Carl Veart praised Adelaide United’s attacking performance after scoring five goals past Perth Glory on Thursday night.
The Reds prevailed 5-3 in their crucial clash to keep alive its finals hopes and remain unbeaten under their interim boss.
Skipper, Michael Jakobsen, led the way with a brilliant header for his maiden goal for Adelaide before the floodgates opened.
It was also a series of firsts for youngsters Lachlan Brook and Pacifique Niyongabire as they both scored their inaugural Reds goals in clinical fashion.
Veart provided his assessment of the contest and lauded the team’s endeavour.
“I thought the first 15 minutes we were a bit sloppy and it took us a little bit to get into the game,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“And then after we missed the penalty we lifted and we played some great football for the last 30 minutes of the first-half.
“I’m very happy with the way that the boys played and the work that they put in that first-half was fantastic.
“That’s what we’re looking for and that’s what we’ve been asking from the players to show that character and that fight.”
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Kristian Opseth was also influential, continuing his scorching form since the restart with a third goal in as many matches – another header – in addition to laying off two assists.
“We’ve changed our style a little bit,” Veart explained about the Norwegian’s role in the team.
“We’ve asked him to do a few different things to what he was doing before.
“I thought tonight he was outstanding, his work rate, and I challenged him before the game tonight that I needed him to do a little bit more work for us in our pressing and winning the ball back for us.
“Not just that, the link-up play that he had with Riley (McGree) and Stefan (Mauk) and Benny (Halloran) was fantastic.
“I’m so happy for him because he worked extremely hard in that break we had off, he came back the fittest player in our group and I’m so happy for Kristian.”
The victory means the Reds stay in sixth spot, four points above Western United, who have three games in hand.
Veart acknowledged they will most likely have to take maximum points from their remaining two matches against Premiers, Sydney FC and second-ranked Melbourne City to qualify for finals.
He intimated even achieving that may still not guarantee a top-six berth, but said they are only focused on what they can control.
“I think we might need to win our last two games to make finals,” he said.
“Because Brisbane are a very good side and still have points on us. Perth are a very good side and they’re still ahead of us.
“Then you’ve Western United, they’ve got lots of games (in hand) and they’ve had a very good season as well.
“We’re going to aim to win the two games and then we’ve done what we can. We’re not going to worry what the other teams are doing.
“We’ll just worry about what we can do and if we win the games and things go right we’ll play finals.”
Adelaide United host Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 season on Thursday, 6 August at ANZ Stadium. Kick-off is at 7.00pm ACST. Live and Exclusive on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and the MyFootball Live App.
