Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz has no regrets after penalty shootout finals loss to Perth

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz says he and his coaching staff can be proud of what they achieved in the wake of Friday’s heart-breaking semi-final loss as the club explains chairman Piet van der Pol’s absence.

Outgoing striker Papa Babacar Diawara scores the goal which got Adelaide United back in the game at HBF Park on Friday. (AAP Image/Tony McDonough)

• Reds keen to keep the band together
• Proud Kurz prepares for Reds exit
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• Reds fuming over penalty shootout oversight
• Heartbreaking penalty shootout loss for Reds

Friday night’s painful loss in Perth was coach Marco Kurz’s Adelaide United swan song but he says he is leaving the club with no regrets.

His brilliant assistant coaches former Croatian international Filip Tapalovic and ex Socceroo Frank Juric are also expected to depart next week.

Marco Kurz says goodbye to players, including Nathan Konstandopoulos, at Adelaide Airport. Picture: AAP/Brenton Edwards

“We can be proud about what we did here — all the coaching staff, Filip and Frank, the staff, the athletic coaches,’’ Kurz said. “We’ve done a good job, improved the young players and also the team.

“The goals from the club, we improved in the second year.”

United chairman Piet van der Pol was absent from Friday’s thrilling clash, which saw Adelaide miss out on a grand final berth by the barest of margins — a 5-4 shootout loss to Perth Glory after fighting back for a 3-3 draw in 120 minutes.

“Piet is currently overseas on business and was not able to attend the match in Perth,’’ said a Reds official.

“However, should we have made it to the grand final, he had organised to return.”

It is unclear whether van der Pol will join Kurz at the Reds table at Monday night’s Dolan Warren A-League awards in Sydney, after potential new coach Gertjan Verbeek told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad that he would meet an Adelaide United official to discuss a deal over the weekend.

Adelaide United chairman Piet van der Pol, right, with Nathan Kosmina. Picture: AAP Image/David Mariuz

Popular Kurz almost had the ending he deserved in Perth. He was finally able to show how good Papa Babacar Diawara is, with the Senegalese striker responding to his critics in the best possible way after a long injury absence.

For the third consecutive match since his return, Baba’s contribution changed the game’s narrative.

Just when it appeared Glory had put a mortgage on the game at 2-0 with a 74th-minute second goal to Diego Castro, Baba’s opportunistic 81st-minute strike opened the door for potentially one of the greatest Reds comebacks.

But like Kurz, Baba did not have his contract extended and is on his way out, alongside provisionally suspended Ken Ilso and Melbourne City target Scott Galloway.

Sources say Vince Lia has told the club he will make a decision on a contract extension once a new coach is announced.

Adelaide was just a couple of botched penalty kicks away from reaching the final, and a chance to win a spot in the 2020 AFC Champions League.

Adelaide’s cruel exit in Perth was also the first time the Reds had managed to take such a game to a shootout, after eight brutal consecutive finals defeats in 90 minutes on the road in the A-League.

Last year, the club suffered in the finals to eventual champion Melbourne Victory (2-1) away when Besart Berisha scored a late goal.

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