Brisbane Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey said his players will be giving everything tomorrow night in what shapes up as a tense encounter against Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
The Roar come up against a Jets side that is also yet to record a win this season with two draws and three losses.
Newcastle were the only club Brisbane failed to defeat last season, losing all three games and the Roar want to revive their campaign with a win against their so-called ‘bogey team’.
Mulvey says there will be changes to his side for tomorrow night’s game, hinting that star German playmaker Thomas Broich could be moved into a more central position.
“You have to utilise your best assets in the areas where it best suits the team so we’ll have a look at that overnight and decide before the game what we’re going to do,” he said.
Without a win in their opening four Hyundai A-League matches, Mulvey described the club’s current scenario as a serious situation.
“We don’t like being where we are but it is what it is,” he said.
“We’re all having a look at ourselves and our own performance and we need to all pull together.
“What champions do when times get tough is they come out and show what champions are made of and that’s what I expect we will all do tomorrow night, and that’s what I expect we will do in the future weeks.
“The bottom line is we all wear the orange shirt with pride and what I’ll say to all the fans out there who support Brisbane Roar is stick with us.”
The Roar have worked hard on managing their defensive vulnerabilities this week and Mulvey hopes that will help them pick up points tomorrow night to give fans something to smile about.
With James Donachie and Corey Brown are away with the Olyroos and Jack Hingert injured, a spot has opened up for Daniel Bowles to make his season debut at right back.
The Roar is also without influential midfielder Matt McKay, who is in Japan with the Socceroos, and Michael Theo (wrist), Adam Sarota (knee) and George Lambadaridis (knee) who all remain injured.
Expect young Roar striker Brandon Borrello to be involved again after impressing with a debut goal last week against Melbourne City.
Friday, 14 November 2014
Newcastle Jets v Brisbane Roar FC
Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-Off: 7:40pm local (6.40pm Brisbane time)
Referee: Alan Milliner
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 1 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC Grandstand Online/ABC Radio Mobile phone app
Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Mark BIRIGHITTI (GK), 3.Taylor REGAN, 4.Kew JALIENS (c), 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI, 6.Adrian MADASCHI, 7.Jeronimo NEUMANN, 8.Zenon CARAVELLA, 9.Joel GRIFFITHS, 10.Marcos FLORES, 12.Sam GALLAGHER, 13.Edson MONTANO, 14.Billy CELESKI, 17.James VIRGILI, 18.Allan WELSH, 20.Ben KENNEDY (GK), 21.Sam GALLAWAY, 23.David CARNEY ***one to be omitted***
Ins: 6.Adrian MADASCHI (returns from injury), 14.Billy CELESKI (returns from injury), 17.James VIRGILI (promoted)
Outs: 16.Jacob PEPPER (omitted), 11.Andrew HOOLE (international duty)
Unavailable: 2.Scott NEVILLE (groin – 1 week), 15.Josh BARRESI (knee – season), 22.Jonny STEELE (leave of absence)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 2.Matt SMITH (c), 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 7.Mensur KURTISHI, 8.Steven LUSTICA, 10.HENRIQUE, 12.Jean Carlos SOLORZANO, 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Daniel BOWLES, 16.Devante CLUT, 18.Luke BRATTAN, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 30.Matthew ACTON (gk), 34.Shannon BRADY
Ins: 14.Daniel BOWLES, 16.Devante CLUT, 34.Shannon BRADY (all promoted)
Outs: 19.Jack HINGERT (knee – 6 weeks), 15.James DONACHIE (international duty – 1 week), 17.Matt McKAY (international duty – 1 week)
Unavailable: 1.Michael THEO (wrist – 4 weeks), 4.Adam SAROTA (knee – 2 weeks), 5.Corey BROWN (international duty – 1 week), 6.George LAMBADARIDIS (knee – 2 weeks)
