Adelaide United will play Central Coast Mariners in the Westfield FFA Cup semi-final on Wednesday night at Coopers Stadium.
Despite the high number of matches the Reds have played already this season, coach, Josep Gombau, said the team are in good condition thanks to some well thought-out management of the team’s training schedule.
“What we are doing is that in the training (sessions) we reduce all the intensity and size of training, (focussing) on tactics, speech, and set-pieces,” Gombau said.
“The intensity, endurance, running, and power comes from the game, so the players are okay.”
And although the Mariners are without a win in three games, Gombau believes that this will have little to no impact on the potential outcome when his squad faces the one-time winners of the Hyundai A-League championship.
“It’s a cup game – cup games are different. It’s a final and you need to win to progress and out of respect of them we shouldn’t have any excess confidence.
“What I want is that we trust in us. We know we can do a good job, but we (also know) it won’t be easy.
“We want to win and we have this mentality, but it will be tough.”
With this in mind, Gombau attributes every game with having different challenges and said that by studying every opponent, the squad is able to more effectively comprehend what they could potentially face. The clash with Central Coast is no different.
“Every single game we have had different movements depending on the team that we play.
“We study the team and we decide what we need to do. Maybe the people can appreciate what is different (each week).
“We’re (placing) the same value on the FFA Cup as we do on the A-League and if we can go ahead and make it into the final I think it will be a good thing for the club.
“Playing at home is a good advantage for us and I am happy to play here (at Coopers Stadium) in front of our fans.”
Gombau continued to say that playing at home is also beneficial for his players because it helps with preparation and recovery, and considering now that United has built somewhat of a fortress at Coopers, the players would naturally have more confidence when facing teams on home soil.
Adelaide United will take on Central Coast Mariners on Wednesday 12 November 2014 at Coopers Stadium, Hindmarsh, in the Westfield FFA Cup Semi-finals. Kick-off at 7:00pm ACDT. To purchase tickets, click here.
Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Adelaide United v Central Coast Mariners
Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Kick-Off: 7:00 PM (Local) (7:30 PM AEDT)
Referee: Chris Beath
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetinin
Assistant Referee 2: Andrej Giev
Fourth Official: Andrew Lindsay
AAR 1: Rick Schneider
AAR 2: Daniel Elder
Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets
TV broadcast: LIVE and exclusive on FOX SPORTS 4 and 4HD
Radio broadcast: ABC Grandstand Digital, online at www.abc.net.au/grandstand and on the ABC Smartphone app
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #ADLvCCM
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (GK) (c), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.Nigel BOOGAARD, 4.Dylan McGOWAN, 5.Osama MALIK, 7.Pablo SÁNCHEZ, 8.ISAÍAS, 9.Sergio CIRIO, 10.Marcelo CARRUSCA, 13.Dylan SMITH, 14.Cameron WATSON, 17.Awer MABIL, 18.Jimmy JEGGO, 20.Paul IZZO (GK), 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Fabio FERREIRA, 24.Bruce KOMAU, 32.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS
**two to be omitted**
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Beyhan IRMARKO (GK), 3.Joshua ROSE, 4.Richi VERNES, 5.Zac ANDERSON, 7.John HUTCHINSON (c), 8.Nick MONTGOMERY, 9.Mitchell DUKE, 12.Liam REDDY (GK), 13.Hayden MORTON, 14.Malick MANÉ, 16.Liam ROSE, 17.Anthony CACERES, 19.Matt SIMON, 25.Eddy BOSNAR, 26.Seung Yong KIM, 27.Isaka CERNAK, 28.Glen TRIFIRO, 29.Matt SIM
**two to be omitted**
