The equation is simple: take three points in the penultimate home game of the season against a Sydney FC side in the midst of their own upheavals and extend the campaign for another week.
Sometimes luck is just not on your side, and quite how Brisbane Roar lost 2-1 to Wellington Phoenix before the international break is anyone’s guess.
Having taken an early lead through Dimitri Valkanis – who was ultimately credited with the goal, although on first glance it looked like an Olimpico off a corner from full-back James McGarry – the hosts only lost the game after pushing everyone forward in search of a late winner following Corbin Piper’s equaliser shortly before half-time.
But if there’s one thing you can say about this season, it’s that the men in orange have never once given up the fight.
They’ll need all of that fighting spirit against a Sydney FC side that now has Patrick Kisnorbo in the dugout after former coach Ufuk Talay agreed to part ways with the Sky Blues.
And with Sydney FC now fifth in the standings and looking to shore up their own finals ambitions, this should be a fascinating clash heading into the Easter long weekend.
We know things haven’t exactly gone to plan this season, especially since the turn of the year.
But such is the closeness of the campaign that Brisbane Roar only go into this encounter four points adrift of a finals position – and that’s with a crucial clash to come against the seventh-placed Central Coast Mariners in Gosford next week.
Michael Valkanis’ men may have gone down 1-0 to Sydney FC just five weeks ago at Allianz Stadium – thanks to a deflected winner from Tiago Quintal – but the Roar have a decent overall record against the Sky Blues and will be looking to make the most of visitors’ sudden managerial change.
There have been some other high points, too, over the back end of the season – including the emergence of teenage striker Niall Thom.
The 19-year-old came off the bench to good effect against the Phoenix and with Chris Long and the on-loan Nick D’Agostino both out for the foreseeable future, Roar fans will hope Thom can add to the goal he scored on debut against the Western Sydney Wanderers a couple of weeks ago.
The return of Henry Hore has been another positive, with the industrious attacking midfielder providing some much needed creative spark since his return to the starting eleven.
But regardless of who steps up against the Sky Blues, it feels like only a win will keep the season alive.
Collect three points and Brisbane Roar fans can sit back and relax for the Easter long weekend knowing that it’s all to play for in Gosford the following week.
But anything less than a victory and it’s pretty much game over for the season.
That’s a disappointing outcome for a campaign that started with so much promise – even if the bounce of the ball has continually gone against the team in orange.
Hopefully there’s a change of fortune on a night when nothing else other than three points will do. If the hosts are to have any chance of extending the season, they’ll need to put recent results aside and simply focus on the job at hand.
After the women’s team took a step closer to finals football with a superb 4-2 victory over the Newcastle Jets last weekend, now it’s the men’s turn.
Forget the Easter eggs – all Brisbane Roar fans want is a seventh win of the season against a team that should be considered one of their biggest rivals.
Beat Patrick Kisnorbo and co and that will very much be the case.
Mike Tuckerman
About Mike Tuckerman: Mike is a freelance football journalist and long-time Brisbane Roar watcher. He has written for the ABC, The Guardian, Australian Football Weekly, Football Australia and theroar.com.au.
