German midfielder Daniel Adlung says a refreshed Adelaide United are ready to re-ignite their Hyundai A-League top four hopes, starting with Friday night’s clash with bogey-side Melbourne City.
The Reds have had almost two full weeks to prepare for the Round 23 clash at Coopers Stadium thanks to the Split Round.
And the break has come at the perfect time according to Adlung as Adelaide look to snap a three-game winless run.
But Marco Kurz’s troops will have to overcome a poor record against City having lost both previous meetings this season, including a 5-0 drubbing back in January.
“We’ve lost two times against them this season, so we want to show that we are ready for them,” Adlung told reporters on Tuesday.
“The last game we made a lot of mistakes starting from the first second until the end so we also have to learn from this game.
“I think if we train like the last two days we’ll be ready and prepared and we need a higher focus than the last game against City.
“I think it’s always good to get a little break because the schedule in December, for example, was very packed,” the midfielder added.
“So it’s always good to have a couple of days off and also to focus on the basics and work on them. And the last games weren’t that good and what we expect so we can refresh everything now and concentrate for the game on Friday.”
Adlung believes Adelaide’s inconsistent season so far is down to their bad luck with injury, with a host of experienced players spending time on the sidelines.
It’s seen some of the club’s young stars get more game time, with the likes of Jordan Elsey, Ryan Strain and Jordan O’Doherty catching the eye.
While frustrated with the club’s position on the ladder [the Reds are currently sixth], Adlung has no doubt they can beat any team in the competition on their day.
“I think we have played a very good season so far, we have a very young squad and we missed a lot of experienced players for a long time because they were injured,” he said.
“I think we have a young team so you can’t expect to perform every week at the highest level so sometimes you go up and down. That’s maybe one of the reasons but now everyone is back.
“[But] you can see on a good day if we play at our highest level we can beat any team in this league.
“But we have to adapt our level to play more consistently to beat every team especially at home with our crowd we can beat City on Friday.”
Friday’s clash will be a milestone one for defender Elsey, who will make his 50th Hyundai A-League appearance for the club should he feature against Warren Joyce’s side.
