Ben Halloran praised Adelaide United’s character in the 2-2 draw against Melbourne City, and warned his side cannot afford to underestimate Brisbane Roar following two defeats.
The winger opened his account for the 2021/22 season in stunning fashion by chipping the ball over a stranded Tom Glover to secure a draw and ensure Adelaide remain unbeaten to start the season.
It was also Halloran’s seventh goal against the Victorian outfit since 2019.
The 29-year-old was delighted the Reds managed to claw their way back from 2-0 down with less than 15 minutes left on the clock.
“I think so,” Halloran said when asked if he was satisfied with the result.
“Given that we did concede two goals I think that we showed tremendous spirit to fight back.
“It’s always unfortunate to go a couple of goals behind but Melbourne City are a good side.
“I think we played some good football in patches and we didn’t allow them to play their type of football that they like to play.
“I think coming back from 2-0 (down) was probably a fair result.”
Halloran pressed Jordan Bos, intercepting Glover’s pass before having the composure to shoot over the goalkeeper from the right flank and into the empty net.
“It all happened very, very quickly,” he recalled.
“Instinct kind of took over in that moment – it happened quite quickly.
“You can thank Mo Toure for the initial press. He put (Thomas) Glover under pressure and then I was on to it quite quickly.
“We train really hard for three or four months to be in shape to be able to do something like that in the 90th minute, so I’m just happy I was able to score and get a point for the lads.”
After dissecting the match against City, Halloran said there were still plenty of facets they can improve in.
“I think all areas,” he continued.
“Defensively we need to tighten up a little bit.
“Also in the final third – we’re creating a lot of chances, but we need to be a bit more clinical.”
United’s attention now turns to its away meeting with Brisbane Roar on Saturday afternoon.
Halloran was anticipating a tough match, and warned the Roar will be extra motivated after successive losses to begin the campaign.
“We’ve only played a couple of games and they’ve both been away games for them,” he said.
“We know that they’re quite strong at home and we played them in pre-season and they beat us 2-0 and we didn’t play very well.
“So I guess that’s an added incentive for us going there, we know what we’re up against.
“But I don’t think we can underestimate them. I think it’s too early in the season to tell who’s going to be there at the end of the season.”
Match details:
Saturday, 4 December vs Brisbane Roar
Isuzu UTE A-League 2021/22 – Round 3
Kick-off 4.35pm ACDT
Venue: Moreton Daily Stadium
Stream: Paramount+
