Brisbane Roar striker Jamie Maclaren believes home-field advantage will be a major factor when the Roar take on Western Sydney Wanderers in their Hyundai A-League Elimination Final on Friday night.
The Roar lost 5-4 to Western Sydney in a Semi Final last season, but that match took place at the Wanderers’ Parramatta Stadium.
Fresh off sharing Golden Boot honours with former Roar striker Besart Berisha, Maclaren is confident the thousands of orange-clad fans at Suncorp Stadium will spur the Roar to victory.
“You can’t stress enough how important it is to play at home,” said Maclaren as the 2017 Championship Trophy visited Brisbane.
“It’s a great stadium and our fans are behind us. I’m sure we’ll get the result for them.”
Last season’s Semi Final loss came after the Roar raced out to a 3-0 lead, and Maclaren is adamant his side has learnt from their mistakes.
“We started the game well against Western Sydney last year,” Maclaren said.
“If we can continue that and follow through for the full 90 minutes, we should be good.”
The Roar attack has been firing in recent weeks after spluttering earlier in the campaign, and Maclaren is pleased to be a key part of the Roar’s fine late-season form.
“From the start of the season we’ve gradually scored more goals as it’s gone on,” said Maclaren.
“We’re hitting our straps at a good time and we just can’t wait for Friday.”
Brett Holman also spoke to the media at Suncorp Stadium, one day after his matchwinning double against Wellington Phoenix.
Holman has been impressed with the vibe in the Roar squad throughout his first season in Brisbane.
“There’s some sort of chemistry in this dressing room that you can’t really describe, and I think you saw it [against Wellington]”, said Holman.
“It’s all guns blazing and the focus is completely on Friday night.”
