Adelaide vs Brisbane Preview – Finals Football

Finals football is always an exciting time of the year for players and supporters alike, especially when it is a cutthroat clash of such magnitude, which always adds a bit of extra spice to the game. This weekend’s fixture between, the Brisbane Roar versus Adelaide United promises to be full of tension, drama and for one of these clubs excitement, knowing that they are still alive in the finals series and that the dream of an A League title is still within their grasp.

There are 2 key factors for both teams coming into this encounter, first is both teams will need their game breakers to fire on the day, second factor which plays a huge part in finals football is momentum.

For the Reds, they will need Dario Vidosic to find those special talents we all know he is capable of, Carrusca and Cassio to fire on all cylinders to help guide the Reds around the park, Adelaide do possess a quality team that on the day can beat the best, the big question is can they?

The Roar’s key men, Broich, Berisha, Franjic & Lustica have all started to find form at the “business end” of the season and over recent weeks, and the spark has slowly started to return to the current A League champions. The team have accepted coach Mulvey’s tactics and have embraced his new playing style, one of which is Ivan Franjic being repositioned, which has proven a masterstroke and made the Roar more of an attack minded team.

Going into a finals series, of the 2 key factors I mentioned previously, I believe the main factor is momentum, the added pressure of this game being sudden death, knowing that your team has not been playing well will play a massive part in this game. Adelaide will know they will need to rediscover their form from early in the year, but if their last 10 games are anything to go by, based on statistics they would be near bottom of the league, (2 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses).

To rediscover momentum especially in a finals series with all the added pressure will be a trick that “Houdini himself” would be proud of, it will prove incredibly difficult to rediscover form and get your teams chemistry right and this is where I think the Roar have it over the Reds at present. The form of the Roar has lifted and they are going into this game a better prepared outfit then the Reds of Adelaide. The Roar have also played the Reds at home twice this season and have come away both times with victories, so playing the Reds on their home ground should not prove an issue.

Finals football is a played differently to the regular season, as we all witnessed the other night when the Victory played the Glory in the other elimination final, there is higher intensity to the game and both teams know the consequences of not taking your opportunities when they are on offer.

I am predicting the Roar in a close game because of all the above mentioned factors, I know it will be a great game with great players from both sides giving their all for club and supporters alike, can’t wait!