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With finals out of the question for United, Kosmina said the match was an opportunity for the Reds to fine-tune their formation and starting line-up as they turn their full attention to the Asian Champions League.
“I was happy with how we went about our business. We went out there to practice what we want to do in Asia and what we’ve been doing for the last few weeks,” Kosmina said.
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| John van't Schip & Fred |
“Overall the most important thing is we are officially in the finals, we have no injuries and we can prepare ourselves for our next game against either Perth or Wellington,” he said.
Van’t Schip had been concerned with his side’s tendency of late to ‘fade out’ but was buoyed by Heart’s showing in the second half.
“That’s a big plus that in the second half, compared to the past two games, we continued playing and we finished strong so we’ll take that going forward,” van’t Schip said.
The increased workload of playing two competitions forced Kosmina’s hand, with five changes to his starting XI which defeated Gamba Osaka 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Mark Birighitti stepped up between the sticks for Adelaide United in his final Hyundai A-League appearance for the Reds after signing with the Newcastle Jets for the 2012/13 campaign. The gloveman signed for United in 2008 and despite having limited opportunities was full of praise for his adopted home town.
“I’d like to thank the club, these past four years they’ve been phenomenal and the way they’ve treated me and the way they’ve gone about things has been great,” Birighitti said.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge ahead of me but I’ll definitely miss this place.”
The Reds were gifted a penalty in the 37th minute after Colosimo was adjudged to have brought down Mullen inside the box as a Cassio free-kick was delivered into Heart’s penalty area. Sergio van Dijk stepped up and sent Clint Bolton the wrong way for his 50th A-League goal which gave United a 1-0 lead heading into half time.
Melbourne’s leading scorer Eli Babalj was dominant throughout the game and equalised after walking through United’s defence in the 68th minute. Van’t Schip was impressed with Babalj’s goal but denied the striker was the key to Melbourne’s finals hopes.
“If we play as a team we have a lot of players who can decide a game,” he said.
“As a unit we are getting stronger and stronger… so I’m certainly confident about our chances in the playoffs.”
The Dutchman suggested his 20-year-old forward can have a great game without putting the ball in the net, as long as he fulfills his role on matchday.
“Of course a striker wants to score but if he (Babalj) makes his runs and creates space for other players to come into his position then he’s doing a good job as well,” van’t Schip said.
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Referee: Adam Kersey
The Football Sack's 'Player of the Year' points:
3 Osama Malik
2 Eli Babalj
1 Mark Birighitti