Head Coach John Aloisi will be looking for an improved performance from his squad in Saturday’s Hyundai A-League Round 3 clash against Central Coast Mariners.
Following last weekend’s 4-0 defeat to Newcastle Jets, Aloisi said the performance wasn’t at the standard expected at Brisbane Roar and believes the players will provide a reaction against the Mariners.
“It’s quite simple, we need to have a reaction,” Aloisi said.
“I said it after the game last week that our performance wasn’t good enough, and it wasn’t one that we expect of Brisbane Roar.
“I expect a reaction tomorrow against [Central Coast] Mariners and there will be. The boys are proud, they’ve won in the past and they want to win again.”
Both the Roar and Mariners will be looking for their first win of the season with first-up draws followed by second round defeats for both sides.
Aloisi expects a tough challenge from the Mariners and says that it’s imperative that his side are switched on from kick-off.
“Every team in the [Hyundai] A-League is strong and the Mariners will be tough so we need to make sure we turn up from the first minute,” he said.
“We were sloppy with the ball and defensively we didn’t stick to our strucutres last week, but we’ve spoken about that and moved on.
“We’re focusing on tomorrow’s game now and the boys are ready to show what they can do and where we’re headed.”
Off-season recruit Manuel Arana will not be involved in tomorrow’s match but the experienced Spaniard is a chance to feature in the squad for next Sunday’s home fixture against Perth Glory. Get your tickets HERE.
Winger Dimitri Petratos, who suffered an ankle injury in a pre-season training game, could make his return during Brisbane’s upcoming back-to-back home fixtures at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday, 30 October (versus Perth Glory) and Friday, 4 November (versus Melbourne City).
The Roar will welcome back the experience and poise of captain Matt McKay ( below) following a one-week suspension.
“Matt [McKay] is our captain so it’s a big boost to have him back in,” Aloisi said.
“He was hurting as much as anyone last weekend despite not playing because he’s a part of the side and this club is important to him.”
The Roar and Mariners have dominated possession in their opening matches and Aloisi is expecting an exciting display of attacking football from both sides.
“It’s going to be a good game, they’ll play attacking football and we’ll do the same,” he said.
“Both sides will go out and try to win the game and we believe that playing a certain way of football is going to get us the result we’re looking for.
“We’re both going to be desperate to get the win both clubs want.”
Central Coast Mariners v Brisbane Roar FC
Saturday, 22 October 2016
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-Off: 5:35PM (Local) (5:35PM (AEDT)
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Tommy OAR, 13.Jade NORTH, 16.Nathan KONSTANDOPOULOS, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 26.Nicholas D’AGOSTINO, 28.Brandon BORRELLO, 33.Joey KATEBIAN **two to be omitted**
Ins: 17.Matt MCKAY (returns from suspension), 33.Joey KATEBIAN (promoted)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: 23.Dimitri PETRATOS (pictured below) (ankle – 1 week), 24.Connor O’TOOLE (international duty – 2 weeks)
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 6.Blake POWELL, 7.Fabio FERREIRA, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Mickael TAVARES, 11.Connor PAIN, 12.Trent BUHAGIAR, 13.Kwabena APPIAH, 14.Adam BERRY, 15.Brad McDONALD, 17.Josh BINGHAM, 19.Jacques FATY, 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 21.Michael NEILL, 22.Jake McGING, 25.Ryan PETERSON **two to be omitted**
Ins : 7.Fabio FERREIRA (return from injury), 15.Brad McDONALD (promoted), 17.Josh BINGHAM (promoted)
Outs: 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO (quad strain – 1 week)
Unavailable: 16.Liam ROSE (international duty – 2 weeks), 23.Jake ADELSON (ACL – indefinite)
Referee: Adam Fielding; Assistant Referee 1: Ryan Gallagher; Assistant Referee 2: Scott Edeling; Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on Fox Sports 505 from 4:00pm (QLD time) and Sky Sport 2 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: 92.5 ABC Central Coast, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Radio Mobile App – A-league Live, Crocmedia A-League Live (www.facebook.com/A-leagueLIVERadio), EON Sports Radio (eonsportsradio.com), Coast FM 96.3
