Stefan Mauk admits his frustration with Brisbane Roar’s barren spell but the midfielder backed his side to break their goal-drought against Melbourne City.
Robbie Fowler’s charges have not scored in their last three Hyundai A-League matches. They have not felt the euphoria of celebrating since Roy O’Donovan grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser in Round 1 against Perth Glory.
When Roar kick off against ladder-leaders Melbourne City on Sunday, it will have been five weeks, or 35 days, or 836 hours, since their last goal.
But it’s not for the want of trying. The Queenslanders have racked up 55 attempts on goal since they last saw the ball ripple the back of the net, at an average of 18.3 shots per game.
It has been 13 years since the one and only time that Brisbane went four matches without scoring, an unwanted record they could match on Sunday.
Roar have had the third most shots per game in the Hyundai A-League, 16.25, behind Round 6 opponents City, 16.4, and Champions, Sydney FC, 18.75.
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Only O’Donovan, with 12 shots, has had more efforts on goal than Mauk (10) for Roar and the midfielder believes Brisbane have been doing everything right up until the final touch.
“It’s the most frustrating thing about football,” Mauk said.
“You can do all the lead up play and all the tactics but scoring is the most important thing.
“We’ve been a good side in all four games and it’s just going to take that one person to score and the rest will follow.”
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Roar have had the fifth most shots in the Hyundai A-League, but three teams above them have played one more game.
Brisbane’s shot-to-goal conversion rate is a competition-low 2.2%
Free-scoring, ladder-leaders Melbourne City are Roar’s opponents on Sunday, 17 November at 4pm AEDT.
But City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis is not taking Brisbane’s goal-shy attack for granted at Dolphin Stadium in Redcliffe.
“People say they haven’t scored many goals and the thing for me is they are creating chances,” said Bouzanis.
“Against Adelaide they had some fantastic chances to score goals. Another day, they could have scored two or three.
“It’s not the fact that they are not scoring, the most important thing is that they are creating.
“They are dangerous. We know that. They are a good outfit and they have a great manager in Robbie Fowler who knows what he’s talking about.”
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