Adelaide United go into a sold-out semi-final at Coopers Stadium tomorrow night with their full squad available, fit and ready to go. Craig Goodwin said he feels sharp enough to play 90 minutes if needed, but also ready to start on the bench if that is the role he is given.
Goodwin said the final weeks of training have put him in a strong place for the biggest night of the season. He said he had about three weeks to a month to get back up to sharpness and that the build-up had been crucial after returning to the group at the business end of the campaign.
“Feeling good. It’s been good to get back in with the team and be involved at a crucial point of the season. To have about three weeks to a month training to get myself back up to sharpness has been much needed,” Goodwin said.
He said the atmosphere could be unlike anything the club has experienced, with Coopers Stadium sold out and a Grand Final place at stake. “We have to enjoy the occasion and enjoy the crowd. It’s sold out. The atmosphere is probably going to be as good as it’s been at any point in history, given what’s at stake and the chance to play in the Grand Final. We have to use that energy, but remain focused on the job at hand,” he said.
The match is a 50-50 contest in the eyes of coach Carl Andrioli, who said Adelaide United would not know their starting side until tomorrow. He said the entire squad was available and that the club would weigh up every option, including extra time, while still aiming to settle the game inside 90 minutes.
“The whole squad, everyone’s available, everyone’s fit, ready to go. We’ll find out tomorrow who is playing and how we’re playing,” Andrioli said. “The message is that we’re close, but we’re not there yet. Nobody wins a football match before by talking – we have to do the talking on the pitch. No favourite for anyone. It’s a 50-50 match.”
Andrioli said the bench could become decisive if the semi-final runs beyond regulation, with substitutes able to change the feel of the contest. “We’ve got a good headache at the moment. We want to get it over the line in 90 minutes, but we’re analysing all of that. We’re going to put the players on to start that we think can get the result, and if we need to make changes, we’ve got players off the bench who can come on and give us different dynamics and dimensions into our game,” he said.
The pressure of the moment has not changed Goodwin’s view of the group. He said Adelaide United have shown a maturity and focus he believes has been missing in recent years, and he expects that to matter when the crowd starts to build.
“I don’t think they’ll feel that pressure. There’s a particular attitude in this group that perhaps hasn’t been there in the past. There’s a very good focus and a very good maturity that we haven’t had over the last three or four years. I think we have a very focused and mentally ready team going into tomorrow,” he said.
Andrioli said the club knows how much is riding on the night, especially after others had not backed its run to this stage. But he said the players have earned the chance to decide it themselves, in front of their own supporters at one of the hardest places for an opponent to visit. “It’s massive. Not many people gave us a chance to be in the position that we are in, but once something’s in front of you, it’s what you do with that. We need to grab that with two hands,” he said. “We’ve done everything we could to give direction and point you to certain ways and strategies, but in the end, they have to step onto that pitch in front of our supporters here, not an easy place to come, and get it over the line.”
