Brisbane Roar midfield dynamo Thomas Broich is set to return to the starting eleven for tomorrow night’s fixture against Perth Glory, warning the visiting side they should be intimidated taking on the ladder leaders at Suncorp Stadium.
Broich missed Sunday-s 1-0 win over Adelaide United with a groin complaint but Brisbane showed no hints of instability despite also missing captain Matt McKay and defender Ivan Franjic.
One week on the sidelines was too long for the German and, although he was disappointed to miss Hindmarsh Stadium match-up, Broich praised the work of Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff for instilling a football philosophy instead of relying on the merits of individual players to get results.
“I-m absolutely looking forward to playing tomorrow, especially at home,” Broich said.
“It-s always great fun playing at Suncorp so I can-t wait for the game to begin.
“It was hard to watch the game, especially because it was a top of the table clash against Adelaide.
“It-s a good thing to see that it-s the structure and the idea of football that works, not just individuals.”
Positive that adding another game to their existing unbeaten run of 19 games was well within Brisbane-s reach, Broich said the onus would fall on Perth Glory to come to Suncorp Stadium to get a result.
Confidence would be sky-high in the Glory camp after a tough draw against Gold Coast United and a 4-2 victory over second-placed Adelaide but history is against Ian Ferguson-s side, having only ever registered one win at Suncorp Stadium in eight attempts.
In addition to that statistic, Brisbane haven-t lost at home in 12 matches – a record stretching back to their last home game of last season against Sydney FC.
“We are a team that is all about performances, it-s nice to have the streak but to be perfectly honest, I think the pressure is on other teams,” Broich said.
“We are quite confident at the moment and they are coming to Suncorp, they should be intimidated.
“Robbie Fowler is very dangerous and their whole team has certainly improved but we-re at home and we-re top of the table.
“If we keep our momentum and play the way we-ve been playing, we should win this game.”
Heading into the business end of the Hyundai A-League season, Broich said the Brisbane club had proved over the course of the campaign they had what it takes to become champions, overcoming a number of hurdles that had already been thrown their way.
The former FC Nuremberg midfielder highlighted the team-s initial lack of goals and heavy fixture list as tough obstacles in their quest for silverware but conceded their biggest challenge was yet to come.
“We-re not a team of individuals, you can see last week that the boys that came in did a fantastic job and that will be important tomorrow as well,” he said.
“We had a couple of difficult stages this year.
“At the beginning of the season, everyone was saying that this is a team that couldn-t score.
“Then we had all those games and everyone said it-s too exhausting and in the end they will start losing games.
“Now we-ve got a few players out and still we keep winning.
“We-ve already answered a few questions but the big question is still – can we win the league?
“That-s still has to be proven.”
In other team news, Ivan Franjic will miss the Perth clash after failing to recover from a quad strain, meaning Milan Susak keeps his spot in the starting eleven.
Brisbane Roar vs. Perth Glory
Friday, 7 January 2010
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Local kick-off: 7:30pm (8.30pm AEDT)
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant referees: Brad Hobson and Ashley Beecham
Fourth official: Matt Gillett
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1, FS1 HD & Sky Sport 2 (NZ). Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 6PR 882AM (Perth). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH, 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO, 10. HENRIQUE, 12. Matt MUNDY, 14. Rocky VISCONTE, 17. Mitch NICHOLS, 18. Luke BRATTAN, 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK
*one to be omitted*
In: Thomas BROICH (returns from injury)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Ivan FRANJIC (quad – 1 week), Matt McKAY (international duty – 4 weeks)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Josh MITCHELL, 3.Jamie COYNE, 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 7.Jacob BURNS (c), 9.Robbie FOWLER, 12.Scott NEVILLE, 13.Tommy AMPHLETT, 14.Steven McGARRY, 15.Howard FONDYKE, 16. Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17. Todd HOWARTH, 20.Alex Pearson (gk), 21.Mile STERJOVSKI, 22.Anthony SKORICH, 24.Josh RISDON
*one to be omitted*
In: Anthony SKORICH (promoted), Josh RISDON (promoted)
Out: Naum SEKULOVSKI (knee)
Unavailable: Chris COYNE (achilles – 1 week), Victor SIKORA (hip – season), Naum SEKULOVSKI (knee – 1 week)
Head-to-Head: All matches (played 17): Brisbane Roar wins 11, Perth Glory wins 3 (3 draws)
Brisbane Roar take on Perth Glory on Friday 7 January at Suncorp Stadium, kicking off at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at Ticketek.
