Attacker Scott McDonald is excited for his first experience of Redcliffe’s Dolphin Stadium this Saturday afternoon.
The former Socceroos striker returns to contention for the clash with the Glory after missing last week’s win in Ballarat against Western United.
The 36-year-old has heard only positive things from the Roar’s last outing at the venue & is excited for the contest between two of the league’s form sides.
“Really looking forward to this weekend playing against Perth, a really good opposition and it should be a really good game in what will be an amazing atmosphere,” McDonald said.
“There is a real buzz around the whole city now. Everyone is really looking forward to getting there [Redcliffe] in what will be a fantastic atmosphere and hopefully we can pick up all three points and really push up that table.”
“It takes a couple of weeks and I think for me, match sharpness was a big thing as well because I missed quite a few weeks at the backend of being at Western United.
“Tomorrow, if selected, I will be more than ready to go.”
McDonald is hoping to extend his recent purple patch of form in Redcliffe after proving himself to be instrumental in the Roar’s surge up the ladder over the last few weeks.
He was a key contributor in his last outing against Adelaide where he contributed to both of Brisbane’s goals, including the assist for Captain Tom Aldred’s winner.
“It was a really good time for me to come into the club with the squad winning a couple of games before I got here and we’ve managed to keep that momentum going,” McDonald continued.
“With that as well, the belief has grown that where we are is where we belong, and we’re striving to push even further up the table.”
The former Celtic striker has brought some useful experience to a youthful group of attackers, but he’s been impressed with how much the Roar’s younger brigade have developed in his short time at the Club.
“Mirza [Muratovic] has done absolutely phenomenally since he came into the squad, even before I came here, and has been part of the huge success that has been part of this club for the last six to seven weeks,” he added.
“Dylan [Wenzel-Halls] as well has played a lot of games and done a great job for us… getting the winner against Wellington.
“It’s fantastic for the Manager to call upon not just the more experienced ones but the younger ones who can really add a lot of value to the team and to the squad and they’re showing that right now.”
The Roar come in to the contest in good form, holding an undefeated home record in 2020. The Glory join the Roar as one of the league’s most in-form sides & will be a tough challenge despite a short turnaround from midweek AFC Champions League commitments.
“They’re a very tough team to break down. They’re coming off a long journey being in the [AFC] Champions League so I’m hoping a little bit that they’ll be fatigued but you can’t take that for granted or see it as an advantage, you’ve got to go in there and play it as it is,” McDonald continued.
“Perth are a top side with some great attacking options as well so they’ll be a huge threat to us and we’re well aware of their capabilities.
“But as always it’s more what we can do. I think that’s been the case in the last few weeks in terms of winning games and being on the front foot and what we can do to hurt teams has been a real positive.”
MATCH DETAILS
Hyundai A-League 2019/20: Round 20 – Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory
Dolphins Stadium, Redcliffe
Saturday, 22 February (4pm KO)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Max CROCOMBE (gk), 2.Scott NEVILLE, 3.Corey BROWN, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Tom ALDRED (c), 6.Macaulay GILLESPHEY, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 10.Bradden INMAN, 12.Aiden O’NEILL, 15.Aaron REARDON, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Aaron AMADI-HOLLOWAY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Jake MCGING, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Jay O’SHEA, 27.Kai TREWIN, 30.Mirza MURATOVIC, 77.Scott MCDONALD ** 2-4 to be omitted **
Ins: 15.Aaron REARDON (promoted), 27.Kai TREWIN (promoted), 77.Scott MCDONALD (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 28.Izaack POWELL (international duty), 29.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS (knee – TBC)
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Jacob TRATT, 4.Gregory WUTHRICH, 5.Ivan FRANJIC, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.James MEREDITH, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 12.Kim SOO-BEOM, 13.Osama MALIK, 16.Tomislav MRCELA, 17.Diego CASTRO (c), 18.Nicholas D’AGOSTINO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 21.Tarek ELRICH, 22.Vince LIA, 28.Gabriel POPOVIC, 29.Kristian POPOVIC, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 88.Neil KILKENNY **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Jacob TRATT (promoted), 13.Osama MALIK (promoted), 17.Diego CASTRO (c) (returns from injury)
Outs: 23.Dane INGHAM (omitted)
Unavailable: 6.Dino DJULBIC (ankle – indefinite), 19.Chris IKONOMIDIS (knee – season), 27.JUANDE (groin – 1 week)
Referee: Daniel Elder
Assistant Referee 1: Andrew Lindsay
Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin
Fourth Official: Adam Kersey
VAR: Craig Zetter
