Two of the Hyundai A-League’s best strikers will face off when Brisbane Roar visit Melbourne Victory in their Semi Final on Sunday afternoon (5:00pm KO QLD time).
Jamie Maclaren and Besart Berisha shared 2016/17 Golden Boot honours and now their teams face off for a Grand Final spot.
The Roar beat Victory 1-0 when they last met in late March, but the stakes will be far higher on Sunday afternoon.
Head-to-head: Roar v Victory
- Overall record: 14 wins, 8 draws, 16 defeats. Goals for: 51; Goals against: 50.
- At AAMI Park: 4 wins, 5 draws, 9 defeats. Goals for: 22; Goals against: 32.
- Roar have only lost one of their last six games against Victory, picking up three wins and two draws in that time.
- Brisbane has knocked Victory out of the Finals Series on two occasions (2014 and 2016).
- There is an average of 2.66 goals in Roar-Victory matches.
Stats breakdown
- No team has attempted more shots than either the Roar (402) or Victory (396).
- Besart Berisha (19 goals, 4 assists), Marco Rojas (12, 11) and Jamie Maclaren (20, 2) occupy the top three spots of the goals created list.
- Both teams have scored five penalties, second only to Melbourne City (9).
- The Roar have the second-best shooting accuracy (49.7%), while Victory lead the league in shot conversion (19.1%).
- Neither team has scored from a corner.
- Victory have conceded 32% of their goals in the final 15 minutes of matches.
Last five meetings
- Roar 1-0 Victory – March 25, 2017 at Suncorp Stadium
- Victory 3-2 Roar – January 13, 2017 at AAMI Park
- Roar 1-1 Victory – October 7, 2016 at Suncorp Stadium
- Roar 2-1 Victory – April 15, 2016 at Suncorp Stadium
- Victory 0-0 Roar – April 9, 2016 at AAMI Park
Two pairs of Golden Boots
Jamie Maclaren and Besart Berisha shared Hyundai A-League Golden Boot honours after both players finished the regular season with 19 goals.
Maclaren scored against Western Sydney Wanderes to bring his tally to 20 but Berisha would love to even the score.
Match details & squads
Hyundai A-League 2017 Finals Series – Semi Final, Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
Sunday, 30 April 2017, AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off 5:00pm (QLD time)
Brisbane Roar FC squad:
Goalkeepers : 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 43.Tomislav BILIC (gk)
Defenders: 3.Luke DEVERE, 5.Corey BROWN, 6.Avram PAPADOPOULOS, 13.Jade NORTH, 19.Jack HINGERT
Midfielders: 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 15.ARANA, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 22.Thomas BROICH, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 29.Joe CALETTI
Forwards: 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 15.ARANA (returns from injury), 17.Matt MCKAY (returns from injury), 19.Jack HINGERT (returns from injury), 43.Tomislav BILIC (gk) (promoted)
Outs: 1.Michael THEO (gk) (knee – 4 weeks), 46.Cameron CRESTANI (not selected)
Unavailable: 4.Daniel BOWLES (knee – season)
Melbourne Victory squad:
Goalkeepers: 20.Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 40.Matt ACTON (gk)
Defenders: 2.Jason GERIA, 4.Nick ANSELL, 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 15.Alan BARO, 17.James DONACHIE
Midfielders: 7.Marco ROJAS, 10.James TROISI, 11.Mitch AUSTIN, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 21.Carl VALERI (c), 22.Stefan NIGRO, 23.Jai INGHAM
Forwards: 8.Besart BERISHA, 19.George HOWARD
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI (returns from suspension), 19.George HOWARD (promoted)
Outs : Nil
Unavailable: Nil
