Carl Veart believed Adelaide United’s hard-fought 3-2 win will serve as a confidence booster for his side.
The Reds prevailed past Central Coast Mariners at Coopers Stadium on Friday night, snapping a three-losing streak.
“It was a very strange game wasn’t it,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“I think I said yesterday this week on the training track was very positive.
“The way we trained was excellent and tonight you could see in patches we were still sort of lacking that little bit of confidence.
“But when we moved the ball quickly and we played to the tactics that we wanted to play we looked good.
“I suppose the win will help that confidence and grow the team a little bit more and we move on to next week.”
Tomi Juric slotted a hat-trick after expertly converting three penalties.
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Veart praised the 29-year-old’s composure, who has now scored four goals for the season.
“I can’t remember ever seeing three penalties in a game taken by the same person and scoring all three,” he said.
“It’s a difficult thing to do to have that belief in yourself and the quality to take all three and score all three it’s the type of striker her is.”
Javi López was given his starting debut and demonstrated his poise, experience, and leadership.
The 35-year-old arrived during the offseason having spent more than a decade with RCD Espanyol in the Spanish top-flight.
“I think Javi (López) tonight brought a lot of experience and a lot of calmness to the team,” he said.
“To get 90 minutes out of him is fantastic and we can see that he’ll bring a lot of quality to the team.
“… He’s an excellent communicator on the pitch even though his English is improving but that’s what you get when you’ve played that many games in La Liga.”
Next match details:
Game date: Saturday, 27 February vs Western Sydney Wanderers
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 10
Kick-off 4.35pm ACDT
Venue: Bankwest Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports, ABC
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App