Adelaide United coach Carl Veart said a tough Isuzu UTE A-League draw against Sydney FC might have been the result his side needed after they were forced to hold on for a share of the points against the Sky Blues.
United broke the deadlock just after the interval through skipper Craig Goodwin before Adam Le Fondre came off the bench to make it 1-1 in the final stages.
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The second-placed Reds extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches but it was not one of the polished, free-scoring performances from Veart’s side that has become routine in the past month.
“I suppose it was maybe the draw that we needed to have, give us a little bit of a kick up the backside,” he said.
“Sydney were good tonight and after we scored the goal we sort of just stopped playing. The first half was not too bad, but the second half we need to do a lot better than that.
“We stopped looking for the ball, we stopped working, we stopped doing the things that we’re very good at. I say we stopped, but Sydney also made it very difficult for us.”
United sit in second but their lead over the third-placed Central Coast Mariners was cut to four points following their 3-0 victory over Western United earlier in the day.
League leader Melbourne City remain four points ahead of Adelaide but have a game in hand.
The Reds take on Western United at home next Sunday before a trip to Perth Glory in the penultimate round.
United then face what could be a table-defining clash against the Mariners at Coopers Stadium on the final day of the season.
“The boys will now have a couple days off and make sure that they’re really focused when they come back in on Tuesday,” Veart said.
“And make sure we have a good push because we want to make sure keep putting City under pressure.
“And we have to make sure we don’t allow teams to catch us.”
Sydney coach Steve Corica felt his side should have claimed victory against the Reds following their impressive performance in which they carved out numerous opportunities to score.
Star import Joe Lolley had a cracking chance in the first half with the scores locked at 0-0 but shot wide from close range after dancing through the Reds’ defence.
Adelaide ‘keeper Joe Gauci denied Lolley in a one-on-one in the second half with the Reds leading.
The Sky Blues remain sixth, two points ahead of the Glory and two points behind fifth-placed Wellington Phoenix, with both sides still to play this round.
“I think it was a good point (but) I think it probably deserved three (points) I think in the end,” he said.
“I think it the second half we were definitely the better team. The first half we tried to make it hard for them, stay nice and compact and I think we did that, frustrate them a little bit with the ball.
“I think we dominated most of the second half and had the best chances.”
