Roar Review – Semi Final Preview
After last weeks gripping 2-1 come from behind win over Melbourne Victory in the Elimination Final, Brisbane Roar find themselves 90 –or 120- minutes away from a fourth Grand Final appearance.
Despite getting the result however, the performance from Brisbane –particularly in the first half- was below par, with the Victory controlling the majority of the game with Brisbane uncharacteristically struggling to hold the ball. That changed in the second half for the most part, with Corona taking control of the game, but if Brisbane star the game sluggishly again this week it’s unlikely the Wanderers will be as forgiving.
While the Wanderers have the advantage of a week off, that is somewhat negated in this Semi-Final due to the fact that Brisbane will have had 9 days in-between their win over Melbourne and the game with the Wanderers.
Despite West Sydney only being in just their fourth season, these two sides have already built up quite the on-field rivalry with two finals clashes and other landmarks occurring in this fixture. It was at Suncorp in round 4 of the 2012-13 season that the Wanderers picked up their first ever win in the A-League thanks to a Mark Bridge goal, while fast-forwarding to the end of the season they also achieved their first ever finals win against the Roar. A game which was sealed by a delightful Shinji Ono goal which sent the Wanderers to their first Grand Final in their maiden season, and ended Brisbane’s hopes of a three-peat the week before the decider.
Fast-forward 12 months ahead and after Brisbane beat the Wanderers to the Premiers Plate the two sides lined up in the 2014 decider up here in Brisbane. After an edgy first half, Western Sydney looked to be on course for redemption after losing the previous years decider after Matthew Spiranovic’s near post header put the away side in front. The game however then turned in favour of the home side with Nikolai Topor-Stanley forced off with injury, and with the Wanderers not having a specialist central defender on the bench, Brisbane took advantage with Besart Berisha leaping highest to head home the equaliser in the last 10 minutes to send the game to extra time. In that extra time period, Brisbane had all the momentum and got the winner early in the second period of 15 minutes when Henrique slotted home from near the penalty spot to give Brisbane a third Championship in four seasons and the Wanderers with back to back defeats in the decider, and some sole searching ahead of a big ACL clash just days later.
Switching focus back to the present and the key for this game could loom in both sides attack, with both sides possessing clinical strikers who are in form at the right time of the season. Despite being labelled a ‘super sub’ for large parts of the season, Brendan Santalab has four goals in his last two stars helping the Wanderers to their top two position.
Brisbane meanwhile are spearheaded by youngster Jamie Maclaren, whose 18 goals so far this season is the highest of any local player in the competitions history. Maclaren has also proven to be a dangerous man for Brisbane in this fixture, with five of his strikes coming against this weekends opponent.
This season against Western Sydney Wanderers Many people have stated that Brisbane have a winning record this season against the Wanderers, while in the league that’s true, however overall the ledger is all square with both sides winning two games a piece.
FFA Cup Round of 32
Western Sydney Wanderers (1) Mebrahtu 69’ Brisbane Roar (0)
The first of four meetings this season between these two sides took place in mid-August down in Penrith, right around the time when uncertainty surrounding Brisbane’s future was reaching its height. Despite that Brisbane controlled large parts of the game, particularly in the first half, before a goal midway through the second half from Gol Gol Mebrahtu settled the game for the home side.
Round 1
Western Sydney Wanderers (1) Nichols 13’ Brisbane Roar (3) Maclaren 9’, 34’, Bowles 23’
Six weeks later it was time for the start of the season, and Brisbane got off to a flying start scoring the seasons first goal inside the opening 10 minutes after a defensive blunder from the Wanderers played Maclaren in. Western Sydney responded quickly with a goal down our right side through Mitch Nichols, before a pair of goals from corners gave the Roar a commanding lead. The second half was a more even affair with the Wanderers pushing for a way back into the game, but it was the visitors who had the best chance of the half.
Round 9
Western Sydney Wanderers (2) Bridge 29’, Nichols 79’ Brisbane Roar (1) Maclaren 36’
Round 9 saw Brisbane’s third trip to Western Sydney for the season right in the middle of the supporter/FFA standoff after media reports surrounding crowd trouble, which created a different backdrop for the game. The home side however weren’t affected with a flowing move down the left finished by Mark Bridge before an equaliser by Jamie Maclaren levelled the scores going into half time. Similar to round one, the second half was an even contest before a long range strike from Mitch Nichols sealing the points for the Wanderers.
Round 22
Brisbane Roar (3) Maclaren 5’, 81’, Petratos 84’ Western Sydney Wanderers (2) Andreu 74’ (p.k), Castelen 78’
The most recent meeting between the two sides took place in early March where Brisbane Roar got off to a flying start with Jamie Maclaren getting his 4th of the season against the Wanderers at the near post with a flick on. After the game levelled out, defensive errors- a trend of previous games- re-emerged with Michael Theo conceding a penalty for the equaliser, before a Shane Stefanutto slip allowed Castelen in for the Wanderers second.
From then, Brisbane completed a miraculous comeback, with a second on the night for Jamie Maclaren getting the equaliser, before Henrique capitalised on a poor pass from Dimas, playing in Petratos for the winner.
Brisbane Roar squad
1) Michael Theo, 3) Shane Stefanutto, 5) Corey Brown, 7) Corona, 8) Steven Lustica, 9) Jamie Maclaren, 10) Henrique, 13) Jade North, 14) Daniel Bowles, 15) James Donachie, 17) Matt McKay, 18) Javier Hervas, 19) Jack Hingert, 21) Jamie Young, 22) Thomas Broich, 23) Dimitri Petratos, 24) Tommy Oar 28) Brandon Borrello. *two to be omitted.
Western Sydney Wanderers squad
2) Shannon Cole, 3) Scott Jamieson, 4) Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 5) Brendan Hamill, 6) Mitch Nichols, 7) Romeo Castelen, 8) Dimas Delgado, 10) Dario Vidosic, 11) Brendon Santalab, 12) Scott Neville, 15) Kearyn Baccus, 16) Jaushua Sotirio, 17) Alberto Aguilar, 18) Andreu Mayoral, 19) Mark Bridge, 20) Andrew Redmayne, 21) Jacob Pepper, 30) Liam Reddy.
Expected line-ups
Brisbane XI– Young, Hingert, North, Bowles, Brown, Petratos, Corona, McKay, Oar, Broich, Maclaren. Substitutes- Theo, Donachie, Lustica, Borrello, Henrique. Omitted- Stefanutto, Hervas.
After last weeks dramatic win over Melbourne in the Elimination Finals, John Aloisi is highly unlikely to make any changes to his starting line-up after making the decision to swap Brandon Borrello –a regular for the majority of the season- for late season recruit Tommy Oar.
While the right hand side seemed to be more effective with Borrello –who combined well with full-back Jack Hingert and right midfielder Dimitri Petratos- as opposed to Oar, it’s unlikely that Aloisi will do a back flip and re-insert a player who scored 5 goals in 19 starts this season. Steven Lustica is a likely inclusion for Javier Hervas as the midfielder on the bench.
Western Sydney XI- Redmayne, Neville, Alberto, Topor-Stanley, Jamieson, Dimas, Andreu, Nichols, Castelen, Bridge, Santalab. Substitutes: Reddy, Hamill, Vidosic, Baccus, Sotirio. Omitted: Cole, Pepper.
Coming off two straight wins and a 14 day break, Tony Popovic will have a fully rested squad at his disposal in their attempt to secure a third Grand Final berth in four seasons. The week off however, in addition to the teams good form to end the season will likely ensure that it’s an unchanged side from the one which beat Wellington on the final day of the season. If any change is made, it would likely be amongst the substitutes with Sotirio a possibility to add an extra attacking option to the bench.
Recent form
Brisbane- WDWWL West Sydney- WDLWW
Top Scorer
Brisbane- Jamie Maclaren (18) West Sydney- Mitch Nichols, Brendon Santalab (10)
Elsewhere this weekend the clubs youth side play host to Townsville based Northern Fury in the NPL Queensland this afternoon down at Redlands. The youth side have been performing well in recent weeks without getting the results, as evidenced by last weeks unlucky 2-1 loss away from home to league leading FNQ Heat in Cairns. The game is part of a double header at the Cleveland Showgrounds, with Redlands hosting the aforementioned FNQ at 3.00pm before Brisbane Roar and Northern Fury at 5.00pm.
Google+
