Cornthwaite hungry for title
Adelaide United FC defender Robert Cornthwaite would like nothing more than to bring the Hyundai A-League championship home to South Australia for the club’s supporters.
Preparing to play in his first Hyundai A-League Grand Final, Cornthwaite says winning the Hyundai A-league title would be the pinnacle and the accolade he would greatly like to be associated with.
“It will be my first grand final at senior level, and we-ll be looking to come home with the trophy for all of the Adelaide United fans,” Cornthwaite said.
“It-s what you play for. I think that-s the one the fans want to win the most, so for me I definitely want to win the A-League and that would be the most important thing.”
Following The Reds- Preliminary Final triumph over the Queensland Roar, Cornthwaite says the squad is quietly confident of getting the better of their Victorian rivals. Despite United being unable to take a point off Melbourne in five attempts this season, he claims The Reds are capable of beating them on the big stage of the Telstra Dome in the final game of the season.
“Melbourne are a very good side and we-re going to have to be at the top of our game,” Cornthwaite said.
“Of course they-re beatable, they-ve lost this season. Obviously we haven-t beaten them (this season) but there has only been one goal in it on three occasions, so we-re quietly confident that we can do the job.”
Cornthwaite identified Melbourne-s attacking duo Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson as the main threats on Saturday, and believes if The Reds can restrict their influence it will give United a greater chance to cause an upset.
“Danny Allsopp and Archie Thompson are excellent players and I think if we can stop them we can go a long way to winning it,” Cornthwaite said.
“They-re going to have their chances but as long as we limit their chances in front of goal we-ll have a good opportunity.”
While stopping Melbourne from scoring will be a major focus, Cornthwaite also hopes he and central defensive partner Sasa Ognenovski can provide some headaches at the other end for Melbourne-s defence, particularly in the air.
With a physique in a similar mould to that of tall lanky England striker Peter Crouch, Cornthwaite has proved a constant threat this season and has scored twice this season.
“Sasa and I have both got one away from home this season so hopefully come Saturday one of us can get our head on the end of a cross, free kick or corner and score,” he said.
Comprehensively outplayed by Melbourne over two legs in the Major Semi Final, Cornthwaite says the squad has not reflected on those matches and that the playing group goes into the Grand Final with a more relaxed attitude.
“Those games are completely out of our minds now. We had a good week on the track last week and a good performance last Saturday night, and now we-re just looking forward to this week with a fresh mind,” he stated.
“There has been a lot of talk that we haven-t beaten them this year but it-s a one off game and we-re pretty confident we can get the result.”
The thought of the championship being decided by a penalty shootout has also not escaped Cornthwaite, but he has his own fairytale finish in mind.
“We-d like to finish it in regulation time, keep a clean sheet and get a goal in the 90th minute, Travis Dodd I reckon, that would be a nice way to finish it,” Cornthwaite said.
The match at the Telstra Dome kicks off at 7.00pm (ACDT).