Adelaide coach Josep Gombau insists his side is on the right track heading into the Hyundai A-League Finals Series despite slumping to another defeat on Saturday night.
The 10-man Reds were overrun in the second half against Western Sydney Wanderers FC, losing 2-1 and ending any hope they had of finishing in the top two.
MATCH REPORT: Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United
It’s a second straight defeat for Adelaide and not the type of form you would want heading into the business end of the campaign.
But Gombau saw nothing but positives from his side’s display at Pirtek Stadium.
“I’m so happy with the way that we played. I’m happy with my team and I thought we played good football,” the Spaniard said.
“Sometimes you win doing nothing and sometimes you lose playing well. Today I thought our performance was good and I’m satisfied with this.
“That is the most important this coming into the finals.”
In a lackluster first-half it was Sergio Cirio’s curling strike just before the break that gave the Reds the advantage.
But the match swung just after the hour mark when Nigel Boogaard was shown a straight red card for bringing down Mark Bridge as he raced onto a ball in the box.
Tomi Juric dispatched the penalty before Bridge popped up with the winner 10 minutes later.
The Reds had more than 60 percent possession throughout the match but really struggled to create many clear-cut chances, still missing playmaker Marcelo Carrusca [thigh] through injury.
HIGHLIGHTS: Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United
“He’s a player that we miss of course. Today we had the ball a lot around his area and we missed this last pass,” Gombau admitted.
“I think we did very well but of course we miss him. He’s a player that makes a difference
“He’s one of the players who’s more stronger in this league in terms of football. When we miss him we miss part of our team.”
Gombau was hopeful Carrusca would be fit to play some part of next weekend’s final round match against Melbourne City but confirmed the Argentine would definitely play in the Finals Series.
