Nathan Konstandopoulos said the home support at Marden Sports Complex played a big role in inspiring the team in the second-half to claim a magnificent 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory in the Westfield 2017 FFA Cup last 16.
Konstandopoulos scored the Reds’ third after Johan Absalonsen and George Blackwood had given Adelaide a commanding 2-0 buffer.
He said beating Adelaide’s fierce rivals was massive and stated the intention is to now try and win the knockout tournament.
“It’s big for us,” he explained.
“The boss when he first came here he said he wants to win the Cup and as a team we believe that.
“And we put the effort in on Wednesday and it’s really good to make the quarters now.”
The midfielder was also delighted to play his first game against Melbourne as an Adelaide local.
“I’ve been going for Adelaide my whole life,” he said.
“And the derby has always been the biggest game of the season.
“And to finally play in that environment with that physicality against these big names it was really a dream come true.”
Konstandopoulos said he is continually looking to improve and is learning from experienced midfielders Isaías and Vince Lia.
“Isa (Isaías) and Vinnie (Lia) are top quality players with hundreds and hundreds of games between them,” he said.
“And I’m just trying to learn everything I can from them.
“They lift me up and give a lot of confidence and it’s really good to work with them.”
Konstandopoulos’s screamer and Adelaide’s third goal was the pick of the bunch to cap off a memorable night and put the result beyond doubt.
The midfielder received the ball outside the 18-yard box before bending his effort into the top right corner to send the home crowd into scenes of jubilation.
Konstandopoulos admitted he knew it was a sweet strike the moment it left his foot.
“Look usually they go into the trees and I’m killing koalas,” he jokingly said after scoring his first goal for the Club.
“But no when it came off the boot I thought I’ve hit it well and I was just glad to see it hit the net and help the boys.”
The 21-year-old revealed the boisterous atmosphere at Marden really helped motivate the team and grab the ascendency.
“It was great to be at Marden and have such an electric environment against Victory,” he said.
“Honestly it spurred us on especially in the second-half you could see that we lifted and the crowd lifted.
“And it was a really good performance from the whole Club and hopefully they can get out to next one and we’ll keep going.”
