Ivan Karlović hinted he will not be making wholesale changes to his starting line-up in an attempt to ignite Adelaide United Women’s floundering season.
The Reds were again more than competitive in their 2-1 loss against Canberra United Women at Marden Sports Complex on Sunday.
Adelaide had several chances to open the scoring and restore parity in the first-half after conceding on nine minutes.
“At the end of the day if you don’t take your opportunities you won’t win games of football and that was another case of that today,” Karlović lamented after the match.
“I think we’re playing good football, we’re creating those chances so I think it’s just a matter of now finding that confidence in front of goal.
“And sometimes when you start to miss them more often than not you start to lose that confidence.”
Adelaide are yet to collect any points this season following a fifth defeat of the campaign.
Karlović gave his thoughts on the goals they yielded and admitted despite conceding twice, he felt there were no real causes for concern from a defensive perspective.
Leena Khamis was given too much space, as she rifled home a powerful finish, while Hayley Taylor-Young volleyed home after pouncing on a fortuitous ricochet from a corner.
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“That first one we I think we were a little bit sloppy defensively,” he said.
“I think we were a bit loose especially through the middle of the park. It was a simple ball that shouldn’t have even got through.
“And you take your hat off because it was a good strike. The second one I think the ball was contested and dropped to one of their players.
“And that’s the story of our season at the moment every little drop falls to the opposition and unfortunately any deflections aren’t falling our way.”
Despite the winless start, Karlović was reluctant in ringing the changes ahead of their next clash against Sydney FC Women, suggesting it can equally have a negative outcome.
“Sometimes you can make wholesale changes, but why are you making those changes,” he said.
“When you’re playing good football, I think sometimes you’ve to allow them to find their confidence too.
“You can make wholesale changes but is it going to make it better. Potentially it could have an adverse effect where you’re playing good football and you start to ruin that fluency and cohesion amongst the group.
“So we’ll have a look and see how the players have pulled up post the game today and make an assessment on Sydney and the they play.
“I’m sure there’ll probably be changes that will come but at this stage we’re not sure.”
Adelaide United Women face Sydney FC Women in Round 7 of the Westfield W-League 2019/20 season on Sunday, 29 December at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. Kick-off is at 3.30pm ACDT. Live and Exclusive on Fox Sports, ABC, Kayo Sports and the My Football Live App
