Adelaide United Assistant Coach Ross Aloisi is anticipating nothing less than a difficult battle in Sunday’s Elimination Final against Brisbane Roar.
Aloisi was appointed to his current role last year and together with Carl Veart and the rest of the coaching staff have built a strong culture within the group.
The former Reds skipper admitted the squad is satisfied to have secured a top-six finish, but lamented the fact they did not finish the season further up the A-League ladder.
“From a team perspective it’s always good to qualify for the finals,” Aloisi said.
“Up until a couple of weeks ago we were going for second spot and that’s probably the most disappointing fact about making the finals, but definitely very good to make finals again.”
The 47-year-old said the number of young players in the team getting opportunities and performing is what has been most impressive.
However, equally, Aloisi suggested the situation they found themselves in due to injuries also acts as somewhat of a double-edged sword.
“I think the amount of young players coming through at our Club,” he explained.
“There were periods this season where we relied on the young players and we got good results too with the young players.
“But with young players you also get inconsistency and the amount of players that have actually had to play this season has been great, but in saying that it’s been very tough because we’ve never had a consistent team on the park.”
Aloisi also discussed the importance and the impact the senior players have had in the side and how it has benefited the balance.
“It’s been great to have Craig Goodwin back,” he said.
“You’ve got Tomi Juric, although he’s been in and out with a few injuries, Ben Halloran, Jordan Elsey, Juande coming in, Javi López, (Michael) Jakobsen – they’ve all been very, very good with the young players.
“And it helps a lot when you’ve got that experience to complement the young, enthusiastic players.”
The odds are stacked against the Reds, who will be embracing the underdog tag versus the Roar.
Adelaide has lost all nine of its finals matches outside of South Australian in the competition’s history and will need to re-write history to advance to the next phase.
But Aloisi was confident the Reds can prevail and drew similarities with Brisbane’s and Western Sydney Wanderer’s styles after they drew 2-2 to secure its finals berth last week.
“It’s going to be tough (against Brisbane),” he continued.
“I don’t see that we can’t go there and win.
“They play very similar to Western Sydney Wanderers as far as their formation goes.
“Up front they’re a little bit more off the cuff than what Western Sydney Wanderers are, but they play with a back three and two wing backs.
“I think we’ve got players that can exploit them. The one player that I didn’t mention is our Captain, Stefan Mauk, who’s a young Australian footballer with a lot of experience and I think he can make a difference as well.”
Match details:
Sunday, 13 June vs Brisbane Roar
A-League 2020/21 – Elimination Final
Kick-off 2.35pm ACST
Venue: Moreton Daily Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
