Australia

History On Adelaide United's Side Ahead Of Brisbane Roar Clash

So often the subject of ridicule for their Melbourne hoodoo, this time the Reds have history on their side.

Nov 6, 2009 12:31:54 AM

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Adelaide United will face off against Brisbane Roar for the first time this season, and the Reds have history on their side heading into the match at Hindmarsh Stadium tonight.

A lot has been made of United’s hoodoo against Melbourne Victory over the past year, but one lop sided record that has not attracted as much attention is the Reds’ impressive results over the Roar.

Adelaide United has won six of the teams’ previous 13 encounters, the Reds only failing to take points on two occasions against Brisbane.

Reds coach Aurelio Vidmar produced a wry smile when asked about United having the wood over the Roar, but he is not getting drawn into history counting for anything, with both sides desperate for a win.

“It’s a pretty good record and the form has been pretty good against them, obviously they’ve changed a bit since Frank (Farina) has left, and Ange (Postecoglou) has come in (as the new coach), so it will be interesting to see how they shape up tomorrow,” Vidmar said.

As the A-League reaches the half way point, the Reds currently find themselves outside the top six, but Vidmar knows there is still a long way to go, particularly with nine points separating the top seven sides.

“There’s certainly no need to push the panic button…we’ll just keep working hard and try to make sure everyone is gelling at the right time and at the right moment and everyone is working together, and if we do that hopefully we’re a good show.”

“It’s still very tight but sooner or later everyone is going to start breaking away, and I think you’ve already seen that a little bit with Melbourne and Sydney, so if we really want to stay in contention for the finals it’s certainly a game we need to win tomorrow.”

However, after failing to find the back of the net last weekend against the Mariners and with just 12 goals to show from 13 rounds, Vidmar is well aware his team needs to start clicking up front, and finding the back of the net.

“Our movement last week was so much better. Getting it into the front third is not a problem for us…it’s just that lack of quality, that final pass, that last shot on goal is just letting us down,” Vidmar said.

“But I know if one goes in, then we hopefully start getting on a bit of a roll.”

Vidmar will be forced to make at least one change to the starting line up from the draw with the Mariners, attacking midfielder Mathew Leckie sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Daniel Godley, a keeper for local club Metro-Stars, will be the reserve goalkeeper to cover Mark Birighitti, who is in Indonesia with the Young Socceroos.

Reds midfielder Adam Hughes, who has experienced the pressure of achieving possible results during his time in the Premier League of Ireland with Drogheda United FC, says it is important for his teammates to put unnecessary pressure on themselves, even though the tension is building on stringing a number of wins together.

“We’ve got to play with no pressure in the sense of picking up the three points, because once the pressure comes on us, it puts you on the back foot, but it is a must win for us, and probably the thing we need is to go on a consecutive run of two or three wins on the trot to get us going,” Hughes said.

“Tomorrow night we have to come out and get the three points in the sense if we’re going to stay with Melbourne and Sydney, we have to make sure we win and then go on with it from there.”

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