Head Coach Warren Moon says his side are looking forward to the comfort of familiar surroundings when the Roar return to Dolphin Stadium tomorrow night to face Adelaide United.
The fixture will be the Roar’s first A-League home game of 2021, following back-to-back wins on the road among a frequently changing A-League schedule.
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An incredible atmosphere greeted the Roar in their last outing at home – an opening round clash against Melbourne City, and Moon is hoping a similarly parochial crowd is on hand on Saturday night.
“I can’t wait, can’t wait to be back playing in front of our home fans,” Moon said.
“The atmosphere [at the last home game] was fantastic, you could feel it and the boys loved it. The biggest disappointment for us was the result.
“I think for us our intent is to play well and be as attacking as we can be on Saturday night.”
The fixture will be just the Roar’s second in 28 days coming off a 10-day break since the last win against the Jets and an 18-day gap to the fixture previous.
While the layoff has made preparations a little tricky, Moon says his side are focusing on an improved performance from the 2-1 win against the Jets, but hopefully the same result.
“Last week we recognised our performance wasn’t there. The game is about winning and getting results, and if we’re getting those results and improving as a side that puts us in a good position going into the latter part of the season,” Moon added.
“We expect a tough game against a very good Adelaide United side, but we have good players too and I’m really looking forward to putting on a good performance tomorrow night in front of our home fans.”
The fixture provides eye-catching matchups across the park with young Australian talent finding their feet in both attacks in recent weeks, while the Roar defence is fast becoming one of the toughest to crack in the A-League.
Striker Dylan Wenzel-Halls enters the contest on the back of goals in consecutive games, while Reds brothers Al Hassan & Mohamed Toure are sure to be a handful at the other end of the park.
“It’s great seeing young Australian players getting opportunities. It’s good for them, and it’s good for us too,” Moon said.
“Dylan has two in two, not just goals, but assists as well. He’s performing very well for us and long may that continue.”
MATCH DETAILS
A-League 2020/21 Matchweek 6: Brisbane Roar vs Adelaide United
Dolphin Stadium, Redcliffe
Saturday, 30 January (8:15pm kick-off)
TICKETS
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Macklin FREKE (gk), 3.Corey BROWN, 5.Tom ALDRED (c), 6.Macaulay GILLESPHEY, 7.Jai INGHAM, 9.Masato KUDO, 10.Riku DANZAKI, 11.Joe CHAMPNESS, 12.Bon SCOTT (gk), 15.Jesse DALEY, 19.Jack HINGERT, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Jay O’SHEA, 27.Kai TREWIN, 28.Izaack POWELL, 29.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 33.Keegan JELACIC, 34.Alex PARSONS, 77.Scott MCDONALD **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 11.Joe CHAMPNESS (promoted), 28.Izaack POWELL (promoted), 34.Alex PARSONS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 21.Jamie YOUNG (knee)
Adelaide United squad: 1.James DELIANOV (gk), 2.Michael MARRONE, 3.George TIMOTHEOU, 6.Louis D’ARRIGO, 7.Ryan KITTO, 8.Stefan MAUK (c), 15.Noah SMITH, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Mohamed TOURE, 18.Joe CALETTI, 19.Yaya DUKULY, 22.Michael JAKOBSEN, 23.Jordan ELSEY, 24.Pacifique NIYONGABIRE, 26.Ben HALLORAN, 29.Kusini YENGI, 34.Yared ABETEW, 35.Al Hassan TOURE, 37.Jonny YULL, 46.Joe GAUCI (gk) **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Michael MARRONE (promoted), 8.Stefan MAUK (returns from injury), 34.Yared ABETEW (promoted), 35.Al Hassan TOURE (promoted), 37.Jonny YULL (promoted)
Outs: 4.Ryan STRAIN (groin), 9.Tomi JURIC (groin), 21.Javi LÓPEZ (calf)
Unavailable: Nil
Referee: Alireza Faghani
Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetnin
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay
Fourth Official: Nathan MacDonald
VAR: Chris Beath