‘Focused and upbeat’ is how Kenny Lowe described the mood among the Glory squad heading into Thursday’s clash with Brisbane Roar.
The WA side’s last visit to Suncorp Stadium, less than a month ago, yielded three points as late goals from Andy Keogh and Diego Castro cancelled out Massimo Maccarone’s first-half opener for the hosts.
And Lowe is quietly confident that his charges can produce a similarly impressive performance in this week’s Round 17 match-up.
“We stayed over east after the Victory game and have been here in Brisbane since Sunday,” he explained.
“That’s given us a bit of extra time on the training ground and has also obviously meant a little less travel for the lads.
“Again we’ve had some injury issues, but we’ll play the cards that we’ve been dealt as we’ve been doing all season and just get on with it. The intensity level in training has been good, the mood in the group is upbeat and we’re all focused on securing three points on Thursday.”
Roar are currently sitting two places and three points below Glory on the Hyundai A-League ladder and Lowe feels that their season to date has, in some ways, mirrored that of his own side.
“Brisbane have been in a pretty similar predicament to ourselves,” he said. “They’ve had a disjointed year due to the fact that they’ve had a lot of injury problems, much like ourselves.
“But they still have plenty of quality in their ranks and I’m expecting another tough game, just like the last time we came here [to Suncorp Stadium].”
Glory will unfortunately be denied the services of hamstring injury-victims Alex Grant, Adam Taggart and Mitch Nichols, while central midfielder Andreu will also miss out due to a calf problem.
But Joel Chianese and Joseph Mills have recovered from their respective groin and neck injuries and return to the squad, along with Jake Brimmer.
Young midfielders Callum Timmins and Henry Hore have also flown over to Queensland and could feature in the matchday 16.
The visitors have won three of their last five clashes with Roar, outscoring the men in orange 14-9 in those fixtures.
And Glory have also claimed all three points in three of their last four games played on a Thursday, with the scoreline ending 2-1 in their favour on each of those occasions.
Match Details
Brisbane Roar FC v Perth Glory
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 6:50PM (Local) (4:50PM WST)
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referee 1: David Walsh
Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay
Fourth Official: Casey Reibelt
Video Assistant Referee: Mathew Cheeseman
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 501 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 1 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC News on Radio, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Listen App – A-League Live
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #BRIvPER
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Brisbane Roar FC Squad: 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 6.Avram PAPADOPOULOS, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 9.Massimo MACCARONE, 10.Brett HOLMAN, 11.Corey GAMEIRO, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16.Mitchell OXBORROW, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (Gk), 22.Eric BAUTHEAC, 24.Connor O’TOOLE, 31.Brendan WHITE (Gk), 36.Daniel LECK, 77.Ivan FRANJIC
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Daniel BOWLES (promoted), 5.Corey BROWN (promoted), 10.Brett HOLMAN (returns from injury), 11.Corey GAMEIRO (returns from injury), 16.Mitchell OXBORROW (promoted)
Outs: 8.Jacob PEPPER (omitted), 20.Shannon BRADY (omitted), 27.Adam SAWYER (omitted)
Unavailable: 1.Michael THEO (Gk) (finger – 2 weeks), 13.Jade NORTH (groin – indefinite), 18.Joe CALETTI (foot – 10 weeks), 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO (ankle – 1 week)
Perth Glory Squad: 3.Marc WARREN, 4.Shane LOWRY, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 8.Xavi TORRES, 9.Andy KEOGH (c), 13.Nick FEELY (Gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 16.Joseph MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 23.Scott NEVILLE, 24.Callum TIMMINS, 26.Jacob ITALIANO, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (Gk), 36.Henry HORE, 37.Walter SCOTT
**one to be omitted**
Ins: 7.Joel CHIANESE (returns from injury), 16.Joseph MILLS (returns from injury), 20.Jake BRIMMER (promoted), 24.Callum TIMMINS (promoted), 36.Henry HORE (promoted)
Outs: 2.Alex GRANT (injured), 6.Mitch NICHOLS (injured), 18.Andreu GUERAO (injured), 22.Adam TAGGART (injured)
Unavailable: 2.Alex GRANT (hamstring – 1-3 weeks), 6.Mitch NICHOLS (hamstring – 1-3 weeks), 15.Brandon WILSON (international duty), 18.Andreu GUERAO (calf – 1-3 weeks), 22.Adam TAGGART (hamstring – 1-3 weeks)
#CREATEDESTINY
