Adelaide United’s star Danish import Johan Absalonsen said Friday night’s clash with Melbourne Victory was everything he expected from such an intense rivalry.
Victory and the Reds scrapped it out for a 2-2 draw at Adelaide Oval in front of almost 20,000 fans after the Big V went into the game winless from two.
But the Reds are now unbeaten from their opening three matches after another eye-catching display from the Dane who had two assists.
“A funny game, exciting game and a rough play game,” Absalonsen told Fox Sports after the clash which extends Adelaide’s unbeaten run to three games.
“We knew that Victory would come with everything they had and be hard in the tackles – and they certainly were today. Maybe too few yellow cards today.”
There were seven yellow cards while both sides conceded 23 fouls each.
“It was a tough game but we stood it out and we matched the physical [Victory],” he added.
The Dane said new coach Marco Kurz is very deliberate in how he wants his players to play.
“He’s very clear about his tactics and I like his style,” said Absalonsen.
Kurz for his part wasn’t particularly happy after the game though pleased they came away with a point.
“For the second goal [to Victory] we had not the calm in our game,” the German coach told Fox Sports.
“In this moment, we missed more calm. But the draw is a good result for us. It was a hard and intense game.
“It’s not so simple to play Victory. I felt the rivalry.”
