George Blackwood scored for a second successive week in Adelaide United’s entertaining 5-3 win over Brisbane Roar on ANZAC Day at Suncorp Stadium.
He was among five different scorers that were on target for the Reds.
The win ensured Adelaide would host an Elimination Final at Coopers Stadium in the first week of the Finals Series to be played next Sunday.
The Reds also extended their unbeaten streak to five matches in the process as they continue to build momentum ahead of a likely meeting with Wellington Phoenix.
But despite collecting the three points – which obviously was requisite to seal a home final – Marco Kurz’s team were far from their disciplined best.
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Blackwood believed the Reds’ concentration levels were not up to scratch given what was at stake, as they conceded sloppy goals from avoidable mistakes.
“I think we weren’t in it for ninety minutes and that was disappointing especially going into a final next week,” he lamented to Fox Sports post-match.
“But we’ve got a long turn around and I think Marco (Kurz) will probably give us a bit of a spray for some of those moments.”
The 21-year-old admitted the longer than usual break leading up to their decisive play-off match is something they will have to quickly adapt to.
“I think we’ll have recovery early tomorrow morning and then we’ll either have two days off or one day off,” he said.
“And then train for a couple of days then have another day off then train.
“We don’t know yet but it is a little bit weird having such a long turnaround especially going into a finals game.”