Brisbane Roar will play their first competitive match of the 2024/25 season when they face Perth Glory in the Australia Cup Finals Round Playoffs at Darwin Football Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Playoffs which are all held in Darwin feature the four clubs that finished 9th to 12th in the Isuzu UTE A-League Men 2023/24 Regular Season.
The two victorious teams will qualify for the Australia Cup 2024 Round of 32 and join the top eight teams from the Isuzu UTE A-League Men 2023/24 Regular Season, as well as 22 Member Federation clubs from a variety of levels and locations from right across Australia’s football ecosystem.
Roar will host Melbourne City in the Australia Cup Round of 32 in Brisbane on Saturday, August 3 should they prevail against Perth on Tuesday night.
Roar supporters can expect to see a number of debuts in Tuesday’s Play Off with Head Coach, Ruben Zadkovich having brought in seven news faces so far as he oversees his first transfer window at the helm in Brisbane.
Ben Warland, Marcus Ferkranus, Harry Van Der Saag, Hosine Bility, Walid Shour, Ben Halloran and former Glory forward Adam Zimarino have all arrived in Brisbane ahead of the new campaign.
Zadkovich, who goes up against his former club having previously served as Head Coach and player in the West said his side were raring to go ahead of Tuesday’s cup clash.
“Training’s one thing, games are different,” Zadkovich said.
“The boys are definitely excited for this game, it’s a great opportunity for us to go and put our best foot forward and implement what we’ve been working on, on the training deck.
“There’s a positivity in the group that excites me and I’m really looking forward to this game.”
Perth Glory, who finished bottom of the A-League ladder last season have been busy in the off season with new Head Coach, David Zdrillic set to take charge of his first competitive match on Tuesday.
Twelve players exited Perth while Zdrillic’s side have completed eleven new signings including former Roar duo, Taras Gomulka and Nikola Mileusnic who both departed the club at the conclusion of the 2023/24 season.
In 2023 Brisbane Roar reached the Australia Cup Final for the first time in club history thanks to wins over Newcastle Jets, Sydney United, Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Knights before being edged out 3-1 by Sydney FC in the show piece match at Allianz Stadium.
Roar defender, Ben Warland who is in line to make his competitive debut for the club on Tuesday night said his side are hungry to go one step further in 2024.
“Coming so close last year, just falling at the final hurdle, I think it spurs everyone on to make sure we do really well this campaign and and take it one step further,” Warland said.
“We’re trying to implement what we’ve been learning in the first few weeks of pre-season, Perth have had a lot of turnover as well, so I guess you could say you don’t really know what to expect but we’re just focusing on ourselves and we’re ready to win.”
Every match in the Australia Cup 2024 Final Rounds – including the Playoffs – will be streamed live and free on 10 Play.
MATCH DETAILS
Australia Cup 2024 – Final Rounds Playoffs: Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory
Darwin Football Stadium at Larrakia Park
Tuesday, 23 July (7:30pm KO AEST)
TICKETS
