Brisbane Roar Women will be fighting tooth and nail over the next two weeks to secure a top two finish in the Westfield W-League according to defender Brooke Spence.
Brisbane Roar Women will be fighting tooth and nail over the next two weeks to secure a top two finish in the Westfield W-League according to defender Brooke Spence.
Brisbane sits second on the ladder with two rounds of the regular season remaining.
Having secured 20 points from 10 games, the Roar are behind league leaders Perth Glory on goal difference only and will be looking for maximum points from their remaining two fixtures to secure a home semi-final.
Standing in the way are Sydney (away) and Canberra United (home), two sides also fighting to secure their own place in the finals before season-s end.
Far from lamenting the tough finish to the season, Spence believes the challenge could prove to be her side-s making this season.
“It-ll be good for us playing at that intensity leading into finals and to have two really tough matches at this time of the season,” Spence said.
“It will be good to help us solidify our structure and continue to focus for the full 90 minutes.
“We definitely would like to finish first or second and secure a home semi-final.
“To do that, we need to get all six points from the next two games and that-s what we-re going to be chasing.
“In saying that, if things don-t go our way, one win will still put us in the top four but we-re not happy to settle for that.”
This weekend-s match against Sydney at Cromer Park offers Brisbane the chance for some redemption following a 3-1 home defeat to the Sky Blues back in week two of the competition.
Despite taking the lead in that match through Lana Harch, Brisbane was unable to weather a second-half onslaught from Sydney who piled on three goals to secure the win.
Times have changed for both sides since that meeting, particularly for Brisbane who have now settled under Head Coach Belinda Wilson.
Spence believes a change of system, a settled squad and a strong focus can help deliver the points required.
“I definitely think we-re really starting to gel together and gel with how Belinda wants us to play,” she said.
“We had a structural change during the season which has definitely benefited us and the personnel we have playing in those positions.
“We are much different team from the start of the season and we-re really starting to hit our form now, which is how we want things to be.”
