Adelaide United’s Young Reds have been set an immediate mission to bounce back after Sunday’s sixth round RAA SA NPL defeat against Modbury Jets.
United broke the deadlock courtesy of a deflected Musa Toure strike from the edge of the box, despite the dismissal of Asad Kasumović after 27 minutes.
However, long-range efforts from Giuseppe Macheda and Jesse Francesca were enough to seal a 1-2 victory for the promoted Jets.
Head of Youth Football, Airton Andrioli, knows that testing times are just as important in moulding young footballers.
“It was a difficult game, obviously we had a man down early which didn’t help a lot as we had to change our structure a little bit, but we had our chances to put them away,” Andrioli said.
“It was a good challenge, and the boys went quite well outside of conceding two avoidable goals.
“On another day, when we’re more clinical, perhaps we win that game, but we’ll take plenty of learnings into the next one.”
The Reds started brightest, with two strong chances desperately cleared by the last line of a defence anchored by English goalkeeper, Ryan Neild.
Earlier in the day, United’s Reserves were also halted by the Jets in a 0-2 loss.
Reach for the Stars:
The upcoming encounter against MetroStars is an exciting prospect for the neutral, and it will be a chance for United to put the weekend’s result behind them.
The Young Reds will also be aiming to avenge their 2022 first-round finals exit to the same opposition at the same ground, while Metro will be aiming to extend their lead at the competition’s summit.
United will first play Friday afternoon in an Isuzu UTE A-League Good Friday clash against Sydney FC, and Andrioli will be pitch-side in his assistant role.
“We’ll wait and see who is available after Friday’s A-League game, but just the same, I will be challenging the squad that is available to turn the previous result around,” he said.
“We’re always looking forward to playing games against tough opposition and Metro have been around the mark for a long time in this competition.
“I’m confident the boys can bounce back, step up, and put in a good performance on the weekend.”
Former Red, Fabian Barbiero, will likely line up for Metro in what looms as a nostalgic encounter for United’s travelling contingent of supporters.
Preparing for the big moments:
United flew east for their Friday night blockbuster against Western Sydney Wanderers with a bench filled with young talent that have all come from the NPL.
Alagich, Bernardo, Irankunda, Jovanović, Madanha and Yull are names that constantly feature in NPL highlight reels, and increasingly at A-League level also.
This always comes to the delight of Andioli and proof of the philosophy that has been implemented.
“It’s why we do what we do, to keep the young players coming through and ready for the big moments like we saw last Friday night against the Wanderers,” he said.
“You saw it with Ethan (Alagich) coming on in a difficult moment and helping the team secure a tough result, and Nestory (Irankunda) was a handful as usual.
“At any level they play, we need to make sure they are physically and mentally ready for anything the game throws at them.”
United’s Reserves will face MetroStars at 12:45pm at T.K. Shutter Reserve, and the Seniors will clash at 3:00pm, in a bumper day of Easter Saturday NPL action.
Upcoming match details:
2023 RAA NPL SA – Round 7
MetroStars vs Adelaide United
Saturday, 8 April 2023, Kick-off: 3:00pm (ACDT)
T.K. Shutter Reserve
