We’re at the halfway mark in the season and Brisbane Roar will commence the second half of their 2022/23 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign on Friday night with a trip to McDonald Jones Stadium to face the Newcastle Jets.
This will mark their second trip to the Hunter region in six weeks, with the team coming away with all three points on December 16 courtesy of a Nikola Mileusnic goal.
McDonald Jones Stadium is a venue that has been very kind to the Roar in the past with the men’s team winning on 13 of their 28 visits to the ground to go with eight draws.
Following on from their hard-fought draw with league leaders Melbourne City last weekend, head coach Warren Moon is looking to build on that effort as the team begins the second half of its Isuzu UTE A-League schedule.
“We’re still competitive, our performance was really good against Melbourne City, the chances were there, and we were defensively strong,” Moon said.
There’s a lot of positives to take from the game, now we’ve got to keep working, keep fighting, there’s plenty of points up for grabs and we’re going to keep fighting to try and make the top six. ”
With the side currently sitting in eighth place in a congested league table, every point matters over the remaining 13 matches as just six points separates third and eleventh place.
Heading into Round 14, the Roar are in possession of the equal best defensive record in the league, having conceded just 10 goals all season.
With such a tightly congested ladder, Moon discussed the challenge every match presents for every team this season with nothing assured week in, week out.
“It’s a really even competition this year, if you look at the table, every game is tough.
We had a good result there a few weeks ago so it’s important we go down there with good memories as we try and come back with all three points.”
This match will also be a special occasion for Roar midfielder Jay O’Shea as he is in line to make his 100th appearance in all competitions for the Roar.
Moon discussed the importance of the Irishman to the team and his contributions since joining the club in 2019.
“He’s a really important player for us, someone who has come to the club and set the standards on and off the field and we’re lucky to have him.
I’m not surprised with how good he is, when I came in as coach, I could see his qualities and what impressed me more is what he’s like as a person and how he carries himself, he’s an excellent human being and just happens to be an excellent footballer as well.”
O’Shea spoke in his upcoming milestone at training prior to the squad departing to Newcastle.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here, it’s a big honour to make 100 appearances for this club because there’s not many games so it means I’ve stayed and enjoyed my time,” said O’Shea.
Moon and O’Shea will be looking to link up with Carlo Armiento, who has been enjoying a bright spell of form of late and has been involved in three of the Roar’s last four goals, scoring two and registering an assist.
Youth contracted Ayom Majok made his Roar debut last weekend, becoming player number 201 to feature for the men’s team and Moon is looking for more from the youngster after his impressive cameo against Melbourne City.
“It was a real surprise for us, he wasn’t in long, but football is all about opportunity and he [Majok] took it.
One minute he’s trialling and next he’s on the bench for a match against Melbourne City. We were impressed with what he did, he’s trained well this week and we think we might see him in the squad for Newcastle,” Moon said.
Tune in to Jay O’Shea’s 100th match Friday night when the Roar take on the Newcastle Jets in Round 14 of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Kick off is at 6:45pm AEST live and exclusive on Paramount+.
