Freelance football journalist, Mike Tuckerman returns to preview our clash with defending champions, Auckland FC this Friday night at Suncorp Stadium.
If you’re only as good as your last game, then Brisbane Roar fans are pretty much looking at the best team in the A-League Men’s competition.
The men in orange may have ridden their luck in the second half of last Friday’s 2-1 win over Perth Glory, but there were enough signs in the first half to suggest this new-look team will be tough to beat.
In fact, there were so many positives it’s hard to know where to start. But let’s do so with Justin Vidic, who was deservedly named player of the match on the back of one of his most effective performances in orange.
It wasn’t just that Vidic opened the scoring, peeling away from his marker to tap home Tate Russell’s intelligent cut-back just before the half-hour mark.
Just as impressive was his relentless pressing on the night, which forced Glory to sit deep and spend much of the first half of the back foot.
On another night, Vidic would have scored more than his solitary goal. But he was helped in no small part by Virgiliu Postolachi, whose near-post run dragged former Lions FC defender Cher Deng with him and opened the space for Vidic to tap home the opener.
It was a vindication of coach Michael Valkanis’ decision to play two up top and a signal of attacking intent for the season ahead.
Postolachi had plenty of good moments in a 65-minute A-League Men’s debut, before German import Marko Ilic came on and turned on the afterburners as he tormented the Glory defence.
Ilic’s eye-catching runs down the left-hand side suggest the former TSV Havelse flyer will offer plenty in attack this season and should ensure the side maintains plenty of momentum in the second half of games.
And if we’re singling out impressive attacking performers, how good was Nam Tae-hee?
The former South Korean international was always going to show plenty of class, but few could have predicted just how well he’d control the tempo of the game in midfield.
Nam looked a cut above in that first half against Perth, and he capped an assured display with an early contender for goal of the season when he deftly flicked up a Glory clearance before expertly dispatching it with an expertly taken volley from outside the box.
If Nam stays fit, he’ll be one of the signings of the season.
But there were plenty of others who looked the goods on the night – including, it’s worth pointing out, Joel King.
Yes, the former Sydney FC defender would no doubt love to have his attempted back pass to debutant goalkeeper George Plusnin over again.
But aside from that one mistake, both King and his right-sided counterpart Russell provided plenty of drive going forward and looked calm in defence.
Plusnin himself was rarely tested in assured performance from the 18-year-old, and while Stefan Colakovski could have equalised midway through the second half, the fact that he sliced his one-on-one effort horribly wide suggests that even luck may be on Brisbane Roar’s side this season.
One win doesn’t make a season, of course, but we saw enough in the season opener to suggest the Roar will cause plenty of headaches for opposition sides.
Yet the visit of defending champions Auckland is another step up in quality, even if their English import Sam Cosgrove will miss Friday night’s showdown through suspension.
The Kiwis still have plenty of talent – including former Newcastle Jets flyer Lachie Bayliss and All Whites international Logan Rogerson – and they’ll be out for redemption following their 5-2 mauling at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers in Parramatta last week.
It all sets up another fascinating clash under the lights at Suncorp Stadium.
Auckland won’t be easy. But on the basis of what we saw last Friday night, there’s no reason to doubt Brisbane Roar won’t take the game to the defending champions.
GRAB YOUR TICKETS HERE NOW FOR THIS FRIDAY’S CLASH
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.
