Brisbane Roar vice-captain Shane Stefanutto believes only self-belief stands in the way of him and his teammates embarking on a run of form.
Brisbane Roar vice-captain Shane Stefanutto believes only self-belief stands in the way of him and his teammates embarking on a run of form.
The Roar face Newcastle Jets tomorrow night at Suncorp Stadium, the venue of their only two wins of the campaign – a comprehensive 5-0 win over Melbourne Victory in round two and a 4-2 result over Sydney FC two weeks ago.
The Jets- have a commendable hold over the Roar at their home base with Brisbane only winning once in ten times against their southern rivals since the Hyundai A-League began.
But Stefanutto said if the team shows the confidence they-ve shown in the past, there was no reason why they couldn-t record a positive result tomorrow night.
“We just need to get on a run now and it starts this weekend,” he said.
“We-re capable of it, we had 36 games undefeated.
“We-re only eight games into a season so there is still plenty of time to go.
“We have to believe we can do it and that-s the big key.
“We keep talking about Suncorp being a fortress for us, we-ve got so many good memories there, we-ve talked about it so many times.
“We-re there tomorrow night and everyone should be positive and confident.”
With captain Matt Smith and fellow defender Ivan Franjic missing through international duty, Head Coach Rado Vidosic is likely to use either Yuji Takahashi or James Donachie as a partner to Matt Jurman in the heart of defence.
“I still haven-t made up my mind, I-m going to see overnight and tomorrow and make my final decision tomorrow,” Vidosic said.
“Both of them are very good young players, the way they have been playing for the National Youth League team has been very, very good so hopefully they can take that form into the A-League game.”
Stefanutto, the stand-in captain in the absence of Smith, said he-d be comfortable with whoever is selected, even with dangerman Emile Heskey up front for the Jets.
The former English Premier League striker has scored five goals since his arrival in Australia, helping his side to fourth on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
“It just gives the young players an opportunity to step up and I think they will,” Stefanutto said.
“It-s an opportunity and it-s a good opportunity.
“This league is all about promoting youngsters, promoting youth.
“This is a great opportunity for them and I-m sure they-ll embrace it.
“I-ve got full confidence in the whole backline.”
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Brisbane Roar v Newcastle Jets
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Kick off: 6:45 PM Local | 7:45 PM AEDT
Referee: Brenton Hayward
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1HD and Sky Sports 1.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #ROARvJETS
Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Michael Theo (GK). Shane Stefanutto (capt), 4. Matt Jurman, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 10. Henrique, 11. Ben Halloran, 13. Yuji Takahashi, 14. Rocky Visonte, 15. James Donachie, 16. Do Dong-Hyun, 17. Mitch Nichols, 19. Jack Hingert, 20. Matt Acton (GK), 21. James Meyer, 22. Thomas Broich, 24. Nick Fitzgerald *Four to be omitted*
Ins: Rocky Visconte (promoted), Do Dong-Hyun (promoted), James Donachie (promoted), Yuji Takahashi (promoted), James Meyer (promoted)
Outs: Matt Smith (Qantas Socceroos international duty), Ivan Franjic (Qantas Socceroos international duty – 2 weeks)
Unavailable: Nil
Newcastle Jets squad: 2. Scott Neville, 3. Tiago Calvano, 4. Josh Mitchell, 5. Dominik Ritter, 7. James Brown, 8. Ruben Zadkovich, 9. Emile Heskey, 10. Bernardo Ribeiro, 11. Connor Chapman, 12. Josh Brillante, 14. Taylor Regan, 15. Craig Goodwin, 16. Jobe Wheelhouse (c), 17. James Virgili, 18. Jacob Pepper, 19. Michael Bridges, 23. Ryan Griffiths, 30. Jack Duncan (gk), 31. Aleks Vrteski (gk), 33. Matthew Nash (gk) *Five to be omitted*
Ins: Tiago Calvano, Josh Brillante, Taylor Regan, Michael Bridges, , Aleks Vrteski
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Mark Birighitti (Cheekbone), Ben Kennedy (knee), Ben Kantarovski (knee), Adam Taggart (Qantas Socceroos international duty)
