Brisbane Roar midfielder Stefan Mauk wants to make Dolphin Stadium a fortress as the Roar return home for their second home fixture of the season.
The boys will take on Melbourne City on Sunday afternoon (3pm KO) when they make history by playing the first-ever Hyundai A-League game in Redcliffe.
BE THERE: The first Hyundai A-League game in Redcliffe
A stellar crowd turned out for the squad’s last fixture at the venue – an FFA Cup Round of 16 tie earlier this season, and Mauk is excited to bring the Hyundai A-League to the venue.
“It’s a great opportunity for us at Dolphin Stadium. It’s our first proper [Hyundai] A-League game there and it’ll be good for our supporters in that area to not have to travel too far to a game,” Mauk said.
“It [Dolphin Stadium] is a tighter stadium so when you get on top of teams you’ve got that added pressure when you can feel the crowd because they’re right next to you.
“It creates a great atmosphere – it’ll be an awesome game to play and a great place to get the first win of the season.”
The Roar defence remains one of the tightest in the Hyundai A-League with just three goals conceded throughout the opening four rounds.
Mauk says the Roar’s defence will again be key in navigating the task of the league leaders on Sunday, as will a focus on converting dominant patches and chances into goals.
“We are all going to get behind the ball and will put our bodies on the line to make sure we don’t concede,” the midfielder continued.
“We’ve shown defensively that when teams have the ball we can definitely stop them.”
“It’s the most frustrating thing about football – you can do all the lead up play and all the tactics but scoring is the most important thing.
“We’ve been a good side in all four games and it’s just going to take that one person to score and the rest will follow.”
MATCH DETAILS
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 – Round 6: Brisbane Roar v Melbourne City
Dolphin Stadium, Redcliffe
Sunday 17 November (3:00pm KO)
BRISBANE ROAR SQUAD
Goalkeepers: 1. Max CROCOMBE, 21. Jamie YOUNG
Defenders: 2.Scott NEVILLE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Tom ALDRED (c), 6.Macaulay GILLESPHEY, 15.Aaron REARDON, 22.Jake MCGING, 29.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS
Midfielders: 8.Jacob PEPPER, 12.Aiden O’NEILL, 13.Stefan MAUK, 14.George MELLS, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Jay O’SHEA
Attackers: 7.Jai INGHAM, 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Bradden INMAN, 20.Aaron AMADI-HOLLOWAY, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS **2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 14.George MELLS (promoted), 15.Aaron REARDON (promoted), 29.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS (returns from international duty)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 19.Jack HINGERT (knee), 24.Connor O’TOOLE (international duty)
