They may have put eight goals past them already this Hyundai A-League season but Brisbane Roar Head Coach Ange Postecoglou has made it clear that his side will not be underestimating Adelaide United.
They may have put eight goals past them already this Hyundai A-League season but Brisbane Roar Head Coach Ange Postecoglou has made it clear that his side will not be underestimating Adelaide United.
Seven of those goals fell in a 7-1 drubbing at Suncorp Stadium back in October but in the most recent corresponding fixture in the first week of January, the Reds held Brisbane to a 1-1 draw at Hindmarsh Stadium.
But while John Kosmina and his troops are languishing in ninth position on the competition ladder – well out of finals series contention for the 2011/12 season – they managed a solid 2-1 win in their opening AFC Champions League match against Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
Postecoglou admits this means they-ll be harder to beat than their table position indicates, despite their obvious fatigue at their midweek travel.
“I think they did very well and I thought it was a fantastic result for them,” he said.
“Maybe they-ve got that desperation – they-re not going to play finals this year and Champions League is a real focus for them but I thought they were really committed to the cause.
“From our point of view, they-re a dangerous opponent this week because they-ve got nothing to fear and they don-t have the pressure all the other sides have of trying to get points to sure up places in finals.”
The Roar also featured in the AFC Champions League during the week but were come undone by a slick FC Tokyo side who scored either side of the break to record a 2-0 victory in the Queensland capital.
The Brisbane players have seen a quick transition since then, now directing their focus to the domestic competition and their bid to leapfrog Central Coast Mariners at the summit of the ladder.
That desire, coupled with United-s new-found liveliness, should make for an interesting encounter according to Postecoglou.
“When you face an opponent like that, there-s always a danger because they-ll be positive and they-ve got nothing to lose,” he said.
“On the flip side of that, we-ve got tremendous motivation to continue our push for top spot so it should be a good game.”
In team news, Massimo Murdocca has been ruled out of the Adelaide fixture after succumbing to a shoulder problem sustained against FC Tokyo while fellow midfielder Mitch Nichols is still recovering from his groin injury.
Brazilian Henrique will also be out of action, serving the second part of his two match ban in this weekend-s game.
Luke Brattan, Issey Nakajima-Farran and Nick Fitzgerald look the likely replacements for the trio.
Brisbane Roar v Adelaide United
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Local kick-off: 4:00pm (5.00pm AEDT)
Referees: Strebre Delovski / Denis Silk / Brad Hobson / Adam Kersey
Head-to-Head: All matches (played 21): Brisbane Roar wins 6, Adelaide United wins 8 (7 draws)
Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Michael Theoklitos (GK), 2. Matt Smith (C), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 4. Matt Jurman, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paaratlu, 7. Besart Berisha, 11. Issey Nakajima-Farran, 14. Rocky Visconte, 16. Mohamed Adnan, 18. Luke Brattan, 19. Jack Hingert, 20. Andrew Redmayne (GK), 21. James Meyer, 22. Thomas Broich, 24. Nick Fitzgerald *one to be omitted*
In: 14. Rocky Visconte (promoted), 18. Luke Brattan (promoted), 19. Jack Hingert (promoted)
Out: Mitch Nichols (groin – 1 week), Massimo Murdocca (shoulder – 1 week)
Unavailable: 10. Henrique (Suspended – one week)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene Galekovic (gk) (c), 2.Osama Malik, 3.Nigel Boogaard, 4.Jon McKain, 5.Daniel Mullen, 6.Cassio, 7.Zenon Caravella, 8.Evgeniy Levchenko, 9.Sergio van Dijk, 10.Dario Vidosic, 11.Bruce Djite, 12.Antony Golec, 14.Cameron Watson, 15.Jacob Melling, 17.Iain Ramsay, 20.Mark Birighitti (gk) *one to be omitted*
In: 21.Francisco Usucar (returns from hamstring injury), 4.Jon McKain (returns from knee injury)
Out: 18.Fabian Barbiero (suspended – 4 matches)
Unavailable: Spase Dilevski (groin), Paul Izzo (gk) (knee)
