Brisbane Roar have no time to celebrate qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage, as they visit Melbourne City on Saturday night (6:50pm QLD time).
The Roar qualified for the tournament at the expense of Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua with a stunning 2-0 away victory on Wednesday and now turn their attention back to the Hyundai A-League.
Brisbane are currently in third place and would extend their lead over fourth-placed City to five points with a win.
Brandon Borrello was a star of Brisbane’s ACL qualification, bagging five goals and an assist in games against Global FC and Shanghai Shenhua.
Thrilled with the win in China, Borrello believes recent results can help propel the Roar to even greater heights.
“It’s always good to put consistent performances together. [Wednesday] night will bring the team closer to realising what we have,” Borrello said.
“We dug deep and got the result.”
Borrello understands the importance of this week’s match and is backing his team to take all three points in Melbourne.
“We’re neck and neck with City for third place at the moment and we always seem to play well down in Melbourne,” said Borrello.
“We have the squad depth and the structures that will hopefully get us over the line.”
The Roar’s ticket to the ACL group stage will add at least six games to their schedule as the Hyundai A-League Final series approaches, but the 22-year-old knows his team can deal with the workload.
“We embrace this challenge, and it’s great to have matches against high-quality opposition every couple of days at the moment,” Borrello said.
“We always set high standards at this Club, the schedule is hectic but during preseason we prepared ourselves for what was to come.”
After making his mark on the ACL in impressive fashion, Borrello is now aiming to continue his form on the domestic scene.
“Goals in every campaign would be nice! I seem to do some of my best work in Asia but hopefully I can bring that into the A-League,” Borrello said.
Match details
Melbourne City FC v Brisbane Roar FC
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7:50PM (Local), 6:50PM (QLD time)
Melbourne City FC squad: 1.Thomas SORENSEN (gk), 3.Josh ROSE, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 8.Neil KILKENNY, 9.Nicolas COLAZO, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Bruce KAMAU, 12.Nick FITZGERALD, 14.Daniel ARZANI, 18.Paulo RETRE, 21.Ruon TONGYIK, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 29.Braeydn CROWLEY, 34.Denis GENREAU, 35.Christian CAVALLO, 36.Dylan PIERIAS, 40.Yaren SOZER (gk), 41.Yusuf AHMED **two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Josh ROSE (promoted), 12.Nick FITZGERALD (promoted), 14.Daniel ARZANI (promoted), 29.Braeydn CROWLEY (promoted), 34.Denis GENREAU (promoted), 35.Christian CAVALLO (promoted), 36.Dylan PIERIAS (promoted), 40.Yaren SOZER (gk) (promoted), 41.Yusuf AHMED (promoted)
Outs: 2.Manny MUSCAT (suspended – 1 match), 6.Osama MALIK (suspended – 1 match), 17.Tim Cahill (suspended – 1 match), 20.Dean BOUZANIS (gk) (suspended – 5 matches), 23. Bruno FORNAROLI (suspended – 1 match), 26.Luke BRATTAN (suspended – 1 match), 27.Fernando BRANDAN (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 7.Corey GAMEIRO (ACL – season), 28.Steve KUZMANOVSKI (ACL – season)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 15.ARANA, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 20.Shannon BRADY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 46.Cameron CRESTANI, 50.Dane INGHAM **two to be omitted**
Ins: 20.Shannon BRADY (promoted), 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO (promoted), 28.Brandon BORRELLO (returns from suspension), 46.Cameron CRESTANI (promoted), 50.Dane INGHAM (promoted)
Outs: 13.Jade NORTH (suspended – 1 match), 19.Jack HINGERT (ankle – 2 weeks), 23.Dimitri PETRATOS (international transfer to Korea)
Unavailable: Nil
Referee: Alan Milliner; Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis; Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Brown; Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 7.45pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 1 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Radio Melbourne, ABC Radio Brisbane, ABC Radio Vic/Qld, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live
