A-League soccer, 2022: Jets battle extreme heat in crucial win over Adelaide United

A well-constructed Jaushua Sotirio goal in the 25^th minute was the difference in furnace-like conditions at Coopers Stadium on Tuesday night, which required drinks breaks every 15 minutes.

"We had four players lose over three kilograms during the match," Papas said.

"We had good strategies in place, and I think we managed it as well as we could from the sports science side of things.

"Either way it was extreme heat. They worked really hard and some players lost a lot of weight.

"But they have all pulled up really well, which is the main thing."

Jets players follow a set routine after every match that involves hydration, active recovery, stretching, nutrition and sleep.

"We noted where they were hydration-wise and where we wanted them to be back at by morning, in terms of their weight," Papas said. "Also what they needed to do on Wednesday because we had to travel as well. A bit of rest is just as important."

The pressure cooker in Adelaide was the Jets' fourth match in 16 days. They have a five-day turnaround before hosting Sydney FC.

Papas is wary of his players being "flat" and will monitor individuals closely.

"They had to work so hard to get the result against Adelaide," he said. "Evidently, they wake up feeling good because of the three points, but there is definitely a fatigue factor.

"We have to be really good at assessing how they are progressing over the next few days and make decisions based on that.

"We will make changes if it is about freshening or tactically we feel it is the right approach. We made some changes for Tuesday and it worked well."

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As well as rotate the squad, the Jets prepared with the Adelaide heatwave and the likelihood of extra drinks breaks in mind.

"We knew we had to work for 15-minute blocks," Papas said. "We didn't think about 45 minutes, we thought about 15-minute blocks.

"One of the strategies was to make sure we got our sports scientist guys onto the players immediately (during the breaks). We got around them and explained what was the first action we wanted to achieve from the restart - whether it was a goal kick, a free kick, a throw in - and to try to win those moments.

"The first 30 minutes, I thought we did that well. The last 15 minutes leading into the half, we conceded some space and they became dangerous but we came out OK.

"Overall, we probably won the big moment in the game and that was the difference."

A maximum temperature of 26 degrees is predicted for Sunday. Kick-off is at 3pm, however Papas was more concerned about the threat Sydney pose than the weather.

"We have shown that we can cope in the heat," he said. "The first game back after the [World Cup] break against Central Coast was really hot. We have played in Adelaide in extreme heat. I don't have any worries about playing at 3pm. We have shown that we are resilient enough to overcome conditions."

Sydney were humbled 3-0 by Macarthur on Christmas Eve and have slipped to 10th spot on 10 points, two points behind the sixth-placed Jets.

"They are a really good squad and have been one of the better footballing teams so far this season. It obviously hasn't clicked for them completely. But they are still the only team to beat Melbourne City. They will get respect but we will make it difficult as possible when they come to Newcastle."