Adelaide United coach John Kosmina says Sunday afternoon’s draw with Brisbane topped off a great week for the club, following their surprise Asian Champions League victory through the week.
Adelaide United coach John Kosmina says Sunday afternoon’s draw with Brisbane topped off a great week for the club, following their surprise Asian Champions League victory through the week.
In a battle between second on the ladder and second last, United turned the tables, dragging the Roar into a slow-paced game and counter-attacking brilliantly.
Brisbane came home strong in the final half hour to equalise and challenge for the lead, but the United defence – statistically amongst the worst in the league – stood tall, scrapping and scrambling and even clearing the ball from the line on multiple occasions.
The close-fought draw with the defending champions, who won 7-1 the last time the sides met at Suncorp Stadium, was the icing on the cake following an uplifting upset win over Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor in Tashkent on Wednesday morning.
“I think that we finished (on Wednesday night), got on the plane, got off the plane, came back up here and continued where we left off,” said Kosmina.
“Today capped off a fantastic week for the team and the players need to be congratulated because it’s a hell of an effort to do what they did (on Wednesday) and then to come here and do this as well.
“It was great. It was really, really good. I think we stayed in that shape and the discipline with it was successful. It’s just about building confidence, building discipline, building mental strength and resilience.
“You get the basics right and you don’t concede goals and people show desperation like they did today, and you get some joy out of a game at least.”
Kosmina confirmed that goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic and star striker Sergio van Dijk had been omitted due to slight niggles, with United opting to keep them in reserve for the ACL.
“Eugene got hurt at training on Friday and it’s not bad, but it probably wasn’t worth the risk to put him on another flight,” said Kosimina.
“Serge’s back was a little bit sore and it was when we went to Tashkent (for the midweek ACL clash), so the flight back didn’t help either.”
