Adelaide United Head Coach, Marco Kurz, warned the Reds must be wary of Brisbane Roar’s transition game ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster at Coopers Stadium.
The Reds will be confident of stringing consecutive wins together for the first time this season after their 3-1 away triumph over Wellington Phoenix.
The Roar, meanwhile, have also found form following a solid 2-0 win over Melbourne City last weekend, in what promises to be a fascinating encounter.
Kurz is anticipating Brisbane to implement a more expansive playing style than the ‘Nix and highlighted some of their key players United must be mindful of.
“Our aim is to be better than Brisbane tomorrow but I think it’s a very compact playing team,” Kurz told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
“They’ve a good transition game with two very good foreign wingers (Eric Bautheac and Tobias Mikkelsen) and Adam Taggart, who’s a very good striker.
“They’ve got two good foreigner midfielders (Alex Lopez and Thomas Kristensen) and they’re a very experienced team and know what to do on the pitch.
“I don’t expect them to play defensively, but I do expect them to play compact, and I don’t think they’ll press us very high.
“But on transition they’re very dangerous and we must be careful.”
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He added that they must again turn Coopers Stadium into a fortress after they suffered their maiden home defeat of 2018 against Perth Glory back in Round 4.
“I think it’s very important to be strong in the home games,” he believed.
“We lost the last home game and our goal is to play well and reach three points.
“I think it’s important to be a good team at home and we’ll start tomorrow again.”
The German intimated that Ken Ilsø will likely lead the line for a second straight week after his brace against the Phoenix last week.
“Ken (Ilsø) is ready, I think it’s good for him to play minutes,” he revealed.
“He feels very confident after the two goals he scored.
‘It’s very good for him and when he works hard always in the training he’ll be a good player for us for the whole season.”
Kurz was also adamant that the competitiveness in the Hyundai A-League is a lot tougher than last season.
Just four points separate the second-placed Melbourne Victory and the eighth-positioned Western Sydney Wanderers, with the ex-Schalke defender suggesting that every team has to perform at their optimum to secure the three points.
“I think if you see each week, they’re very close games,” he explained.
“Brisbane beat Melbourne City, Sydney lost against (Melbourne) Victory, and I think each team has to perform in each game the best they can do to get the points.
“I think this year it’s a very hard competition, stronger than last year.”
Adelaide United host Brisbane Roar in Round 6 of the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season on Friday, 30 November at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT. Gates open 6.20pm.
