
