Brisbane Roar Head Coach Warren Moon is heading into tonight’s match against Newcastle Jets with optimism and excitement about his team’s chances of pushing up the A-League ladder.
The Roar sit within the top six after 21 games and will be looking to shore up that Finals Series spot by securing all three points at McDonald Jones Stadium for the second time this season.
Last weekend’s narrow loss to Adelaide United left the ladder looking extremely tight but the prospect of a highly competitive run home is one Moon welcomes.
“It depends how you look at it,” the Brisbane boss said. “I look at it with positivity that we can catch Adelaide who are in front of us now.
“We have to look at what’s in front of us, not behind us.
“We’re disappointed we lost and we felt we had moments in that match to get something out of it, but now we’ve freshened up some key players going into a very important match.”
.@PerthGloryFC are peeking into the top 6! ?
And there are some HUGE games coming up for Matchweek 22!
Here is your #ALeague ladder update, presented by Bunnings Warehouse. pic.twitter.com/bp0TTzIsiw
— A-League (@ALeague) May 19, 2021
Friday’s opponents are out of the Finals Series equation following a difficult run that has left them in bottom spot.
Despite their form, Moon expects a tough game against Newcastle.
“I think they’ve had their struggles results wise, but I think if you look at every game they’ve played, bar maybe a couple, they’ve been in every game [and been] super competitive,” he said.
“They’re a good team, they’ve got good players, we know that and we need to be aware of that, and we’re going to need to be at our best to get the result, that’s for sure.”
“We have good memories [at McDonald Jones Stadium] and we want to go down there and get another result,” he added.
“It’s really important that we try to do that, and try and cement and secure a top six finish.”
Returning captain Tom Aldred is a chance to feature in the match after overcoming a hamstring injury.
“We’ll see Tom travel with the squad, so I’m sure that means he’ll play some minutes in the match,” Moon said.
MATCH DETAILS
A-League 2020/21 Matchweek 22: Newcastle Jets vs Brisbane Roar
McDonald Jones Stadium
Friday, 20 May (7:05pm kick-off)
Brisbane Roar squad: 1.Macklin FREKE (gk), 2. Scott NEVILLE, 3.Corey BROWN, 5.Tom ALDRED, 6.Macaulay GILLESPHEY, 8.Danny KIM, 9.Masato KUDO, 10.Riku DANZAKI, 15.Jesse DALEY, 17.Golgol MEBRAHTU, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Antonee BURKE-GILROY, 23.Dylan WENZEL-HALLS, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Jay O’SHEA, 27.Kai TREWIN, 29.Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 33.Eli ADAMS, 34.Alex PARSONS, 37.Cyrus DEHMIE **2-4 to be omitted**
