Adelaide desperate for A-League double

Adelaide United captain Eugene Galekovic insists the Championship is the only thing on the Reds’ mind heading into this weekend’s sold-out Semi Final at Coopers Stadium.

Adelaide will hostĀ Melbourne City for a spot in this season’s Grand FinalĀ on Friday night, having already claimed the clubā€™s first PremiersĀ Plate since the 2005/06 campaign.

Whilst Unitedā€™s winning of the trophy was a massive achievement for the club, considering it was winless until Round 9 of the domestic competition,Ā GalekovicĀ has stated he and his teammates have moved on from the triumph and are only thinking about lifting the famous ā€˜Toilet Seatā€™.Ā 

ā€œThe Championship is the biggest trophy to win in Australia so thatā€™s the one I want more,ā€ Galekovic said. ā€œWinning the trophy on the day in such a big game is what the players want too.Ā 

ā€œEveryone around the Club is very excited at the moment. Weā€™ve had the week off and the boys just want to get out there and play.Ā 

ā€œItā€™s Finals football and everyone wants to be part of it.ā€Ā 

As Premiers, the Reds were entitled to a week off from competitive football whilst the sides ranked third to sixth battled it out in Elimination Finals for the remaining two spots in the Semi-Finals.

Unitedā€™s benefits to finishing at the top of the league after Round 27 also extends to playing the lowest ranked side in their home Semi-Final, which, after Brisbane Roar defeated Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City defeated Perth Glory, means the Reds will battle it out against John van ‘t Schipā€™s Citizens.Ā 

Galekovic has welcomed the visit from City ahead of Fridayā€™s match, saying Unitedā€™s recent 2-0 win over the Victorian side will go a long way in his squad advancing to the Grand Final ahead of Melbourne.Ā 

ā€œThe week off has enabled us to manage our bodies quite well and this week will be all about how weā€™re going to play against Melbourne City,ā€ he said.Ā 

ā€œIt doesnā€™t matter who you play in the Finals because if you donā€™t perform youā€™ll lose.Ā 

ā€œWeā€™ve learned a lot from just playing them in our last game so we kind of know how they play, but itā€™s about preparing for it and making sure that weā€™re ready to fight through the 90 minutes on Friday night.

ā€œWeā€™re playing at Coopers and we want to perform in front of our crowd.

ā€œItā€™s going to be a big game and itā€™s all about getting the job done.ā€Ā 

Hyundai A-League 2016 Semi Final 1 ā€“Ā SOLD OUT

Adelaide United (1st) v Melbourne City (4th)

Friday 22 April 2016

Coopers Stadium, Adelaide

7:15pm kick off (7.45pm AEST)