01-06-2007, 06:51 PM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
| New Member
Status: Offline
Join Date: Jan 2007 My Local Time: 08:33 AM Location: Australia
Posts: 56
vBookie Cash: 500
Casino Cash: $250
Rep Power: 2  | Knights Play Down Win; A-League
Quote:
Knights play down win
Friday, 5 January, 2007 - 4:21PM
Brenton Vannisselroy, Sportal
New Zealand celebrates after a goal
New Zealand celebrates after a goal
Despite the New Zealand Knights coming off arguably their best performance in the history of the franchise, coach Ricki Herbert wants to keep things in perspective.
The Knights defeated the Queensland Roar 3-1 in their last match of 2006, scoring three goals for the first time in 39 Hyundai A-League matches.
But Herbert is not getting carried away, pointing out that the club still remains at the foot of the ladder, six points adrift of the Perth Glory.
Herbert considers any result from the final three rounds as a 'bonus', but he does believe his team is capable of again performing at the level shown in its win over the Roar.
"I just think we have probably got a little bit more and I would like to see something out of the last three games," Herbert said.
Although playing down the chances of his team, the All Whites coach is noticeably happy when asked about his first win since taking charge prior to Christmas.
"It was bloody good. I think Friday night helped a lot of people and I guess it finished 2006 on a reasonably good note, which was important," Herbert said.
"It was just a nice feeling to be 3-0 up."
Herbert acknowledges that his side will have to raise yet another level over the next week when it visits Sydney FC on Sunday and the Central Coast Mariners on Thursday. But he has been pleased with what he has seen from his squad at training.
"The last three days everyone has been buoyant and upbeat, which is great," Herbert said.
"They have trained really well and I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Herbert points out that he and his coaching staff have not made any radical changes at training but have simply set their team structure and philosophy in place.
"They have taken that on board and they have tried to do it and we can't ask for anything more than that," Herbert said.
"All we have done is really given a lot of responsibility to the players."
With their playoff aspirations long gone, Herbert says the Knights are revelling in their role as spoiler.
"It is not where you would want to be in the league Â… but if we can spoil someone else's party then that would be a nice position to be in," Herbert said.
The Knights will still be without Gregory Duruz and Adam Casey for the two-match trip, while keeper Michael Turnbull is also unavailable.
Richard Johnson, Lelei Gao and Dean Gordon are all carrying minor injuries, but it is expected the trio will all take the field on Sunday.
| Credit - A-League.com.au |
| |
|
|  |
Linear Mode
Similar Threads 
