Carl Veart praised the effort Adelaide United showed in its draw against Melbourne City but admitted his side lacked incisiveness in the final third.
For the second time this season the Reds came back to secure a 2-2 draw against the reigning champions at Coopers Stadium, a testament to the team’s character and desire.
However, Veart was disappointed his side failed to collect the three points after Hiroshi Ibusuki’s goal off the bench, on debut, proved the equaliser and not the winner following a missed penalty as the visitors were reduced to 10 men.
“It was an exciting game wasn’t it,” Veart told the media in the post-match press conference.
“I suppose good for the neutrals to watch.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t come away with the three points.
“It’s our story at the moment, we have a lot possession and not quite have the cutting edge or not direct enough when we need to be.
“And then we make some mistakes where we turn the ball over and leave ourselves a little bit open and get caught.
“It’s something that we have to keep working on and keep our focus, but very happy with the effort the boys put in – the way that they play and go about their football I’m pleased with that.”
George Blackwood initially levelled the score at 1-1 when he capitalised on Tom Glover’s half clearance off Craig Goodwin’s cross in the 60th minute.
After Jamie Maclaren restored City’s lead, Japanese striker Ibusuki found the net on 84 minutes.
Veart lauded the endeavour from both his number nines.
“George (Blackwood) scored tonight and got a penalty as well, so you can’t ask more from that from George,” he said.
“Hiroshi (Ibusuki) when he came on, the little bit that I’ve seen, he’s only had the one training session with us and then we’ve sort of chucked him in tonight.
“He’s got some quality, his touch is excellent, he knows where the goal is so he’ll only improve.
“You don’t play in Spain as long as he did unless you’re a technically good footballer.”
The manner in which Ibusuki scored foreshadowed what Reds fans might expect from their latest recruit with the Japanese marksman showing glimpses of his aerial prowess and instinctive qualities in and around the box.
The 30-year-old was quickest to react to Tom Glover’s one-handed save off Stefan Mauk’s header from the corner, expertly steering his finish in on the rebound.
Veart intimated Adelaide will certainly look to play to Ibusuki’s strengths and is confident he can flourish with adequate service, in the wake of a promising first appearance for the Club.
“The way I want to play is I want to play with a target striker,” he continued.
“I like a striker that likes to come in and play with his feet and then get in the box for crosses because we’ve got some great wingers.
“We’ve put a lot of balls in the box this season and we need someone that can get on the end of them and I think he (Hiroshi Ibusuki) showed tonight he has that quality.”
