Sergio van Dijk is fit and ready to turn the tables on the Wellington Phoenix, the striker declaring that the Reds must put their foot to the floor in their do-or-die final on Friday night.
Just over a fortnight ago Wellington defeated the Reds for the first time in six attempts at Hindmarsh Stadium, a solitary goal from Chris Greenacre enough to split the teams at the end of 90 minutes.
Now the Reds are gearing up for another visit from the Phoenix and van Dijk, who has had added time to reflect on the loss to Wellington after missing last Friday-s win over Melbourne Victory with a corked thigh, is determined to reverse the result.
Van Dijk says the Reds have learnt their lesson following Wellington-s snatch and grab victory, and know where they must improve if they are to change the outcome this time around. The Reds created enough chances but a lethal finish eluded them back in Week 26, and van Dijk is eager to make sure the home side-s conversion rate is different come Friday.
“We have to put some extra work into it, make some extra runs to make sure that we create more space for ourselves and also a little bit more time, because then we can finish them off,” van Dijk said.
“To be honest I didn-t really feel threatened by them the last game, but as you can see if you don-t score yourself, they-re eventually going to score one and that was enough the last time and we have to make sure we go full power.”
“It-s about scoring goals and I think that-s what we have to do better.”
While both United and the Phoenix had incentives to win when they last met, as the Reds tried to stay in the hunt for the top two while Wellington looked to firm up a spot in the top six, what hinges on this Friday-s result lifts the stakes to another level. With the season on the line, van Dijk is not getting caught up in the hype, although he does accept that come final time, particularly elimination finals, it is a totally different proposition.
“Even when you play in the minor rounds of the league you want to win every game so this is no different,” van Dijk said.
“But it is going to be hard because the form of the day is going to decide who is going to win, and if you lose, you-re going to be out.”
Tickets for the match are available through Ticketek.
