Carl Veart believes Adelaide United’s gutsy 3-2 away triumph over Western Sydney Wanderers will help instil belief in his side that they are capable of winning on the road.
The Reds were winless outside of Coopers Stadium in its previous six games before producing a nail-biting victory.
Veart felt the result will benefit his young side immensely.
“It was very important just to get that belief in the boys that we can win away from home,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“We got off to a great start and then I would like us to be a little bit better in ball possession, but I’ll take the win.”
United went 2-0 up thanks to first-half goals from Craig Goodwin and Stefan Mauk, though were put under enormous pressure in the second stanza.
Bruce Kamau scored against his former side and just as the Wanderers looked like they would conjure an equaliser, Mohamed Toure made it 3-1 with a clinically taken finish.
The drama was not done yet though with Mitchell Duke getting a goal back on 90 minutes.
The boss lamented his team’s struggles in retaining possession of the ball, but praised their character to hold on for the three points.
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“They’re a very good side,” Veart continued.
“And the quality that they’ve got in the midfield and up front makes it very difficult and we knew that coming in.
“When you don’t keep the ball for periods of the game the pressure builds and that’s what they to us.
“They really put the pressure on us and we just couldn’t keep the ball long enough and we were giving it back far too easily, but the boys dug in they kept fighting.
“And we got that counter-attack goal which just came at the right time.”
Reds Goalkeeper, James Delianov, was instrumental in the win – recording five saves.
Veart lauded the 21-year-old’s strong performance.
“We’ve said from day one James is a young goalkeeper, he’s going to make mistakes,” he said.
“But the quality is there, he’s only going to get better. He’s got huge potential and you can see every game he’s getting better and some of the saves he made tonight were first class.”
In his first game since re-joining the Club on loan, Goodwin marked the occasion with the fourth fastest goal in Adelaide’s history.
Veart highlighted his palpable quality and what he brings to the team.
“Everyone has seen Craig before in the A-League,” he said.
“He has the quality and you could see that not just with the goal in the first minute, but just his touches in and around the park.
“He brings other players into the game, is very calm in possession so he’s only going to get better as well.”
Next match details:
Game date: Friday, 5 March vs Newcastle Jets
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 11
Kick-off 7.05pm ACDT
Gates open 6.05pm ACDT
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
