We’ve crunched the numbers following ahead of Saturday night’s clash against the Sky Blues in Sydney.
MUST READ: Team News – Roar v Sky Blues
BE THERE: 3 games, 2 days, 1 ticket
MUST SEE: Wenzel-Halls stoked to be contributing
Recent history
While the Sky Blues have had the better of recent results between the teams, the Roar have a fair record in meetings in the Harbour City. The Roar were the first side to taste victory at Allianz Stadium in almost two years at the back end of the 2017/18 campaign, before knocking the Sky Blues out of the FFA Cup in the last meeting in August.
Overall, the Roar lead the ledger with 15 wins from 42 meetings (W15, D13, L14), outscoring the Sky Blues by a single goal (55-54) with the most common scoreline being a 1-1 draw.
Since the beginning of the 2014/15 season, an average of four goals per game have been scored in this fixture in Sydney with just the two clean sheets kept in that span.
Irish Influence
Talisman Roy O’Donovan has been getting his name on the scoresheet with his tally racking up to five in seven games for the season, placing him in equal fourth in the Golden Boot race.
Only four more players have had more shots on target than O’Donovan, but his fellow countrymen has had the ball on a string in midfield. No player comes close to the 26 chances created by Jay O’Shea, who also finds himself in the top 10 for passing (in opposition half), hitting the target at greater than a 75% accuracy.
Defenders Scott Neville & Macaulay Gillesphey also join O’Shea in the top 20.
Resolute defence
The 2-0 win over the Mariners last Saturday was the Roar’s second clean sheet of the season – a stat only bettered by Melbourne Victory, with only Saturday night’s opponents conceding fewer goals than the Roar’s eight from the opening seven rounds.
Brisbane’s wide outlets have also proven handy moving into the final third, with more crosses made than any other side at 27.8% accuracy – the second best in the league.
