Brisbane Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey has tipped his side to come out on the front foot when they face Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium on New Year’s Day.
Brisbane Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey has tipped his side to come out on the front foot when they face Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium on New Year-s Day.
Both sides come into the match on the back of confidence-boosting wins – Wellington securing a come-from-behind 3-2 home win over Melbourne Heart, while Brisbane return home having secured its first away win of the season courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Adelaide United.
Mulvey said he had a quiet confidence his side could secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season having seen an increase in intensity at training following the win in Adelaide.
“Whether it-s Wellington or any other team we-ll be firing from the first second,” Mulvey said.
“I have a great respect for Wellington, they-ve got a great work ethic.
“We-re certainly not going to be complacent, we need to be on our toes.
“It-s very important that we win at home, it-s very important to give the crowd something to get behind us with.
“If you can get a win on the board and back it up with another one it builds some momentum and that-s certainly what we-re after.”
While many are pointing to the fact a win could push the Roar into the top six, Mulvey said he was keeping his focus, and that of the squad, on the task at hand.
“There-s still plenty of football left in this season yet,” he said.
“I read somewhere recently that new coaches in the A-League had a honeymoon period and nothing applied to myself.
“I was asked after the game against Adelaide if it was a relief.
“It certainly wasn-t a relief, what it was, was an expectation.
“I expected us to win in Adelaide and I demand that level of performance from the players.”
Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith echoed the sentiments of his coach, saying the playing group were now focused on improving from the encouraging performance from Boxing Day.
“I felt it was the best all-round performance that we-ve had against Adelaide last week,” Smith said.
“That-s our benchmark, that-s something we-ve now set.
“It-s now down to us to keep growing on that and that-s something, along with the three points, which tomorrow will be a key target.”
Tomorrow-s game kicks off at 7.30pm (QLD time) and tickets are available through Ticketek.
Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 7:30pm local (8:30pm AEDT)
Referee: Tim McGilchrist
Assistant Referee 1: David Walsh
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Beecham
Fourth Official: Peter Green
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1HD and Sky Sport 1.
ABC Radio Coverage – Grandstand Digital in Brisbane and Radio Sport NZ
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #ROARvNIX
Brisbane Roar Squad: 1. Michael Theo (GK), 2. Matt Smith (c), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 4. Matt Jurman, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 10. Henrique, 11. Ben Halloran, 15. James Donachie, 17. Mitch Nichols, 20. Matt Acton (GK), 22. Thomas Broich, 24. Nick Fitzgerald.
Ins: Nil
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Jack Hingert (hip injury – 4-6 weeks), Do Dong-Hyun (knee – 2-3 weeks)
Wellington Phoenix Squad: 1.Mark Paston (GK), 2.Manny Muscat, 3.Tony Lochhead, 6.Alex Smith, 7.Leo Bertos, 9.Benjamin Totori, 10.Stein Huysegems, 11.Jeremy Brockie, 12.Tyler Boyd, 15.Cameron Lindsay, 16.Louis Fenton, 17.Vince Lia, 18.Ben Sigmund, 21.Dani Sanchez, 22.Andrew Durante (C), 30.Griffin McMaster (GK). *one to be omitted
In: 15.Cameron Lindsay (promoted).
Out: Nil
Unavailable: 8.Paul Ifill (ankle injury – 4-5 weeks), 23.Lucas Pantelis (knee injury – indefinite).
