Roar kept their hopes of finals football alive moving within a point of 6th placed Western Sydney Wanderers who are still to play.

A superb free kick by Eric Bautheac on 41 minutes proved the difference as the Reds slumped to back-to-back losses, threatening their top four hopes.

Brett Holman told Fox Sports that after a disrupted season, Roar was finally fielding a consistent starting XI.

"I think our defensive set up has been really good but on the other hand it starts from the front as well," Holman said.

"When you’re talking about the same 11 for a couple of weeks then you start getting a rhythm and I think you can see that on the pitch."

Adelaide dominated the second half but couldn't crack a resilient Roar, the best chance falling to Nikola Mileusnic in the 54th minute - the attacking mid unable to put away a one-on-one with Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young.

Man of the Match, Thomas Kristensen, echoed Holman's comments, but said previous experience fed fears of a late capitulation.

"There will always be nerves when you’ve had the season we’ve had but I also think in the last couple of weeks we’ve been making some good strides towards better performances," he said.

"This is the third game in the row we’ve played with the same team and that has not happened a lot this season."

Kristensen saved most of his praise for teammate Avraam Papadopoulos who was handed a 2½ year suspended jail sentence by a Greek court for his part in the 2011 'Koriopolis' match-fixing scandal.

"I am satisfied (with my performance) but I think Avraam was the outstanding player today," Kristensen said of the 33-year-old defender.

"After what happened this week – what things he’s been going through – to go out and do what he did today like that takes some guts, and that was a great performance."