Queensland Roar reserve goalkeeper Griffin McMaster will be struck with a case of deja vu when he tastes Hyundai A-League action for the first time this season on Saturday night.
With regular Roar custodian Liam Reddy sidelined with a hamstring strain, McMaster will front up for the Roar in their crucial Round 19 fixture against the Central Coast Mariners at Gosford.
Oddly enough it was Round 19 last season when McMaster made his Hyundai A-League debut, the start of a key late-season cameo which ended in holding Sydney FC to a 0-0 draw in the first-leg of the minor semi-final as Reddy nursed a broken thumb.
McMaster admitted the timing of the unexpected call-up was a little strange, but that his mind was well and truly focused on the task at hand.
“Obviously when you’re the second goalkeeper, thoughts go through your mind and it is funny how things sometimes pan out,” McMaster said.
“It was good to come on the scene (last season), but I’ve only been in the game for five minutes, we start from zero on Saturday, it’s important I do my best for the team.”
“We know it’s going to be very tough this weekend, Central Coast are on fire, they’ve got players coming back and we’re going to have to really be up for it.”
Roar coach Frank Farina backed McMaster to get the job done.
“When he stepped in last year when Liam broke his thumb, he did very well for us and I expect him to do the same when he comes in on the weekend,” Farina said.
“He’s been training hard and playing with the Youth League.”
“He’d most probably be a little bit nervous, but I think he’s looking forward to it and he’s certainly capable of playing at this level.”
McMaster, who described himself as a confidence player, didn’t think nerves were an issue this time around.
“No nerves, more excitement, I’m pumped, I’m primed and ready to go,” he said.
“It’s not easy (waiting for an opportunity), but it’s mentally how you take things, you’ve just got to keep working hard and you know the wheel is going to turn.”
“I don’t think we’ve kept a clean sheet in eight games or something, so the first thing we’ve got to establish is getting a clean sheet.”
Queensland will travel to Gosford with a 16-man squad due to a question over the fitness of an ill Danny Tiatto.
However Farina was confident Tiatto would take the field on the weekend.
“He’s got a broken thumb, two broken toes, he’s got a bung shoulder, I don’t think diarrhea is going to stop Danny Tiatto, put it that way,” he said.
