Queensland Roar may be missing a host of players through injury and international selection, but coach Frank Farina will still be looking for the three points when they take on the Phoenix in Wellington this Sunday.
Injuries have kept Hyuk-Su Seo, Robbie Kruse and Ben Griffin on the sidelines, while Sergio van Dijk is on the comeback trail from a calf problem.
Add in Charlie Miller and Danny Tiatto, who are both carrying ailments of their own, and you have one seriously depleted list, with Farina going so far as to describe the shortage in players as the worst to hit the club in its Hyundai A-League history.
Exacerbating things further for Queensland is that it has had five players, headlined by defender Luke DeVere and striker Tahj Minniecon, drafted into the Young Socceroos squad for the upcoming Asian Football U-19 Championships.
“I think we’ve got 16 players available for selection, on top of that with a couple of boys from the Youth League who are ready to step up,” Farina said.
“We’ve had times where we’ve had a fair few injuries and people unavailable, but this would probably be the tightest it has been.”
Wellington is yet to defeat the Roar since its inception into the Hyundai A-League last season but Farina saw the Phoenix, coming off an upset 1-0 away win over the Central Coast Mariners, as a strong challenge.
“They’re a good side, particularly over there, they’ve had a few hiccups at home but they’ll be full of confidence after the win over the Central Coast,” he said.
“They’ve got some good players, particularly (Shane) Smeltz up front who is always a danger, so it’s going to be a tough road trip for us, but hopefully we can get some points.”
“We’ll be going out there to try and win the game.”
Farina was confident that Tiatto and Miller would continue to play uninhibited despite their physical restrictions.
“Danny has been walking wounded since day one but he just manages to get himself up and get through games.”
“Charlie has got that ongoing problem with the hernia but that’s not going to stop him from playing.”
