Canberra United coach Vicki Linton is expecting a major battle from Brisbane Roar as both sides attempt to snare their first points of the A-League Women season.
The Roar opened their season with a pair of late heartbreaking losses to Perth Glory followed by a 3-2 defeat to Melbourne Victory.
Canberra are 0-2 after suffering tight losses to Melbourne City and Adelaide United.
Both Brisbane and Canberra are desperate for a win, and Linton expects a hard-fought battle in the bottom-of-the-table clash at Viking Park on Thursday night.
“They’re a very proud team, and I think like us they’ll be fighting for a win, their first win for the season,” Linton said.
“They’ve had some tough times as well, so we’re looking for them to come down here and battle.”
Canberra haven’t been in action since their 2-1 loss to Adelaide on December 12.
They were due to take on Perth Glory last Saturday but the match was postponed due to WA’s border restrictions.
Linton feels the extended break between games has been good for her side.
“Sometimes it’s not good because it’s great to have the games to focus on, but with where we were at, it was just nice to have some time to build and spend more time together,” Linton said.
“It took a long time for everyone to get here (for this season) and to get on the field, so it’s probably taken us a couple of extra weeks to start to gel and find those combinations.
“So I do think this break has been good. It’s been about the right time, giving us good prep into this last game before Christmas.”
