Brisbane striker Reinaldo is licking his lips in anticipation ahead of his side’s showdown with former goalkeeper Liam Reddy when the Roar take on the Phoenix in Wellington on Saturday.
Reinaldo, free of his lingering hamstring injury and fully fit for the first time since returning from Korea last season, will give the club a much needed boost after a rough couple of weeks that included the departure of skipper Craig Moore.
Reinaldo is expected to partner Dutchman Sergio van Dijk in a formidable attacking combination eager to get the better of Wellington’s strong defensive lineup and in particular former team-mate Reddy.
“I want to score against him. He’s a great goalkeeper, but I have been working very hard with Sergio up front and when we play together we do very well. Hopefully we can score some goals against Liam,” Reinaldo said.
“Liam played with us for past the past three years, but we know how we can score against him. It will be tough, but hopefully strikers can win the game.”
Reinaldo, the Roar’s top-scorer against the Phoenix with five goals, is sure to receive plenty of attention from the Wellington defence, but the big Brazilian is eager to contribute to his side’s chances.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there and helping the team turn things around on the pitch. I hope to score some goals to help us get the three points,” Reinaldo said.
Saturday’s match in Wellington will be Reddy’s first clash with his former club, and the Roar will surely take motivation from the gloveman’s recent comments in the media, saying training under Ange Postecoglou was ‘like going to the dentist’.
Postecoglou however seemed unfazed by Reddy’s comments.
“It’s fine. I don’t take these things personally if the players want to come out and be critical of me. I’d be disappointed if they were critical of the club to be honest, because I think the club has done nothing wrong by them,” said Postecoglou.
Postecoglou has yet to name a captain for Saturday’s clash, the Roar coach preferring to wait for the return of Tommy Oar and Matt McKay from national duty in order to first make the announcement to his playing squad.
Provided the pair return unscathed from the Asian Cup Qualifier against Kuwait, Oar and McKay will join the team in Wellington on Friday and Postecoglou is confident they will have benefited from their time away under Qantas Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek.
“Matty and Tommy are training well – we’re in constant contact with the camp. If they don’t get a run (against Kuwait) they’ve had a good week training with the national team and I’m sure they’ll be buzzing to go with us,” Postecoglou added.
