Adelaide United coach Aurelio Vidmar says his side needs to fight harder for the ball if it’s to beat North Queensland Fury at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Sunday.
While missed opportunities in front of goal have played a part in the Reds’ 2-2-3 start to season, Vidmar said the players’ inability to regain possession was equally significant.
“I thought some of our football last week was quite good, it was just really sporadic, I think we are one of the better teams in terms of picking up the ball and winning the ball,” he said.
“(But) After one or two passes, bang, we’ve lost the ball and it’s very hard when you have to start chasing again. When you are going forward with the ball, it’s easy, everyone wants a run – it’s when you don’t have it, that’s when the work begins.”
Reds defender Iain Fyfe also believes the team’s major concerns are in the midfield and up forward.
“We think our main problem is our front, we need to be scoring more goals,” Fyfe said.
“I think our midfielders as well have to really take command in the middle of the park. Against Melbourne we got over-run in that area.”
There will be plenty of challenges for those in Adelaide’s back third too with the Fury’s dangerous striker Robbie Fowler keen to lead his side to their first victory at home.
Fyfe agreed the former Liverpool player had lost speed over the years but was still a handful for Hyundai A-League defenders.
“He scored against us at Hindmarsh. He’s an unbelievable player, his movement, his sharpness and his eye for goal – we saw against Sydney he scored that goal it was just unbelievable so we are going to have our work cut out that’s for sure,” Fyfe said.
“He has got the touch. I don’t think a player like that needs that extra yard of pace, he’s just so smart in and around the box, it’s going to be extremely hard to stop him.”
“It’s a good challenge for us boys at the back.”
Fyfe said while the team was struggling for wins, his fellow defenders – Eugene Galekovic, Mark Rudan, Robbie Cornthwaite and Scott Jamieson – were performing well this season.
“We’ve got a lot of firepower back there in terms of stability. We have conceded a few cheap goals but if you look at the game against Melbourne last week there was a lucky one and the second goal we were pushing forward and they scored on the break,” he said.
