Adelaide United is optimistic forced changes to their line-up won’t stop them staging an upset in the second leg of the Asian Champions League final on Wednesday night at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The Reds have been set the improbable task of beating classy Gamba Osaka by at least four goals to win the title and will have to do so without two of its key players.
Form goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic and experienced defender Ang Costanzo will watch the clash from the sidelines after receiving their second yellow cards during the final series last week.
Their suspensions have ripped the heart out of the side’s reliable defence but coach Aurelio Vidmar was confident the duo’s replacements would be up for the challenge.
Vidmar said 17-year-old goalkeeper Mark Birighitti can fill the void left by Galekovic, despite his inability to keep a clean sheet in his three Hyundai A-League matches.
“He’s a confident kid. He relishes the challenge and he’ll be exactly the same tomorrow night,” Vidmar said.
“He was probably under quite a bit of pressure in that game a week or so ago against Melbourne Victory and he’s pulled off some fantastic saves.”
“But when they are peppering your goal, certainly at some stage there’s going to be a hole there.”
Former skipper Michael Valkanis will also work his way into the 11 to cover the loss of Costanzo. Vidmar said the veteran had done everything asked of him in his first season back from a serious knee injury.
“(Costanzo and Valkanis are) two different kind of players but we certainly won’t miss anything with Michael coming into the fray. He’s extremely committed, he’s been very, very good considering the lack of time he’s had on the pitch,” he said.
“He puts in everything that he has and we know he’ll do a great job for us.”
Paul Reid and Fabian Barbiero are also likely inclusions to the squad with both on the comeback trail from injuries.
The pair will be assessed on Tuesday night before they are given the go-ahead to play.
Vidmar said a change in approach, not just personnel, would also be needed to upset the team’s Japanese opponent.
The coach said the Reds would need to improve their technical game, as well as maintain their physical edge, to stay with Gamba Osaka.
“Certainly that was one area that we weren’t very good at, especially in the first half last week. We played very timid in the first half and in the second half it was quite different,” he said.
“We need to take that approach where we need to be really aggressive and if we can do that you just don’t know.”
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Adelaide United who went from the high of beating Bunyodkor in the semi-final to the lows of losing to Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League and then Gamba Osaka.
They’ve also been reduced to 15 fit men but Vidmar is philosophical about the team’s predicament.
“That’s life – Frank Sinatra sang that didn’t he?,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got and we’ve just got to do our very best with what numbers we have and the players that are going in there and going to give everything they possibly can to try and reverse the result.”
