Following Adelaide United’s scoreless stalemate against the Newcastle Jets on Friday night, defender, Michael Marrone, has said the Reds remain positive after what was a dominant display at Hunter Stadium.
Leading into the match, United were looking to make it three consecutive wins and were quick out of the blocks in the opening stages. However, resilient Jets defending and another outstanding performance by Mark Birighitti in goal for the hosts, saw the match finish scoreless.
But United weren’t without their chances, having mustered enough opportunities to fashion 17 strikes towards goal, as well as attempting a hefty 34 crosses throughout the 90 minutes.
Reds defender, Michael Marrone, who put in a tireless performance at right full-back against Newcastle, was reluctant to put United’s inability to convert down to bad “luck”.
“We’re not happy with the result, but our performance was good,” Marrone said.
“We had solid chances through Jimmy (Jeggo) and Chelo (Carrusca), so maybe we were a bit unlucky.
“I don’t like putting it down to luck, though. The signs were there and we have to be positive about it.
“We even probably had enough chances in this game to win a couple of games.”
Marrone also said the intentions of the Jets appeared clear from the start of the game and that they seemed content with a point, even though they were at home. From United’s perspective, however, the nature of the result will ultimately depend on the outcome of the Reds’ next fixture against Wellington Phoenix on 26 December.
“I think from the outset Newcastle were happy with one point and you could see at the end they were time wasting, which is a bit strange to want just a point at home,” he explained.
“If we win (against Wellington), four points in two weeks isn’t a bad outcome, but if we lose (against Wellington), it’s not great.
“We really want to push forward for the three points this week and will try our best to get them.”
Adelaide United will face Wellington Phoenix in Round 12 of the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season on Saturday, 26 December 2015 at Coopers Stadium. Kick-off is at 4.45pm ACDT.
