They may miss out on the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Season Finals Series but Carl Veart hopes he has done enough to secure the full-time Adelaide United coaching gig beyond this campaign.
The Reds’ final match of the regular season ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Melbourne City on Tuesday night which has left their finals hopes on the brink.
While they remain in sixth spot, seventh-place Western United FC are just three points behind the Reds and have three games still to play.
It would take a major capitulation from Mark Rudan’s side for the Reds to sneak in, but regardless, Veart believes he’s the right man to take the club forward.
In his five matches at the helm since the competition’s resumption, the Reds are unbeaten having won two and drawn three in games all against the current top five.
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Asked if he wanted the job beyond this season, Veart told Fox Sports: “Most definitely.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time in this short period and I think the players have taken what I’ve asked them to do.
“They showed tonight the spirit and the character to come back the way they did, I couldn’t have asked anymore.”
Veart will have to wait until he returns to Adelaide to finalise his future, when he will begin discussion with Chairman Piet van der Pol and Football Director Bruce Djite.
But it’s understood the former Socceroos striker – and scorer of the first-ever Hyundai A-League goal back in 2005 – is in the box seat for the job.
And it’s understandable, especially given the way his side came back to salvage a spirited draw at ANZ Stadium.
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Adelaide trailed 2-0 at the break to goals from Adrian Luna and Jamie Maclaren, before late strikes from Kristian Opseth and Ben Halloran – after Craig Noone’s red card for City – earned them a share of the spoils.
“Mathematically we may be in trouble to make the top six but I’m so proud of this group,” said Halloran, who scored the equaliser in stoppage-time.
“We’ve had our backs against the wall in the back part of this year but we’ve done the club proud.
“You can tell by the young kids we have in our team that they are never going to play within themselves and they changed the game for us in the second half,” he added.
“They led the way and pushed the older boys to get back into the game as well. I’m really proud of the young boys tonight.”