Sergio Cirio has urged Adelaide United to take advantage of back-to-back home matches at Coopers Stadium, starting with a win against Perth Glory in Harvey Norman Friday night football.
Following The Reds’ 2-1 loss at the hands of Central Coast Mariners in Canberra on Sunday, Cirio said he and his teammates must use the home ground advantage to collect maximum points.
The Reds currently sit at the foot of the Hyundai A-League ladder and are currently on a run of three matches without a win – their last coming against Melbourne City in Round 15.
“The team is feeling disappointed because it was an important game for us, but now we must look forward to our next game,” Cirio said.
“Having two consecutive games at home is very important and will hopefully mean we can get all the points at home.
“Now it’s a difficult situation, so now I think the best thing we can do is to just see the next game and prepare for it well.
“This is the most important thing.”
Cirio was unlucky not to find the back of the net against the Mariners, having been denied on a number of occasions by keeper Paul Izzo.
Deep into stoppage time, youngster Jordan O’Doherty managed to pull a goal back for the Reds in sublime fashion, however United weren’t able to overturn Central Coast’s advantage.
Half an hour into proceedings, Adelaide Captain, Eugene Galekovic, was forced off the field with a shoulder injury, Cirio stating the extent of the injury is yet to be determined.
“Eugene’s shoulder is sore now and he will have scans (to determine what is wrong with it), so after that we will know exactly what he has got.
“I am not a doctor, though, so I don’t know what is wrong,” Cirio said.
With the prospect of the Reds being without their skipper against Glory, and with Isaías also suspended for the clash, Cirio made it clear that the men called-up to fill in the gaps have the entire group’s confidence.
“We have John Hall who is a very good ‘keeper and we have 100 per cent confidence in him, so (if Galekovic misses the next game), it is not a big problem,” he said.
“We have a good squad and have many players that can play good football, so we have confidence in them.”