Football
AAP 5y

Adelaide United coach backs new signing Ken Ilso to solve goal shortage

Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz has said he expects star signing Ken Ilso to help fix the club's lack of goals.

But Kurz added that he felt the 31-year-old Danish attacker had spent too long playing in Malaysia before moving to Adelaide.

Ilso played in Singapore in 2015-16 before spending the past two years in Malaysia.

"He played too long in Malaysia -- in Malaysia he can play with 60 percent," Kurz told reporters on Thursday.

"The players here, the intensity is higher, it's true."

Ilso will make his A-League debut for Adelaide in Friday's season-opener against Sydney FC.

"He can be an important part in our team, and I expect goals from him of course," Kurz said.

Scoring was Adelaide's problem last season, when the Reds were beaten in an elimination final.

They managed just 37 A-League goals, with their 12.1 percent conversion rate the second-worst in the competition, and their shooting accuracy -- 38.7 percent -- was a league low.

"I expect more goals from the whole team," Kurz said. "We had last season a lot of good chances but we didn't score enough goals, and that is one of the things we have do to better this season."

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