Brisbane Roar are primed for this Saturday’s battle across the ditch against the Wellington Phoenix in Hyundai A-League Round 9 action.
After a defeat last Friday against the Victory at Suncorp, Brisbane travel to Wellington’s Westpac Stadium looking to continue their four-game unbeaten run at the venue.
Head Coach John Aloisi says his side are confident and well prepared to face the Phoenix.
“We go to Wellington now already knowing what they play like and confident we can get the result over there,” Aloisi said.
“They [Wellington] are a decent side that fight for each other and we have to match that to create chances to win the game.”
“It’s going to be a tough game, but we’re ready for this one.
Aloisi and the Roar are strategically prepared for anything the Phoenix have to throw at them after their match-up back in Round 2.
“We were prepared the first time we played them [Wellington]. They played a little deeper that day because the game was at our home,” Aloisi added.
“They’ve got good players up front with [Roy] Krishna, [Nathan] Burns and young [Sarpreet] Singh.
This game marks the beginning of the rigorous New Year schedule for the Roar who have eight games over the next month.
Despite the arduous schedule, Aloisi says his side are looking forward to playing games more frequently in January.
“We train to play so the most important thing about football is playing games,” Aloisi said.
“We love competing not only as players but also as coaches, so we’re looking forward to that period.”
After earning hard-fought minutes last game, New Zealand international defender Dane Ingham is excited to line-up against a number of his international teammates.
“There’s definitely going to be more to look forward to going up against some of the All White squad members,” Dane Ingham said.
“I’m more motivated to get one up on my international teammates.
Furthermore, Ingham is adamant that the belief within the Roar camp still remains as high as ever.
“The important thing is we got to keep believing,” Ingham added.
“If we keep believing, the results will come because we’re playing well and have belief that the little things will start going our way.
“We’ll start putting on points and before you know it!”
MATCH DETAILS
Hyundai A-League 2018/19 — Round 9: Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, 22 December (4:35pm KO QLD time)
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1.Filip KURTO, 4.Mandi SOSA, 5.Ryan LOWRY, 6.Dylan FOX, 8.Mitch NICHOLS, 9.Nathan BURNS, 11.David WILLIAMS, 13.Liberato CACACE, 14.Alex RUFER, 15.Michal KOPZCYNSKI, 16.Louis FENTON, 18.Sarpreet SINGH, 19.Tom DOYLE, 20.Oliver SAIL (gk), 21.Roy KRISHNA, 22.Andrew DURANTE (c), 23.Max BURGESS, 27.Steven TAYLOR ** two be omitted**
Ins: 6. Dylan FOX (promoted), 8. Mitch NICHOLS (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Nil
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Brendan WHITE (gk), 2.Dane INGHAM, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 6.Avram PAPADOPOULOS, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Adam TAGGART, 13.Stefan MAUK, 14.Alex LOPEZ, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 18.Joe CALETTI, 19.Jack HINGERT, 20.Shannon BRADY, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Tobias MIKKELSEN, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 33.HENRIQUE **two to be omitted**
Ins: 18.Joe CALETTI (promoted), 19.Jack HINGERT (promoted), 20.Shannon BRADY (promoted), 22.Tobias MIKKELSEN (promoted), 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS (promoted)
Outs: 11.Eric BAUTHEAC (suspension – 1 match), 24.Connor O’TOOLE (not selected)
Unavailable: 10.Brett HOLMAN (knee)
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: James Tesoriero
Assistant Referee 2: Kearney Robinson
Fourth Official: Jack Morgan
VAR: Nick Waldron
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 from 5.00pm (AEDT), Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand) and MyFootball Live App, Live Fast and Data Free for Telstra mobile customers
Radio Broadcast: ABC News on Radio, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Listen App – A-League Live.
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