Carl Veart was relatively content with Adelaide United’s performance following a tightly contested 0-0 draw against Melbourne City in the Semi-Final First Leg on Wednesday night.
The Reds began the match at Coopers Stadium with real intensity but could not capitalise on their early dominance.
City then began to enjoy the better chances but goalkeeper Joe Gauci stood in their way, making four key saves.
“I thought it was good game,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“I enjoyed it, hopefully the the fans and the people at home watching enjoyed it.
“It was just a shame there wasn’t a couple of goals in it, but overall, I think it was a fairly fair result.”
Now heading into the return leg in Melbourne with the tie evenly poised, Veart believed the pressure and expectation is now on City.
“It’s finals football isn’t it, I think pressure’s on both sides,” he admitted.
“I suppose the pressure’s on them that they still haven’t beaten a top four side.
“So, you know, we’ll go there full of confidence, we won there earlier in the season. We’ve got good belief in what we’re doing.
“Tonight we had some good moments in the game at times we just needed a little bit more polish in that final third.
“And, you know, a few passes could have been a little bit better. And we might have had a few more shots at goal.
“But you never know, it was a good game. I enjoyed it and I was happy with with our performance.”
Experienced Spaniard, Javi López, was sensational in curtailing Mathew Leckie and limiting his involvement.
The 36-year-old former Espanyol defender and captain made six tackles, won four fouls and made three clearances in what was a defensive masterclass.
“Javi has been tremendous for us all season,” he continued.
“He’s played the most minutes out of our squad.
“He was a little bit underdone last season because he joined late and missed a lot of the pre-season.
“But this year, he’s done all the pre-season and he showed again tonight his quality his one v one defending is exceptional.
“You know up against someone of the quality of Mathew Leckie and, didn’t give them too many opportunities. He is certainly a quality player and he’s a winner.”
