Brisbane Roar kick-started their season last week with a 4-0 win over Newcastle Jets and will be hoping to keep the motor running with a good performance against Melbourne Victory tomorrow night at Etihad Stadium.
Brisbane Roar kick-started their season last week with a 4-0 win over Newcastle Jets and will be hoping to keep the motor running with a good performance against Melbourne Victory tomorrow night at Etihad Stadium.
The Roar will be on the road again this week in what shapes up as a real challenge for both teams.
Brisbane Coach Mike Mulvey expects a strong test of his team’s character and ability but says that he backs both of those traits.
“It’s going to be a cauldron, but we played well down there last year and I expect us to play well again tomorrow night,” he said.
“We have great respect for every opponent and Melbourne Victory are deserving of that respect.
“I think this is one of those nights where you can look forward to a great contest.”
Mulvey noticed a steely resolve in his players this week at training and said he’s challenged them to continue their good form on the back of their fantastic performance in Newcastle, in which Henrique scored a second half hat-trick.
“What I’m looking for is a level of consistency and I’ve put it to the players that that is the key,” he said.
“We’ve got to this level and nobody can come below that level now.”
Mulvey can expect to have selection headaches with Matt McKay, James Donachie and Corey Brown returning to the squad from international duty but he welcomes the competition for places.
“Everyone put their hand up last week and I thought it was great and that’s what we need to be strong,” Mulvey said.
“We’ve got a long season ahead of us, we know we’ve got a couple of dates circled in May that we want to be involved in and we need to have people challenging each other for positions.”
Brisbane will be aiming for their third consecutive win over Melbourne Victory, last meeting them in last season’s semi final where the Roar triumphed 1-0, thanks to a Besart Berisha goal.
Current Hyundai A-League top scorer Berisha, who now plays for Melbourne Victory, comes up against his former side for the first time tomorrow night.
Friday, 21 November 2014
Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar FC
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7:40pm local time (6:40pm AEST)
Referee: Chris Beath
TV Broadcast: Live and exclusive coverage on FOX SPORTS 505 (FOX SPORTS 4HD & 4) from 7.00pm (AEDT), Live Coverage on SBS HD & SBS One from 7.30pm AEDT and Sky Sport 2 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Grandstand Online/ABC Radio Mobile phone app
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Nathan COE (GK), 5.Mark MILLIGAN (c) 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Gui FINKLER, 8.Besart BERISHA, 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Andrew NABBOUT, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 15.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI, 16.Rashid MAHAZI, 20.Lawrence THOMAS (GK), 21.Carl VALERI, 22.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 23.Adrian LEIJER, 24.Scott GALLOWAY, 26.Jordan BROWN **two to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Mark MILLIGAN (returns from international duty), 9.Kosta BARBAROUSES (returns from international duty), 11.Connor PAIN (returns from international duty), 15.Daniel GEORGIEVSKI (returns from international duty), 24.Scott GALLOWAY (returns from international duty)
Outs: 18.Dylan MURNANE (illness), 31.Kieran DOVER (not selected), 33.Christian CAVALLO (not selected)
Unavailable: 2.Jason GERIA (ankle – test), 17.Matthieu DELPIERRE (hamstring – test)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 2.Matt SMITH (c), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Mensur KURTISHI, 8.Steven LUSTICA, 10.HENRIQUE, 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Daniel BOWLES, 15.James DONACHIE, 17.Matt McKAY, 18.Luke BRATTAN, 21.Jamie YOUNG (GK), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 30.Matthew ACTON (GK), 34.Shannon BRADY **one to be omitted**
Ins: 5.Corey BROWN, 15.James DONACHIE, 17.Matt McKAY (all return from international duty)
Outs: 12.Jean Carlos SOLORZANO (shoulder – one week), 16.Devante CLUT (omitted)
Unavailable: 1.Michael THEO (wrist – four weeks), 4.Adam SAROTA (knee – two weeks), 6.George LAMBADARIDIS (knee – two weeks), 19.Jack HINGERT (knee – five weeks)
