Ten-man Adelaide United down Wellington Phoenix in A-League

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:24 am

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz suggested a home final for the Reds would be a "very special" achievement after a 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.

The victory brought the Reds level with Wellington on 37 points with three games remaining, but the Kiwi side retained fourth spot thanks to a superior goal difference.

Kurz praised his players for grinding out the win after playing the entire second half with 10 men following the dismissal of two-goal striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos in first-half injury time. The German said the win ensures the Reds are well-placed to take the battle for fourth down to the wire.

"Today I am very proud because we scored in the right moments a goal, I think it's maybe one step in the right direction," he said. "But you saw the mistake with the red card. Now we have the chance to fight for the fourth place."

Michael Marrone scored a rare goal before Stamatelopoulos' double had the Reds cruising a minutes before the break. Wellington pulled a goal back in the second half through Cillian Sheridan but United managed to hold on.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos scored two of Adelaide's three goals before getting sent off.
Getty

Despite his satisfaction in securing maximum points, Kurz felt the Reds' performance was not one of their best.

"[It was] a very effective first half," he said. "I don't think our game was really good and our structure was not what we expected but very good was the goal scoring today.

"At the end the result, the three points are very important, either way, a big compliment for the boys and the supporters."

Kurz's counterpart Mark Rudan echoed the sentiments of the German and conceded the contest was effectively killed off by half time. The Phoenix boss slammed his side's first half, labelling it their worst of the campaign.

"We got beaten in the first 45 minutes - simple as that," he said. "We went to sleep, that wasn't us; it was probably the worst 45 minutes we've played this season.

"They did us a favour just before half time getting a player sent off. We did everything to get ourselves back in the game, perhaps had we had scored one earlier it would've put a lot more pressure on. It's quite disappointing at this time of the season as well."