Adelaide coach John Kosmina has left centre forwards Bruce Djite and Sergio Van Dijk at home for the Reds’ trip to take on Melbourne Victory.
Adelaide coach John Kosmina has left centre forwards Bruce Djite and Sergio Van Dijk at home for the Reds’ trip to take on Melbourne Victory.
Kosmina is set to present a new-look strike force against Victory as Adelaide will enter a competitive fixture without neither Djite nor Van Dijk for the first time since February 11, 2011.
That match saw Adelaide defeat Victory 2-1 at the Adelaide Oval and Kosmina will hope Argentine Jeronimo Neumann, who has scored twice in three games, and Dario Vidosic can get the job done up front on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.
“Things have been flowing for us and while we’ve got a bit of momentum we’ll try and keep building on that, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay like that all of the time – we’ve got a lot of options,” Kosmina said on Thursday.
While Vidosic has proven his fitness after missing Adelaide’s 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers last week, Kosmina has decided to keep Van Dijk on the sidelines after the Dutchman resumed full training following his recovery from a hip-flexor injury.
Iain Fyfe has also been recalled for the first time since his red card away to Bunyodkor in the AFC Champions League, while Evan Kostopolous has been dropped.
But while Kosmina has claimed both Van Dijk and Djite, who has not scored in seven games, remain key options up forward for Adelaide, the fact United scored last week with neither on the field hints that their coach is keen to focus on quicker, more skilful attackers against Victory.
Adelaide’s front third could be set up with Neumann as the lead striker, Vidosic in behind, while Iain Ramsay and Portuguese import Fabio Ferreira will provide speed on the flanks.
“It’s a 27 game season, we’ve got 25 left and I talked to the players about that yesterday,” Kosmina said.
“Very rarely do the same eleven take the field every week, so circumstances being what they are, the team is winning and it’s that old ‘ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ mentality to a degree,” Kosmina said.
“Bruce is a professional, he’s a good pro and Serge is the same.
“They work hard at their game and they understand that’s football and sometimes it’s not easy, you don’t always have the outcomes that you want, but part of being a team is that sometimes you’re not going to play.”
Kosmina has also taken Nigel Boogaard to Melbourne despite the central defender limping out of a training session this week.
