Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has named last season’s average home form as the motivation for the strong start to the 2013/14 campaign, which has included three wins from as many games at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has named last season-s average home form as the motivation for the strong start to the 2013/14 campaign, which has included three wins from as many games at Suncorp Stadium.
Current league leaders Brisbane failed to win six out of 13 home matches (two draws, four losses) in the Hyundai A-League 2012/13 season, a statistic that contributed to their fifth-placed finish on the final competition ladder.
In the current campaign, the Roar has conceded just once and scored 10 goals in their first three Suncorp Stadium matches including two from central defender Smith, who prior to the start this season had three Hyundai A-League goals in 85 appearances.
“We were disappointed with our home form last year,” he said.
“If you look at our home form collectively over the last four years, our home form has been pretty good but last year-s was not very good and we certainly lost more than we would have liked.
“Going into this year, as do every other A-League team trying to win all their home games – we-re no different.”
Ahead of Saturday-s round eight match up against Perth Glory, Smith admitted his side were no different from any other in aiming to win all matches at home.
If Brisbane secure the three points against the Glory this weekend, it will be the first time the club has won six straight matches in a row at home since the Hyundai A-League 2008/09 season, as outlined in today-s Courier Mail.
The Roar skipper said the support of the home crowd definitely played it-s part in the on-field results.
“We have some great supporters at Suncorp Stadium and our fans come out and cheer us on and of course, we love playing at home,” Smith said.
“It-s our stadium, we-re trying to make it our fortress and it-s the same as every other A-League team.
“We-re used to the dimensions, we-re used to the feel of the pitch and the ground and that certainly helps us going in mentally.
“We always enjoy playing in front of our home crowd.”
Brisbane Roar host Perth Glory on Saturday, 30 November 2013. Kick-off at Suncorp Stadium is at 4pm and tickets are available from Ticketek.
