Riley McGree has called for fans to fill Hindmarsh Stadium ahead of Adelaide United’s must win Group H encounter with Jiangsu Suning on the final matchday of the AFC Champions League 2017 group stage.
Destiny is out of Adelaide’s hands if the third-placed Reds are to reach the last 16 for an Australian record fourth time in the Asian Champions League.
For Guillermo Amor’s men to advance to the knockout phase they must beat the already qualified Jiangsu and hope Jeju United fail to beat Gamba Osaka.
McGree said the squad is raring to go after a few days off from training as the Club intensifies their preparation for the decisive meeting on Tuesday night.
“It’s been going well,” McGree said.
“We have had a bit of a break, the boys that didn’t got to Japan and I think just getting a run through the legs and getting the tactics right.”
The 18-year-old revealed the team is confident in its own ability and will not make any major changes to their playing style versus Jiangsu.
“I think we’re just going to play the way we normally do,” he said.
“Try and play our brand of football and counter their brand of football.
“They like to go long and direct to their strikers and work off them.
“We just have to try and work our way around that and play our possession-based football.”
The Reds will be buoyed by the return of McGree and Taylor Regan and Dylan McGowan from suspension for the do-or-die clash with Jiangsu.
However, Jordan O’Doherty is unavailable for the match after accumulating his second yellow card of the group stage last outing in Osaka.
“We’ve got boys back from suspension,” he said.
“Dylan (McGowan) and Taylor (Regan) are very good defenders and they’re a very good part of the team.
“So they’ll be good inclusions this week.”
McGree also urged fans to come out and support the Reds in their crunch match against their Chinese opponents.
“Every game we need the support from the fans,” he said.
“The fans are what can drive us on the field and definitely at home.
“We need them out there in numbers and making noise for us to push and hopefully get the result.”
McGree is one of five Reds players called up to Josep Gombau’s U-23 Australia 23-man squad for a training camp in Sydney from May 14-19.
Paul Izzo, Daniel Margush, Ben Garuccio and Jordan O’Doherty are the other United players selected by Gombau in preparation for the July AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers held in Myanmar.
“I’ll go out there and give my best there and see what happens,” McGree continued.
McGree, who incidentally attended the Dolan Warren Awards on Monday following his nomination for the Young Player of the Year accolade, stated it was an enjoyable night.
“It was a great experience,” McGree said.
“Rubbing shoulders with some very good A-League players and congratulations to all those who won the awards.
“It was a great night me and my mum really enjoyed it.
“I was happy to be there and to be nominated was great.”
Adelaide United host Jiangsu Suning in their final AFC Champions League 2017 group stage match on Tuesday, 9 May at Hindmarsh Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.30pm ACST.
