EXCLUSIVE: Travis Dodd is demanding a smart performance from his Adelaide United troops to ensure there is no danger of a costly power failure in Vietnam.
While the Reds are anxious to make a good start to their clash with Binh Duong it won’t be a case of sprinting from the blocks, charging around the field for the bulk of proceedings only to run out of gas in the dying stages.
The hosts may be bottom of the Champions League group with two defeats from two games but the conditions are very much in their favour.
Dodd and his colleagues are battling heat and humidity as they prepare for the match and the captain will be stressing the importance of energy conservation during the game.
Speaking to au.fourfourtwo.com from the team’s Vietnamese base, the Adelaide captain said: “The boys have trained well and are looking to build on the unbeaten start we’ve had to the group.
“Obviously it’s pretty humid and that means you have to put a smart performance together. That means making your runs in a match when it’s right to do it and not charging around at 100 miles an hour.
“You have to make sure you are competitive and doing the right things for the whole 90 minutes of the match.”
While it may be top versus bottom, Dodd refuses to accept that Adelaide are clear favourites for victory - confident, yes...complacent, no.
He said: “I think you only have to look at what happened to Melbourne Victory in their last match in Thailand. A lot of people thought they were favourites to win there and it didn’t happen for them.”
Dodd at least goes into the match with positive memories of Vietnamese opposition in this competition.
He scored United’s second goal in last season’s 2-0 away win over Dong Tam Long An and then blasted a hat-trick in the final group game against the same opponents at Hindmarsh Stadium, a 3-0 triumph.
He said: “It was very satisfying to score those goals but I’d sacrifice personal achievement for team success this time and for us to progress out of this group.”
Coach Aurelio Vidmar said: “I said at the beginning of the competition, you lose one game and it makes it very difficult to play catch up. What we’ve done is set ourselves up for a good run in and so three points will be vital for us.
“I think it’s a game we can win and if we can win it will put us in a pretty good position.”
The hosts may be bottom of the Champions League group with two defeats from two games but the conditions are very much in their favour.
Dodd and his colleagues are battling heat and humidity as they prepare for the match and the captain will be stressing the importance of energy conservation during the game.
Speaking to au.fourfourtwo.com from the team’s Vietnamese base, the Adelaide captain said: “The boys have trained well and are looking to build on the unbeaten start we’ve had to the group.
“Obviously it’s pretty humid and that means you have to put a smart performance together. That means making your runs in a match when it’s right to do it and not charging around at 100 miles an hour.
“You have to make sure you are competitive and doing the right things for the whole 90 minutes of the match.”
While it may be top versus bottom, Dodd refuses to accept that Adelaide are clear favourites for victory - confident, yes...complacent, no.
He said: “I think you only have to look at what happened to Melbourne Victory in their last match in Thailand. A lot of people thought they were favourites to win there and it didn’t happen for them.”
Dodd at least goes into the match with positive memories of Vietnamese opposition in this competition.
He scored United’s second goal in last season’s 2-0 away win over Dong Tam Long An and then blasted a hat-trick in the final group game against the same opponents at Hindmarsh Stadium, a 3-0 triumph.
He said: “It was very satisfying to score those goals but I’d sacrifice personal achievement for team success this time and for us to progress out of this group.”
Coach Aurelio Vidmar said: “I said at the beginning of the competition, you lose one game and it makes it very difficult to play catch up. What we’ve done is set ourselves up for a good run in and so three points will be vital for us.
“I think it’s a game we can win and if we can win it will put us in a pretty good position.”
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