Three wins in a week is in the sights of Brisbane Roar ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster clash against the undefeated Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium.
The Roar side have strong momentum after two Hyundai A-League wins on the trot as well as a rampant 6-0 victory in Tuesday’s AFC Asian Champions League qualifier.
Converting strong performances into a string of positive results has provided a great boost to the squad ahead of one of the Hyundai A-League’s toughest opponents.
“Spirits are high and our last three games have been excellent in terms of performances and results,” Head Coach John Aloisi said.
“It’s an important game for us as the end of the season gets closer. Every match suddenly becomes the biggest game of the season.
“All we have to do is focus on what we’re doing and if we do that well then we’re confident that we’ll get the win.”
Fresh from a long-term injury layoff, midfielder Brett Holman has slotted seamlessly back into the Roar setup and marked his return to football with a match-winning strike against the Wanderers last weekend.
Holman’s experience will be an invaluable asset to the Roar in the back-end of the season and the 32-year-old says he is ready to play his role against the Sky Blues.
“It’s going to be a cracking game. They’re going to be up for it with the goal of keeping their unbeaten season alive and we’re playing at Suncorp and we want to knock them off,” Holman said.
“The most important thing for me was coming out of the last week unscathed and there’s been no issues with the knee so I’m ready to go whenever the boss needs me.”
Young guns Joe Caletti (below) and Shannon Brady have both been named by Head Coach John Aloisi in Roar’s extended squad while Brandon Borrello is unavailable for selection after receiving a one-match suspension.
Sydney FC are the competition’s form side sitting at the summit of the Hyundai A-League ladder with 17 games undefeated, but Aloisi believes his squad have what it takes to end the Sky Blues’ run in what is expected to be sweltering conditions at the fortress.
“It’s not easy for players from interstate to play in the conditions as well as the bigger pitch at Suncorp Stadium,” he said.
“We know how good we can be, especially at home. We know that they [Sydney FC] don’t enjoy playing here so we’re looking forward to it.”
“There are going to be many individual battles but we’re hoping we get the better of them as a team.”
Brisbane Roar FC v Sydney FC
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 6:50PM (Local) (7:50PM (AEDT))
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 13.Jade NORTH, 15.ARANA, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Shannon BRADY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 29.Joe CALETTI **two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Corey BROWN (returns from suspension), 20.Shannon BRADY (promoted), 29.Joe CALETTI (promoted)
Outs: 28.Brandon BORRELLO (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 33.Joey KATEBIAN (concussion – 1 week)
Sydney FC squad: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 4.Alex WILKINSON, 5.Jordy BUIJS, 6.Joshua BRILLANTE, 8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9.BOBÔ, 10.Milos NINKOVIC, 11.Bernie IBINI, 12.Aaron CALVER, 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (c), 17.David CARNEY, 18.Matt SIMON, 19.George BLACKWOOD, 20.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 21.Filip HOLOSKO, 23.Rhyan GRANT **one to be omitted**
Ins: 19.George BLACKWOOD (promoted), 23.Rhyan GRANT (return from suspension).
Outs: 7.Michael ZULLO (suspended – 1 match)
Unavailable: 22.Seb RYALL (hamstring – indefinite)
Referee: Peter Green; Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetinin; Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay; Fourth Official: Jarred Gillett
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 7.00pm (AEDT), SBS VICELAND from 7.30pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 2 (New Zealand)
