Carl Veart lauded Craig Goodwin’s record-breaking achievement, while heaping praise on Adelaide United’s resilience to secure yet another dramatic comeback win.
The Reds fought back twice on the night before going on to defeat Sydney FC 3-2 thanks to Goodwin’s brace and a George Blackwood goal.
The result was Adelaide’s first away victory over the Sky Blues in six years after Blackwood netted an 89th minute equaliser and Goodwin scored the winner on 95 minutes.
Adelaide has scored 12 goals beyond the 84th minute this campaign, collecting 19 points in the process.
“This is probably our most difficult place to come and play Sydney over the last few years,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“So to come and get a win I’m extremely happy and very proud of the boys, again the spirit they showed right through tonight’s game, because we weren’t at our best.
“And to hang in there, and to hang in there and come away with the points, it’s fantastic.”
Veart also spoke about Goodwin becoming the Club’s all-time leading scorer after his first-half header saw him surpass Bruce Djite’s tally of 41 goals in all competitions.
The boss said even though his star player was not at his best, he still has the ability to have a massive impact on the outcome of a match.
“We know the quality that Craig has,” Veart said.
“Tonight he’s got two goals, but it wasn’t his best night tonight.
“But he stuck at it and he’s popped up and got the job done for us and that’s what Craig does.
“We can rely on him, he very rarely gives the ball away, his decision making is excellent.
“To have the calmness to pick his spot right at that last minute, I’m so happy for him.”
The Reds’ next clash is not until Sunday, 24 April against Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium.
Veart said the break will allow his squad to recuperate as they aim towards booking a finals spot.
Including the Perth game, the South Australians have three home matches remaining in the regular season and Veart believes their destiny remains in their hands.
“Even though we went through that run of four games where we didn’t have a win, we always knew that it’s still in our hands,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of home games to finish the season off and now have a 12/13 day break before we play again.
“So all our boys can freshen up and have a really good crack at the last three games.”
Veart anticipated he will almost have a full squad at his disposal in two weeks’ time.
“We expect to have Michael Jakobsen back, we expect to have Kusini Yengi back, Jacob Tratt should be back as well,” he revealed.
“So we pretty much should be at full strength. The only ones that will be missing are our long-term injuries – Nick Ansell and Mohamed Toure.”
