Football
AAP 6y

Marco Kurz delighted that Adelaide showed they 'can fight for a win'

Adelaide coach Marco Kurz says the Reds showed strong character and determination to grind out maximum points in their hard-fought 1-0 win over Central Coast.

Both sides flew out of the gates and turned in an impressive, attacking first half with plenty of chances at either end.

The visitors dominated early before United broke the deadlock on the quarter hour thanks to a clever finishing from Ryan Kitto which capped on a sensational team move involving Nikola Mileusnic and Ryan Strain.

Central Coast owned the match after the break and spent much of it in Adelaide's half but couldn't find an equaliser as the Reds defended stoically.

Kurz applauded his troops in their ability keep the Mariners at bay and scrap for the win which moves Adelaide up to fourth.

"We are very happy with the result," he said. "I think it's good to know that we can fight for a win and also to play nil [keep a clean sheet].

"That's a good feeling and I think the game was very important for us because now we push up a little bit more on the table and that was our goal."

Despite temperatures hovering around the low 30s at kick-off, both sides played attacking football.

Kurz felt United shaded the opening stanza and could have added a second goal, although keeper Paul Izzo was called upon three times in as many minutes with each save as impressive as the other.

"The first half was our side, the better one," he said. "We have a couple of chances and I think we had the chance to score two goals.

"But also Central Coast had two or three chances to score goals."

Adelaide's German coach also hailed the performances of the younger brigade with the likes of Kitto, Strain and centre-back Jordan Elsey enjoying solid outings.

"Every game for young players is important," he said. "For me it's not the age [that's] important, for me the quality [is] important.

"If I have the feeling that the boy is ready to start then he plays."

Mariners coach Paul Okon was left to wonder what might have been after another an impressive performance left his side empty-handed.

"It's probably happened far too many times this season," he said.

"You can only hope that sooner or later you're going to get rewarded if you perform like that consistently."

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