While the Reds and the Roar have enjoyed an overall even rivalry since the inception of the Hyundai A-League, their last result was one for the record books.
Date: Saturday 7 January, 2012
Kick-off: 5.30pm AEDT, 5.00pm local
Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium
Head-to-head
Played 20: Wins: Adelaide 8, Brisbane 6, Draws: 6
Previous encounter
Brisbane 7, Adelaide United 1, 28 October 2011
History:
While the Reds and the Roar have enjoyed an overall even rivalry since the inception of the Hyundai A-League, their last result was one for the record books.
The men in orange turned Suncorp Stadium into a bloodbath with a clinical, emphatic and merciless 7-1 rout of United. Besart Berisha did most of the damage with four goals, but the Roar didn’t have a bad player on the pitch.
Obviously, Adelaide had plenty. It was Brisbane’s biggest ever win, Adelaide’s biggest ever loss and the beginning of a downward spiral for the South Australian club – but with Kossie back in charge, it now feels like a lifetime ago.
Form:
Past five matches:
Adelaide: DLDWW
Brisbane: LLLWD
Summary of form:
Since the return of John Kosmina, it’s fair to say the Reds have got their mojo back. They are now undefeated in the three games since he took over from Rini Coolen, and their most impressive performance yet came on Big Wednesday, with a 3-1 win that stopped Melbourne Heart’s winning streak dead in its tracks.
More importantly the confidence is back at Hindmarsh, and when a team like Adelaide – with such a star-studded squad – begins to believe in itself, then anything is possible.
Brisbane’s swagger isn’t quite back yet – it looked like it was, when they beat Victory on New Year’s Eve, but Ange Postecoglou slammed their effort in Wednesday’s 3-3 draw in Perth. He told the media their performance was “cowardly”, “unacceptable” and said “I can’t live with that sort of performance from our football club”. One can only imagine the hairdryer treatment he gave his players.
Match Committee:
Sidelined for Adelaide are Cassio (ankle), Evgeniy Levchenko and Spase Dilevski (both groin) and former captain Jon McKain (knee soreness). The most likely to return are Dilevksi and McKain – but that’s if Kossie can find room for them in his squad. Brisbane’s injured trio – James Meyer (adductor), Thomas Broich (heel), and Henrique (knee) will be touch-and-go propositions.
Danger men:
Dario Vidosic – After an injury-plagued start to the season, the sometime Socceroo is now starting to hit the form we all expected of him. He’s been red hot over the past two matches, providing two goals against Wellington and bagging one for himself against the Heart.
A-League fans know all to well what he’s capable of, and if he can produce that level of performance on a consistent basis then perhaps Adelaide’s season still has a few more twists and turns left in it. This week he comes up against his old club, Brisbane, and his old man, assistant manager Rado Vidosic.
Ivan Franjic – Previously considered one of the best right fullbacks in the league, Franjic has shifted forward into midfield with the Roar’s new 3-4-3 formation and the move has worked wonders for him.
Not only is he seeing a lot more of the ball, he’s seeing it in positions where he can do far more damage than what he could as an overlapping right-back. He scored against Melbourne Victory on the weekend and you can’t help but feel there’s plenty more where that came from.
At the end of the day…
Just a few short weeks ago, this match looked easy to predict. Brisbane were firing. 36 matches unbeaten, goals galore, few fitness concerns and a level of football previously unseen in the A-League. Adelaide, under then-boss Rini Coolen, were hopeless.
There were injuries galore at Hindmarsh, precious little self-belief – and it seemed as if there was a welcome mat laid out in front of the visitors’ changerooms, the way that opposition teams would stroll in and claim all three points.
But of course, anything can happen in football. With Kosmina in charge, the Reds are back in town with two wins on the bounce and a sudden spring in their step, while the Roar are still trying to claw their way back into their form of old.
Given Ange Postecoglou’s remarkable post-match spray after their draw in Perth, you can take Wednesday’s match as massive step backwards. With some key players still out injured and Adelaide still honeymooning with Kossie, it’s very hard to say who will come out on top. We’ll go out on a limb and go with the Reds, simply because they’re at home and because Brisbane are no longer invincible.
