Adelaide United Liberty A-League head coach, Adrian Stenta, says last weekend’s win against Perth Glory is a good reward for his sides hard work.
The Reds will be looking for back-to-back wins, after defeating Perth 2-1 at Marden Stadium last weekend.
Addressing the media at Coopers Stadium after Friday’s training session, Stenta reflected on the win, noting the team’s confidence ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Western Sydney.
He also emphasised the positive morale in the group and highlighted the importance of balancing youth development with team performance.
Adrian Stenta on the win against Perth Glory:
I think our last month has been pretty good. Didn’t really have a lot of luck in the last couple of weeks. So it’s good to have a little bit of luck on the weekend and make the most of the opportunities that came our way. And you can see the confidence in the playing group this week in training and the positivity around the group has really picked up. It’s fantastic to see.”
Adrian Stenta on match consistency:
“The win is good reward for effort. I think we’ve been pretty competitive over the last month and playing some good football. Without sounding like a broken record, it’s mainly the consistency that we’ve been searching for. And I thought we put together our best 90-minute performance against Perth on the weekend. So I’m glad that the players got reward for their effort.”
Adrian Stenta on the strength of the squad:
“We’ve got a deep squad, we’ve got a number of players that can play and fill in roles for us and do a job so it’s good to have those selection headaches and once again, I find myself in the position of leaving out some really top-quality players from the match day squad.”
Adrian Stenta on Sian Dewey’s inclusion in the squad:
“She’s (Dewey) been playing really well, and training really well, getting stronger each week and been getting more confident in our environment as well. She’s a really top quality young player that we have high hopes for. And we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do at some point.”
Adrian Stenta on balancing youth development and team performance in a competitive league:
“Yeah, I always say the team picks itself so you can see it in training. And you can see it in the consistency of the quality of performance as well. So our process has always been to give them exposure in our training environment, get them to a level where we feel like if we do need to bring them in, they’re not just going to make up the numbers, that they’re going to perform really well. And so we’ll stick to that process. And when players deserve the opportunity to play, they’ll be given that opportunity.
Adrian Stenta on the game against Western Sydney:
“They’re going to be a difficult opposition for us to come up against. But it’s fantastic that we get to play them at such a lovely venue and we hope a really big crowd comes out to support us and to get behind us because I know the team really appreciates it.”
Adrian Stenta on this weekend’s double header at Coopers Stadium:
“The team love it because I think it works in our context and our community, we’re one club one team in this city. The fact that it’s on a Saturday is great as well. I hope a number of fans come out early and support us and then stay for the men’s game. We had good support on the weekend from the Red Army who came to Marden and we certainly felt their presence so hopefully, as many of them turn out again as possible for Saturday’s game.”
Match details:
Liberty A-League Round 15
Adelaide United vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Saturday, 3 February 2024, Kick-off: 4:30pm ACDT
Coopers Stadium
Tickets are available here.
