A League Round Four Review: Sydney FC go Top

Sydney FC got top of the league as Gold Coast United look very averge

The story of round four was Gold Coast United falling down to earth with an Icarus like thud after Newcastle Jets Striker Sean “looks like Wayne” Rooney scored a cracker that melted the wings of Gold Coast United’s billionaire owner Clive Palmer.

The Prophecy that Gold Coast United would go into their inaugural A League season undefeated proved a false one. Let’s see what Clive Palmer and Miron Bleiberg will say this week. I’m sure other clubs will be happy to offer up servings of humble pie.

Sydney FC bounced back from lasts week’s long ball nightmare with a pretty comfortable 2-0 home win over bogey side Wellington Phoenix. The win ensured the Bling went top of the ladder after the Gold Coast shock loss to Newcastle.

The introduction of Steve Corica midway through the second half provided the impetus for Sydney to go on and win the game. Both goals came late in the second half with John Aloisi getting on the end of a fine Alex Brosque cross to score the crucial second goal. This time the Socceroo was applauded rather than booed off the field when he was substituted late in the match. A far different scenario from the contrasting scene last season when the Sydney FC boo boys were on Aloisi’s case

The Gold Coast United – Sydney FC encounter on Saturday early evening looms as the season’s first top of the table clash. The clash of the A League biggest egos will certainly be the game of round five.

So back to the opening game of round four and it should have seen North Queensland Fury get their first ever three points. The Fury played well against lacklustre Adelaide United. However the Fury had to settle for a 3-3 draw after Adelaide scored a late penalty to tie the game. Robbie Fowler opened the scoring for the Fury with a great volley from a Paul Robinson cross. The Scouse legend ran over 50 metres to meet that cross after he initially started the build up play in his won half. It’s the longest the former Liverpool legend has run in over three seasons and my sources tell me Robbie may have just finished huffing and puffing now.

Fury Striker Dyron Dall sounds like an Indian dish and the former Netherlands Antilles Striker substitute performance in the second half for the Fury was both spicy and sour. With the score 2-1 to the Reds, Dall scored the equaliser after he was let through on goal by an excellent ball by Fred Agius. Aguis then supplied another excellent cross and the Fury led 3-2. However Dall was somehow tricked into playing volleyball and gave away a ludicrous late penalty which was converted by Lucas Pantelis who ended up getting a double.

The much talked about Perth Glory have finally started to live up to the hype and high expectations. The Glory played with a quicker tempo than in previous games and took advantage of the Victory’s hectic travel schedule to beat the current A League champions 2-1. Melbourne had to endure two long away trips in a row the first was in Townsville last week, the next trip to Perth seemed like it was one long road trip too many. Branko Jelic will never score two easier goals.

The Brisbane Roar is losing more friends and fans with every game they play. Their last two home games have yielded only 14 thousand fans and Matt McKay’s injury makes their midfield look thin and injured. Craig Moore had his best game for the Roar in what was an unspectacular 1-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners.

Round four was a much better spectacle than last week. The Glory and particularly the Jets surprise win over the White Shoe Brigade of the Gold Coast makes the A League much more than a one horse race and its unpredictable nature is just what the fans want to see, unlike some other more illustrious Football competitions that are played around the world.

A League Import Watch: Sung Hwan Byun for Sydney FC had his best game of the season so far. Karol Kisel and Stephen Keller were strong in a round were the locals made most of the good headlines. Newcastle Jets duo Song and Vignaroli played well with the former showing some neat skill and the latter also played well but unfortunately for the Jets seems injury prone. Henrique for Brisbane Roar is showing quality every week and just imagine what Charlie Miller could do if he had the fitness of an athlete.

A-League Socceroo Watch: John Aloisi, Ljubo Milicevic, Chris Coyne, Craig Moore and Shane Stefanutto had dominant displays for their teams while Jason Culina and Mile Sterjovsjki were quiet; the latter is still to show his best this season.

A Football Story Hot Spot: Fred Agius showed us that he has the skills to pay the bills. Aguis is the X factor the Fury need and set up both goals in the second half for the Fury.

A Football Story Odd Spot: From historic hero to absurd zero, Dyron Dall had what is called a brain explosion giving away a penalty to deny the Fury their first ever historic A League win.

Quotes: The Father is better the Son: "They have played well but they are not world-beaters," said Jets boss Branko Culina pre game. “He (Jason) keeps telling me we haven't got a player good enough to take him out of the game. I told him I don't want to embarrass him.”

A Football Story Goal of the Week: Sean Rooney made dutch defender Bas Van Den Brink look like a confused Albino. Rooney turned the Dutchman inside out and smashed a shot into the net to re-ignite the Jets season.

A Football Story Team of the Week: GK:Galekovic (ADL), LB:Byun(SYD), CB:Milicevic(NEW), CB:Coyne(PER), RB:Elrich (NEW), LM: Agius(FURY), GAN:(SYD) CM:Talay(FURY) RM:Song(NEW) FW:Fowler(FURY) FW:Rooney(NEW)

Hyundai A-League 2009/10 League Table

Team		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sydney FC	4	3	1	0	6	2	4	10
2	Gold Coast United	4	3	0	1	10	2	8	9
3	Newcastle Jets	4	2	1	1	5	5	0	7
4	Perth Glory	4	2	0	2	5	4	1	6
5	Central Coast Mariners	4	1	2	1	3	2	1	5
6	Brisbane Roar	4	1	2	1	6	7	-1	5
7	Melbourne Victory	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4
8	Wellington Phoenix	4	1	1	2	5	7	-2	4
9	Adelaide United	4	1	1	2	4	6	-2	4
10	North Queensland Fury	4	0	1	3	5	12	-7	1

Hyundai A-League 2009/10 – Leading Goal-Scorers

6 – Shane SMELTZ

3 – John ALOISI, Sergio VAN DIJK

2 – Robbie FOWLER, Chris GREENACRE, Carlos HERNANDEZ, Jason HOFFMAN, Branko JELIC, Lucas PANTELIS, Archie THOMPSON

Round Five Predictions:

Melbourne Victory 1 v 2 Newcastle Jets

Wellington Phoenix 2 v 1 Adelaide United

Central Coast 1 v 2 Perth Glory

Gold Coast United 2 v 2 Sydney FC

North Queensland Fury 2 v 1 Brisbane Roar

A League Round 4 Preview Part Two

Sunday 30 August 2009

Newcastle Jets v Gold Coast United

Energy Australia Stadium, 3.00pm local

Sunday’s A League double header kicks off in Novacstria. The headline for this game will either be “The Father is better than the Son” or “The Son is better than the Father” as Branko Culina (The Father) the Jets Coach takes on Jason Culina (The Son) the Gold Coast Captain.

Everyone is tipping the White Shoe Brigade to smash the Jets in this one. Could the Jets do a man marking job on Jason Culina? No other teams has dared tried that yet as former PSV star Jason is just too fit and smart to be man marked out of the game.

The Newcastle Jets have signed Labinot Haliti for three months as an injury replacement for Marko Jesic in a round that has been full of prodigal sons returning. Haliti could provde the Jets with an attacking sparck they lacked in last weeks loss in Perth.

Jets Quotes: "They have played well but they are not world-beaters," said Culina pre game.

“What we need to do is make sure we apply enough pressure on those players to ensure they do not get as much of the ball as they have in the first three rounds.

"We have to stop players like Jason, Shane Smeltz and Joel Porter getting on the ball."

“He (Jason) keeps telling me we haven't got a player good enough to take him out of the game. I told him I don't want to embarrass him.

Gold Coast Quotes:"But for me and for Dad (Branko) (Sunday's) just another game. At the end of the day it's another three points at stake. I'm just going to prepare like I normally do and not make a big deal out of it," said Jason Culina the Gold Coast Captain.

"Hopefully at the end of it, we can have a good laugh."

A Fotball Story Prediction: Jets 0 - Gold Coast Chavs 3

Newcastle Jets squad: 11.Ben KENNEDY (gk), 2. Angelo COSTANZO, 3. Adam D’APUZZO, 4. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 5. Ljubo MILICEVIC, 6. Ben KANTAROVSKI, 7. Jin-Hyung SONG, 8. Matt THOMPSON (c), 9. Sasho PETROVSKI, 10. Donny DE GROOT, 11. Tarek ELRICH, 13. Shaun ONTONG, 15. Sean ROONEY, 16. Jason HOFFMAN, 17. Fabio VIGNAROLI, 19. Jason NAIDOVSKI, 20. Neil YOUNG (gk), 22. Kaz PATAFTA, 24. Chris TRIANTIS

*four to be omitted*

In: Angelo COSTANZO (promoted), Donny DE GROOT (promoted), Kaz PATAFTA (promoted), Chris TRIANTIS (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Jobe WHEELHOUSE (ankle – 3 weeks), Marko JESIC (knee – indefinite)

Gold Coast United squad: 1. 20.Scott HIGGINS (gk), 3.Michael THWAITE, 4.Daniel PIORKOWSKI, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Jason CULINA (c), 13.Bas VAN DEN BRINK, 14.Joel PORTER, 15.Tahj MINNIECON, 16.Kristian REES, 17.Matt OSMAN, 22.Adama TRAORE, 23.Steve FITZSIMMONS, 24.ANDERSON, 40.Robbie BAJIC

In: Daniel PIORKOWSKI (promoted)
Out: Steve PANTELIDIS (suspended – 1 week)
Unavailable: JEFFERSON (knee injury - 9 weeks), James BROWN (shin injury - 1 week), Jess VANSTRATTAN (ankle injury - 4 weeks), Steve PANTELIDIS (suspended - 1 week), ROBSON (thigh - 1 week)

Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix

Sunday 30 August 2009, Sydney Football Stadium, 5.00pm local

Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix end round four with what looms as a very difficult game for the home team against a Wellington side that have a history of getting results against Sydney.

Last week the rose coloured glasses came off with the so-called European style of Sydney FC resembling an English league conference game when the Bling luckily escaped Gosford with a nil all draw. Clint Bolton the hero saving a late Mariners penalty and another late shot on goal.

Wellington will hang back in this game and will try to catch Sydney on the break with ex-Crystal Palace man Paul Ifil, Brazilian Daniel and Leo Bertos all eager to feed poaching English Striker Chris Greencare. While for Sydney FC, look for Karol Kisel, Alex Brosque, Kofi Danning and John Aloisi to be more heavily involved in this game than they were last week against the Fisherman.

Bling Quotes: “It’s good when you get along with each other and you like each other and certainly you respect each other,” said Stephen Keller and resident hoofer about team mate Simon Colosimo.

“Between all four (of us) including (Sung Hwan) Byun and Shannon (Cole) at the moment - they’re also contributing a lot to our defensive performance," said Simon Colosimo.

“They (Wellington) have had a pretty good start to the season.

“I think Leo Bertos is their most dangerous player. I know he hasn’t scored yet but I know Leo from my time in Perth and I think he’s one of their best," finished Colosimo.

Phoenix Quotes:"Sydney has lot of quality and we can't afford to keep going behind. It's good to start on an even keel and even pop one in early so we can put them on the back foot," said Wellington defender/midfielder John McKain.

“Up front they are dangerous with Johnny (Aloisi) and Brosquey (Alex Brosque) as well. They've got someone like Steve Corica behind and he may be getting on in years but he's still a quality player. They've got quality all over the park.

"But we're a bit of a bogey team for them so hopefully this weekend we can notch up something special for the start our season," added a confident McKain.

A Football Story Prediction: Sydney C 2 Phoenix 0

Sydney FC Radio Announcement

An announcement was made this week by Sydney FC that SBS Radio will broadcast all of the Sky Blues’ remaining home games during the 2009/10 Hyundai A-League season.

The matches will be broadcast live on SBS Digital Radio 6 and simulcast online at sbs.com.au/radio.

“We are extremely happy to have SBS as a partner,” said Sydney FC CEO, Stefan Kamasz. “This is a great result for the club and a great result for our fans. To have live commentary of our home games available to a radio audience here in Sydney is a very important step for Sydney FC.”

Saturday’s radio broadcast of the contest between Sydney FC and Wellington will feature expert commentary and analysis from former Socceroo and Sydney United captain, Aytek Genc.

Coverage across the season will be provided by a host of experienced SBS talent including The World Game’s Les Murray, David Basheer and Vitor Sobral, together with SBS Radio’s Attila Mosonyi and Marco Lucchi.

To hear all the action live in English tune in to SBS Digital Radio 6 on Sunday to from 4.30pm, or go to sbs.com.au/radio to catch all of the online simulcast action.

Sydney FC Squad: 11. Clint BOLTON (gk), 3. Stephan KELLER, 4. Simon COLOSIMO, 5. Mitchell PRENTICE, 6. Karol KISEL, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 9. John ALOISI, 10. Steve CORICA (c), 11. Kofi DANNING, 12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN, 17. Matthew JURMAN, 18. Adam CASEY, 19. Mark BRIDGE, 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 22. Sung Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT.

*Four to be omitted*

In: Mitchell PRENTICE (promoted), Stuart MUSIALIK (promoted), Adam CASEY (promoted), Rhyan GRANT (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Sebastian RYALL (suspended – 1 week)

Wellington Phoenix squad: 1. Mark PASTON (gk), 2. Manny MUSCAT, 3. Tony LOCHHEAD, 4. Jon McKAIN, 5. DIEGO, 6. Tim BROWN, 7. Leo BERTOS, 8. Paul IFILL. 9. Chris GREENACRE, 10. Michael FERRANTE, 11. DANIEL, 12. Jiang CHEN, 13. Troy HEARFIELD, 16. David MULLIGAN, 17. Vince LIA, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 20. Reece CROWTHER (gk), 21. Marco ROJAS, 22. Andrew DURANTE (c), 23. Costa BARBAROUSES
*five to be omitted*

In: Tim BROWN (return from injury), Jiang CHEN (promoted), David MULLIGAN (promoted), Marco ROJAS (promoted), Costa BARBAROUSES (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Nil

Quotes courtesy from Sportal Australia and A League website.

A League Round 4 Preview Part One

Friday 28 August 2009

Adelaide United v North Queensland Fury

Friday 28 August 2009, Hindmarsh Stadium, 7.30pm local (8.00pm AEST)

Round four kicks off with a Friday double header. The action begins in Adelaide with the Reds taking on the winless and pointless Fury. The Reds will be looking to bounce back from being outplayed by the Gold Coast while the Fury will be looking for their first ever A League point.

Adelaide will be missing Travis Dodd while the Fury will be hoping one at least of their defenders knows how to play the offside trap.

Reds Quotes:“It’s very disappointing but there’s not much you can do about it, you’ve just got to get on with it".said Reds Coach Aurelio Vidmar speaking about the disappointment at the loss of Captain Travis Dodd to a calf injury.

"But we’ll still put out our strongest team and I’m still very confident we can get the three points, because we’re in a position already after four rounds that it’s a must win,” added a determined Vidmar.

“Every striker wants to score as many goals as they can and don’t get me wrong, the opportunities have got to come, we’ve just got to make sure we put them away…and hopefully on Friday night they’ll be in the back of the net,” said the Reds’ former Ghanaian international Lloyd Owusu speaking about Fridays night’s game with the Fury.

Furious Quotes:'I want to bring that attacking flair. We've got Robbie up front, there haven't been too many balls put through to him, so hopefully I can do that,'' said 25-year-old Attacking midfielder Fred Agius who could debut for the Fury on Friday Night.

Here is under pressure Fury Coach Ian Ferguson speaking about left back Shane Stefanutto’s inclusion in the Socceroos squad for next weeks game against South Korea: “It's a great thing for Shane to be selected to play for his country and I'm sure David (Williams) will want to be given another chance with the Socceroos and (Osama) Malik recently toured Argentina with the Young Socceroos.

“We have quality players in this club, we just have to click,” added Ferguson.

A Football Story Prediction: Adelaide 3 - Fury 0

Adelaide United Squad: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 3.ALEMAO, 4.Iain FYFE, 5.Daniel MULLEN, 7.Lucas PANTELIS (c), 9.CRISTIANO, 10.Adam HUGHES, 11.Lloyd OWUSU, 12.Paul REID, 14.Scott JAMIESON, 15.Francesco MONTEROSSO, 16.Inseob SHIN, 17.Michael MARRONE, 20.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 21.Mark RUDAN, 23.Joe COSTA

*two to be omitted

In: Paul REID (returns from injury), Mark RUDAN (promoted)

Out: 13.Travis DODD (calf – 1 week), 18.Fabian BARBIERO (calf – 1 week)
Unavailable: 6.Cassio (calf – 2 weeks), 8.Kristian SARKIES (calf – indefinite)

North Queensland Fury squad: 1.Paul HENDERSON (gk), 2.Robbie MIDDLEBY, 3.Chris TADROSSE, 6.Ufuk TALAY, 8. Shane STEFANUTTO, 9.Robbie FOWLER (c), 14.Chris GROSSMAN, 15.Fred AGIUS, 16.Paul KOHLER, 18.James ROBINSON, 19.Daniel MCBREEN, 20.Justin PASFIELD (rgk), 22.Karl DODD, 23.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 24.Dyron DAAL

In: Fred AGUIS, Chris GROSSMAN

Out: John TAMBOURAS, David WILLIAMS (thigh – 1 week)
Unavailable: Scott WILSON (foot – 4 weeks), Jacob TIMPANO (hamstring – indefinite), Jeremy BROCKIE (quadriceps – indefinite), Osama MALIK (thigh – 1 week), Jason SPAGNUOLO (hamstring - 1 week)

Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory

Friday 28 August 2009, Members Equity Stadium, 8.00pm local (10.00pm AEST)

Perth Glory will be looking to continue on from last week were they more or less grinded out a 2-0 win against a disappointing Newcastle Jets. The visit of Melbourne Victory who last week travelled to North Queensland and got a narrow 1-0 win against the Fury will be an opportunity for the Glory as the Victory players could be tired from all the travel.

Expect a fast start from the home team. The Socceroos trio of Mile Sterjovski, Jacob Burns and Chris Coyne will be out to prove to Pim Verbeek they are worthy of a World Cup place after missing out on the latest Socceroos squad to face South Korea next week.

The return of former Brazilian international Amaral could be an inspired choice if the veteran stays fit as the Glory lack a genuine playmaker.

Having Adrian Leijer back from OS is a huge bonus for the Victory. Club captain Kevin Muscat is still out injured for two more weeks and Leijer's return from Fulham after almost three years away is almost like the former Olyroos captain never left. A negative for the Victory is that left back Even Berger is out for two weeks.

Glorious Quotes:“He has an infectious character, he’s bubbly, a good guy and great player. He felt that the club and fans didn’t get the best from him last season and he wanted to come back and help the team achieve our goals this season and I’m sure he will be able to do that,”said Glory Coach Dave Mitchell talking about prodigal son Amaral.

“The reception has been great, the team has made me feel very welcome and I think the team this year has big potential. There is a strong squad and I think I can complement the players that are already here,” said Amaral talking about his glorious return.

Victory Quotes: "I think it's always difficult to travel over that distance and also to New Zealand and to Townsville. We found it difficult to get the guys up for the game. It's something we need to learn to cope with if we are going to do well. We've got our flight protocols in place and it's really about individual motivation to play at their best every game, home and away, travel or no travel," Victory Coach Ernie Merrick said.

A Football Story Prediction: Glory 1 - Victory 1

Perth Glory Squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 4.Andy TODD, 6.Chris COYNE, 7.Jacob BURNS (c), 8.Victor SIKORA, 10.Wayne SRHOJ, 11.Branko JELIC, 12.Scott NEVILLE, 13.Scott BULLOCH, 14.Eugene DADI, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17.Todd HOWARTH, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 20.Aleks VRTESKI (gk), 21.Mile STERJOVSKI, 23.Andrija JUKIC, 24.Matthew MAYORA, 25.AMARAL

*three to be omitted*

In: Scott BULLOCH (promoted), Eugene DADI (promoted), AMARAL (promoted - guest player)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Jamie COYNE (knee - 2 weeks), Jimmy DOWNEY (knee - 4 weeks), Jamie HARNWELL (hamstring - 1 week), Anthony SKORICH (hip - 5 weeks)

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), 5.Surat SUKHA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.NEY FABIANO, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS (c), 14.Billy CELESKI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 17.Matthew FOSCHINI, 20.Glen MOSS (gk), 22.Nick WARD

In: Matthew FOSCHINI (promoted)

Out: Evan BERGER (groin - 2 weeks)
Unavailable: Kevin MUSCAT (hamstring - 2 weeks)

Saturday 29 August 2009

Brisbane Roar v Central Coast Mariners

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Local kick-off: 3.00pm

Referee: Ben Williams

The Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners have the Saturday to themselves. The Roar will face a tough Mariners side. The Fisherman will be disapointed they are not on nine points after out playing the Jets in round two and missing two late chances against Sydney FC last week including a penalty. The Mariners should have had a perfect record instead they have started the season with a win and two draws.

The Roar has not won a game so far this season. They have played well in their last two. but they have only two draws to show for their attacking efforts. Craig Moore and Bob Malcom do not look comfortable at the back and it appears the loss of midfielder dynamo Massimo Murdocha is affecting their play.

Roar Quotes: "Everyone was disappointed with the crowd on the weekend."(But) from a team's perspective, we have only really played 45 minutes poorly (this season) and that was in the second half against Wellington.

"But it's a long season and we encourage our fans to continue to support us because we will get there - we will be there at the end of the season.

"It's not all gloom and doom." said Roar coach Frank Farina speaking about the record low crowd of 7,084 fans last Sunday.

Mariners Quotes: "We need to keep on top of what we’ve been doing. We are really well disciplined, the only thing we need to do is keep the ball a wee bit better, as we said last weekend. We got better as the game went on whereas the week before we probably dropped off a wee bit in the second half.

"It’d be great to put a good 90 minutes in at the weekend, and three points would put pressure on Sydney and Gold Coast as well," said Mariners boss Lawrie McKinna.

A Football Story Prediction: Roar 2 - Mariners 1

Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 3. Luke DEVERE, 4. Craig MOORE (c), 5. Josh McCLOUGHAN, 6. David DODD, 7. Michael ZULLO, 9. Sergio VAN DIJK, 10. Charlie MILLER, 11. REINALDO, 12. Matt MUNDY, 13. HENRIQUE, 15. Matt McKAY, 16. Bob MALCOLM, 17. Mitch NICHOLS, 18. Danny TIATTO, 20. Griffin McMASTER (gk), 24. Robbie KRUSE.

*two to be omitted*

In: Josh McCLOUGHAN (returns from injury), REINALDO (promoted)

Out: Tommy OAR (suspended - 1 week)

Unavailable: Andrew PACKER (adductor - 2/3 months), Massimo MURDOCCA (fractured leg - 3/4 months), Tommy OAR (suspended - 1 week)

Central Coast Mariners squad: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 5. Brad PORTER, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 8. Dean HEFFERNAN, 9. Nik MRDJA, 11. Dylan MACALLISTER, 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 15. Andrew CLARK, 16. Nigel BOOGAARD, 18. Alex WILKINSON (c), 19. Matt SIMON, 20. Danny VUKOVIC, 21. Ahmad ELRICH, 22. Nicky TRAVIS, 23. Adam KWASNIK

*one to be omitted*

In: Andrew CLARK (promoted)

Out: Nil

Unavailable: Chris DOIG (calf - 2 weeks), Shane HUKE (knee - 4 weeks), Adrian CACERES (hamstring - 1 week)

Hyundai A-League Head-to-Head: Played 14: Brisbane Roar wins 6, Central Coast Mariners wins 2, Drawn 6

Overall Head-to-Head: Played 19: Brisbane Roar wins 7, Central Coast Mariners wins 4, Drawn 8

Quotes Courtesy of Sportal Australia and A League website.