Adelaide United Head Coach Airton Andrioli said he “feels so blessed” to work with his playing group after the Reds produced a four-goal performance to defeat Western Sydney Wanderers 4-2 on Friday night, moving Adelaide up to third on the Isuzu UTE A-League table.
With goals from Luka Jovanović, Panagiotis Kikianis and Juan Muñiz, Andrioli praised the squad’s character and cohesion, as well as the belief and identity the team is continuing to build at the business end of the season.
Andrioli on the performance and three points
“Really happy, not just with the win, but the way we play our football. We got the result, playing the football that we want to play, being the team that we want to be. Credit to the boys for executing the game plan that we had really well. Really pleasing with both the performance and the result.”
Andrioli on responding after conceding and showing character
“They had a few chances, but we could have had one, two, three in the first half as well. We could have put the game away from the chances we created. We remind the players to stay calm and keep creating the chances, because we opened them up so many times in the first half. We made a couple of changes in the second half and we were controlling the game. Then there were moments of transition – we lost a couple of balls and they scored. It was disappointing twice, but it shows the character of the team. We came back strong and got the result that we wanted.”
Andrioli on consistency and the value of stability in selection
“I prefer to look forward, but if you look back you can say we are growing, we’re building, we’re finding consistency. We had a lot of problems in the beginning of the season — our team was changing every week, not just one or two players, but many players coming in and out. We had to make changes and adjustments. Now we’ve come to this part of the season consolidating. We can call it the first 11, or preferred first 11, and those players have played five games in a row consistently, and that’s extremely important.”
Andrioli on climbing to third and keeping the focus on the next match
“For us, our focus turns to Auckland at home [on Good Friday]. We’re going to play with confidence. The belief we have – winning today puts us in a good position regarding the top six. We’re getting close now, so we can continue to push to finish as high as we can. But for us, it’s the next game – how we prepare and how we execute on game day.”
Andrioli on Jovanović’s growth and the belief in the young core
“He’s a great goal scorer. We’ve got many other 20-year-olds in the squad doing a lot of work for us – Yaya, Jonny Yull has been outstanding, Ryan White, Ethan Alagich. Those young boys are doing an outstanding job. I’m happy to see those boys growing in the belief they play with. That’s what we ask of them – every time you go into a football match, play with belief and confidence. I enjoy watching them play. I’m a lover of football the way football is. I know people sometimes talk about football as a fight game – for me, the name is football, not fightball. I say that from the beginning to our players. I’m really pleased that we’re not just able to get results, but we’re playing in a way that we all enjoy watching.”
Andrioli on pride in the group and setting the culture
“I feel so blessed to be able to work with these players. I’ve known many of these kids from the age of 10 or 11 and worked hands-on with them for a number of years. It’s a pleasure to now be the leader of the culture. We have such a good relationship. We don’t make any excuses. If you want to be here, you have to work hard. We always say, if your heart is not in it, then you’re not good for us. The boys are buying into it. I’m really proud of the way we conduct ourselves throughout the season. Especially in the beginning there were a lot of questions and changes in the squad, but we’re building, we’re growing, and I’m extremely proud of coaching this team.”
Andrioli on big games and the belief the group can raise the bar
“If you look back in the season, we beat all the strongest teams and performed extremely well against the big teams. I consider Western Sydney one of those as well – they’re a fantastic football team. Our boys stood up in those big games. We probably let ourselves down in some games you think you should have won, but there were circumstances. I’m extremely confident that when things get tough, those boys raise the bar and continue to push, because that’s the belief we have in them now.”
Andrioli on Auckland as the next challenge
“Auckland is a top team, a consistent team. They play consistently with the same players. They’ve got players on the bench, variation of players. It’s no different for us — we’re going to prepare, have a game plan to execute on the day, and I’m very confident the players will be ready for it.”
