Adelaide United has scored just one goal in its past three matches and Carl Veart believes his side are missing a ruthless edge up front.
The Reds played out a second consecutive 0-0 draw at Coopers Stadium, this time being held by Wellington Phoenix on Friday night.
Veart said his team must be more clinical if it is to snap a four-game winless run.
When asked about the match Veart suggested he was more frustrated with the result rather than the performance.
“Frustrated that we didn’t have the quality to get a goal,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“I believe we had enough openings to get a goal, but we just lacked that final ball or that final run in the box to get the goal.
“… I suppose the pleasing thing is after going down to 10 men we dug in and we came away with a point.”
The draw moves Adelaide provisionally into equal second on the table with 32 points.
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Despite the congested ladder, Veart maintained that Adelaide’s target of a top-two finish still remains on track with six matches left.
“The league is getting very tight, there’s a lot of teams there that are fighting for those spots,” he said.
“We just have to look after ourselves and keep playing the football that we believe will take us all the way.”
The Reds have kept back-to-back clean sheets for the second time this season.
But while defensively appearing solid, Adelaide has struggled in attack of late.
As a successful former striker, Veart said the only way his players can overcome the barren spell is through persistence.
“You just have to keep working hard, and keep making the movements, and keep making the runs and it will come,” he said.
“You have those days in games where you don’t think it’s ever going to come, but you’ve just got to keep knocking on the door until you get it open, and the goals will come in.”
