Emily Condon says Adelaide United must quickly move on from its opening round A-League Women defeat and minimise its mistakes against Canberra United on Sunday.
The Reds will be determined to bounce back against the capital outfit at Marden Sports Complex following a 5-1 loss to Melbourne Victory last weekend.
“As we all know, we did have a very disappointing loss for round one,” Condon said.
“So I think we’re just trying to regroup and reset our mindset and go into this game like we can win this game, it’s a winnable game, we have a home ground advantage.
“We just have to go out there and do everything we possibly can to get the win.”
The attacking midfielder admitted while they were second best in the contest, they still had opportunities to cause Victory problems but failed to capitalise.
Condon said they will need to be more clinical going forward.
“We definitely did have our chances, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” she said.
“Whereas, they punished us for our mistakes.
“Unfortunately, for us that’s how the game works it’s not about how pretty you play football, it’s about who puts the ball in the back of the net.
“… It was very disappointing. We can’t let it happen again especially being a short season, we just can’t afford to do that.”
Canberra striker Michelle Heyman reclaimed her title as the A-League Women’s all-time top scorer last season with 10 goals, taking her overall tally to 73.
Condon said the Reds were well aware of her quality, but must focus on themselves for the best chance of success.
“We’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” Condon said about the two-time A-League Women Golden Boot winner.
“We know Michelle Heyman from last season did really, really well.
“But in saying that there’s still ten other players on the field we still have to get past and we can’t focus too much on them and who their star players might be.
“Being aware of the players they have, absolutely, like all teams would do but we just have to play our game.”
The 23-year-old said improving its second efforts on the pitch will further help its cause to collect maximum points.
“Making mistakes – everyone is going to do them,” she explained.
“It’s just that second effort, and trying to win our own individual battles.
“If we’re all able to do that collectively as a team, we should be able to get the win on the day.”
Match details:
Sunday, 12 December vs Canberra United
Liberty A-League 2021/22 – Round 2
Kick-off 6.00pm ACDT
Venue: Marden Sports Complex
Stream: Paramount+
