Adelaide United boss Marco Kurz gushed over his side’s resilience after they battled with nine men to a drought-breaking 2-1 away win over Melbourne Victory.
Papa Diawara and George Blackwood both opened their accounts for the campaign to secure the Reds’ first three points at Etihad Stadium since 2006.
And after losing Daniel Adlung and Ben Garuccio to second yellows in the 82nd and 87th minutes, Kurz was delighted with the visitors’ spirit.
“I’m very proud. I love the boys, I love the squad,” Kurz told Fox Sports.
“I think it’s the basics for a team to fight, to run [and to have] good organisation.
“It was a hard game, a hard derby, but it’s a big victory for us. It’s not simple to win in Melbourne.
“We played a very good game and in possession I think we had the most control.”
Kurz also took encouragement from the performances of Diawara and Blackwood, who tucked away the winner barely three minutes after his introduction.
“It’s very important a striker scores goals. You see Baba after the goal, he looks like a kid,” he said.
“For us it’s very important we have confidence in the position, in the strikers, that they can score goals.”
