Adelaide United defender Milan Susak is convinced Brisbane Roar are beatable at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Adelaide United defender Milan Susak is convinced Brisbane Roar are beatable at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
The Roar hold a 31-match unbeaten streak – the longest in Hyundai A-League history – dating back well beyond their 2010-11 premiership.
Brisbane also currently sits atop the table with maximum points from three fixtures, while Adelaide only has the solitary win.
Susak, a former Roar player, said the Reds could upset the competition’s best following a solid week of training after the 2-1 loss to Sydney FC last week at home.
“We’ve had a great week on the paddock and sorted a few issues out (from last week), and we’re pretty positive we are going to get a result,” Susak said.
“They (Brisbane Roar) work hard for each other, and at the moment they are very confident which makes a big difference.”
“But they are beatable … of course they are … they lost last year to Melbourne Victory 3-0 (in September 2010 at AAMI Park).”
Susak said it was crucial Adelaide focused on themselves and what they could bring rather than worrying about the threat Brisbane pose.
The 27-year-old pointed to last week’s example of Gold Coast United coach Miron Bleiberg.
Bleiberg suggested prior to his side’s 3-0 loss in the derby to Brisbane that he would ‘go down in the history books’ as the coach who masterminded a way to beat the Roar.
“We’ve really been working on our stuff,” Susak said.
“It’s a problem with a lot of clubs who go there and are focusing too much on them (Brisbane).”
“Clubs worry too much about how to stop them instead of playing and focusing on their own game.”
After an inconsistent start to the season that sees the Reds languishing in sixth with only one win, many have wondered why the team featuring the likes of Susak, marquee star Dario Vidosic, goal-scoring machine Sergio van Dijk and Qantas Socceroo Jon McKain, is struggling.
Early-season predictions saw United considered one of, if not the best challenger to the Roar’s crown.
Susak said the Reds have spoken about their inconsistency, suggesting the team still needed time to gel following the number of late acquisitions in the off-season and injuries currently plaguing the squad.
“All together we’ve had a meeting and spoken about a few issues, and we all know it’s not good enough,” Susak said.
“There’s been a lot of players who have come in late and we’ve had a few niggling injuries, so we haven-t really trained as a full squad together.”
“This week has probably been the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve trained all together so it’s looking much better.”
“We have a good team and we know we can do much better, we just hope that we can gel pretty quick.”
Susak, whose last game in the Hyundai A-League before departing for a short stint in Indonesia with Minangkabau FC earlier this year, was holding aloft the Hyundai A-League premiers plate for Brisbane said he could not wait to get one over on his former teammates following a week of banter via Twitter.
“I’m looking forward to getting a good result and giving it to them after the game … because they’ve (Brisbane players) been sending me a few messages during the week trying to give it to me,” Susak said.
