Reds Head Coach Carl Veart spoke to the media following Adelaide United’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar at Coopers Stadium on a scorching afternoon. The result saw the Reds drop crucial points with Veart expressing frustration at his team’s second-half performance and mentality.
Veart on Harry Crawford’s goal and hunger…
“Harry is a young player, but he gives everything he’s got, and that’s all you can ask for, especially from younger players. He works hard, he’s brave, and he tries to do everything he can to help the team get a positive result.
“I’m happy for him to get his goal—he’s had a tough introduction to the A-League, coming off the bench at home and then playing against the top side last week.”
Veart on the second half showing…
“The first 10 minutes of the second half were okay, but after that, we were nonexistent. Too many players went hiding and weren’t prepared to do the work—it’s as simple as that.
“When you play against teams that sit back and slow the game down, you have to dictate the tempo, but we just weren’t prepared to do that. We weren’t making forward runs, we weren’t playing forward, and in that last 30-35 minutes, other than a couple of late runs from Dylan [Pierias], there was nothing. It was unacceptable for a team pushing for a top-two spot.”
Veart on his disappointment in the performance…
“Last week, the energy and effort were fantastic—probably the best it’s been all season. To then come back home and put in that performance against the bottom team is unacceptable. There will be changes made to the team because of that.
“It’s a mentality thing. We’ve dropped points at home to Newcastle, Perth, and now Brisbane. If you want to win things, you cannot be dropping points at home to the bottom teams. The proof is in the pudding.”
Veart on potential squad changes…
“I want players who want to win football matches and give their best. Today, we had too many who weren’t anywhere close to that. This isn’t the first time it’s happened this season, and it’s just not good enough.
“We have seven games left, and we know what we need to do, but it’s a matter of actually doing it. It’s easy to talk about wanting to challenge, but performances need to match that talk, and today, they didn’t.”
Veart on the team’s mentality…
“It’s not nice to say, but we have to be stronger. That second-half performance wasn’t from a team pushing for Finals football—it was from a team struggling. We looked like we had no confidence, which I don’t really understand.
“We’ll have to find answers because it’s just not good enough.”
Veart on Adelaide’s top-six battle…
“Every team in the top six battle has had their rough patch, and we’ve had ours over the past month. A month ago, people were talking about us as Premiership contenders—now we’re four points inside the six.
“But at the end of the day, the table doesn’t lie. We can feel sorry for ourselves, or we can do the work. Today, we didn’t.”
