Adelaide United Captain, Craig Goodwin, has declared himself fit and ready to face Wellington Phoenix in Round 1 of the Isuzu UTE A-League this Sunday.
Battling an osteitis pubis injury for a large part of the Reds’ pre-season campaign, Goodwin has passed all the necessary fitness tests to be part of Carl Veart’s travelling squad to New Zealand for the Club’s season-opener against the Nix.
Speaking to media at the Adelaide Airport prior to the team’s departure, Goodwin outlined his desire to feature in any capacity for the match in what is his first trip to the Cake Tin since 2018.
Returning to Wellington:
“I think everyone is a little bit excited to get over to Wellington because, I know for me, it’s been since about 2018 (since I was last there) and most of the boys, probably as well.
“It’s going to be interesting to do that trip again and the travel, but I’m expecting a good crowd from Wellington too.
“They haven’t played there for a while, so it should be a nice, hostile atmosphere for us, which I’m looking forward to.”
Recovering from injury:
“I’m ready to go and hopefully I can play my part for the team.
“We’ll see exactly how the game pans out and what (Carl) wants to do, but I’m sure I’ll play some capacity.
“I’m confident that (the discomfort due to the injury) will hold up because I’m feeling fit and feeling strong in that area.
“It has been frustrating (dealing with injury) because it’s been back-to-back pre-seasons missed for me with my syndesmosis last year and the (osteitis pubis).
“But, again, that’s part of football and it’s about managing it and I’m back and ready to play in the first game.”
What to expect from the Nix:
“It’s too hard coming into A-League seasons to say exactly how teams are going to go.
“Wellington is always a team that sits around the top six and lots in and out.
“Over the last few seasons they (Wellington) have been more consistent with Ufuk Talay as their coach.
“So it’s going to be a tough game because we know what they’re about – they’re a transition team that like to soak up the pressure and hit you on the break.
“It’ll be an interesting game, but I’m confident that we can get the win.”
Goals for the season:
“It’s hard to put exactly what we would say is a successful season.
“We have to build on what we did last year, but we also have to take it game by game and really try and build on the matches week to week.
“We really want to do great things this year and I think we have the potential to do it, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves.
“We have to make sure we are doing the right things week in, week out, and should build on those performances and the wins should come.”
