Adelaide United coach John Kosmina felt a draw with Perth Glory was a fair result given the sweltering conditions at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
Adelaide United coach John Kosmina felt a draw with Perth Glory was a fair result given the sweltering conditions at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
The temperature rose to as high as 30 degrees for the late kick-off that saw the two top-four sides have to settle for a point following a 1-1 finish.
Both teams looked to be struggling to adjust to the warm weather during the Remembrance Day clash as neither side ventured forward at a high tempo.
Adelaide switched off nearing half-time and were made to pay by Perth striker Billy Mehmet two minutes before the break.
But after the restart, the Reds hit back and equalised through Dario Vidosic and were arguably the better side in the second half.
Although the hosts had a handful of chances to snatch three points and remain at the top of the table, Kosmina was content to share the spoils.
“We could have won but so could have they … given the conditions which I think probably affected us more than we thought they would, it wasn’t too bad,” Kosmina said.
“It (the weather) probably affected both teams. It was the same for them as us. Maybe it did slow the game up a bit, but we played with a good tempo.
“We did well in the first half, created a couple of good chances and didn’t really let Perth in, but we dropped off probably 10 minutes before the end of that half.
“Unless you keep ticking over and are constant and have got good ball speed and tempo, Perth are the sort of team that once you give them a sniff they will get on top of you which they did in the first half.
“Full credit to our blokes though, they came back in the second half and did really well.”
Kosmina made three changes to the side that defeated Brisbane Roar last week with the injured Antony Golec making way for the return of vice-captain Cassio while Iain Ramsay dropped to the bench for Fabio Ferreira and Sergio van Dijk was left out of the squad for Evan Kostopoulos.
For the second time this season Kosmina opted not to start with a recognised striker, preferring South Americans Jeronimo Neumann and Marcelo Carrusca, and Vidosic, to act as the forwards.
The former Sydney FC coach said he switched formation and striking personnel once more to accommodate the attacking midfield trio.
“I wanted to play with two (number) 10s so we looked at how we could play Jeronimo, Marcelo and Dario together,” Kosmina said.
“You’ve got to agree that the two 10s – when we did it properly – worked quite well if you looked at that ball Marcelo played into Dario in the first half and at where Dario and Marcelo were in the second half for our goal.
“Marcelo in particular is getting fitter week by week and more used to the A-League and the Australian game.
“He can hurt the opposition … just look at the class he showed to set that goal up.”
Although Kosmina said he prefers to play without a dedicated target man, he may look to rearrange his formation in the near future to feature van Dijk or Bruce Djite.
“We might start Serge next week, we might start Bruce next week and play with a point (striker),” Kosmina said.
“We will look at the opposition and what might best suit to who we are playing against.”
For now, however, Kosmina said the forward duo must deal with their non-selection.
“We’ve got a really fit and healthy squad which we didn’t have last season and the competition for places is fairly high,” Kosmina said.
“The players have to deal with it, it’s not an easy situation to deal with but players just have to get on with the job.
“That’s part and parcel of professional football – some weeks you’ll play, some weeks you won’t.”
