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)
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.
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