Adelaide United coach Carl Veart says his side’s inability to capitalise on their dominance against Perth Glory was a collective issue as the Reds were made to settle for a point in Friday's 2-2 A-League Men's draw.
The undefeated United kicked off at a blistering pace at Coopers Stadium against a Glory side who had only registered one point from their opening five games heading into the clash.
Adelaide dominated the opening 45 minutes and spent much of their time camped in Glory’s half but they failed to register a shot on target before half-time, as Adam Taggart broke the deadlock minutes before the interval.
The Reds responded in perfect fashion, scoring twice in as many minutes almost immediately after the restart through Zach Clough and Bart Vriends.
But Taggart hit back with his second on the hour to ensure a share of the points.
"At the end of the day it wasn't any individuals that cost us, or (who) could've done anything (different); it was the whole team, collective," said Veart.
"We had a lot of possession but we kept playing back inside to where all their numbers were which made it difficult for us to create opportunities.
"The moments that we did give the ball away we were just a little bit too far away to stop the transition.
"So it's more of a team thing that we need to be better at and it’s something that we'll have a good look at. It's still early in the season, we’re still working and that's all we can do."
Veart felt his side lacked the polish to outmanoeuvre Glory, who with four losses already this season, lined up conservatively, sat back and weathered the early storm, content to hit Adelaide on the counter.
"We needed to be better in getting the ball wide and around them because when you play against teams with such a low block in and around the edge of the box, it’s very difficult to break down," he said.
"It’s not just in the A-League, it’s in world football and you have to have those solutions and tonight we just couldn't; we just didn't have the cutting edge to get through that."
Glory coach David Zdrilic acknowledged the horror start to the campaign, which included a 6-1 loss to Macarthur on the opening day of the season and a 5-0 loss to Melbourne City three weeks ago.
Zdrilic said results so far have dented the Glory’s confidence and there was a familiar feeling when his team coughed up its 1-0 half time lead, conceding two goals in quick succession just minutes into the second half.
But, after fending off United’s comeback, the former Socceroo was happy with his team’s response as Taggart equalised to help Glory record a second draw for the season.
"I don't want to take you through every game but basically this season we started with a massive, bad first half against Macarthur and that put a shock in everyone because the whole preseason was predominantly positive," he said.
"I think that put us back a little bit in terms of our confidence.
"That was a big plus for us tonight that we fought through it (going behind).
"Because it was like 'here we go again' kind of feeling; but they reset themselves, they went again and we created some very good chances."
