It’s pretty simple – if Brisbane want to get out of their group and into the Round of 16, this is a must win.
Date: Tuesday 17 April, 2012
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEST, 7.30pm local
Venue: Brisbane Stadium
Head-to-head
Played: 1 Wins: Brisbane 0, Ulsan 0, Draw: 1
Previous encounter
Brisbane 1, Ulsan 1, 4 April 2012
History:
These two sides faced off for the first time ever only a couple of short weeks ago. Roar did brilliantly to take a 1-1 draw away from South Korea. Young defender Matt Jurman was sent off just after half-time, and that could have left his teammates in the lurch, but this Brisbane side is special.
Michael Theoklitos saved the ensuing penalty and although Ulsan later equalized through Lee Jae-Seong, the fact that the men in orange charged on and continued to create chances with just 10 players left on the field typified their fearlessness.
Form:
Past five matches:
Brisbane: DWWDW
Ulsan: LDDWD
Summary of form:
Ange Postecoglou probably couldn’t be happier with where his team sits at the minute. While the Central Coast Mariners ultimately fell victim to the schedule clashes of their Hyundai A-League commitments and their AFC Champions League foray, if anything it has pushed Brisbane to another level.
Their last loss was way back on the first matchday of the ACL, to FC Tokyo, but before that you have to go right back to January 28, when they were upset by the Newcastle Jets. With another home Grand Final waiting on Sunday, and after a week’s rest, the Roar should be ready to go for this one.
Ulsan are similar, in that they’ve only lost once in their last 10 games across all competitions, but there’s probably a few too many draws in that batch for their liking.
After winning four in a row in March, a draw with FC Toyko and a loss to Daegu in the K-League kicked off a difficult run for the Horangi, having won just one out of six since then. Still, they sit in fourth spot in their domestic league and equal second in Group F in the ACL, so they should present a terrific challenge to the Roar.
Match Committee:
Brisbane will be fresh after enjoying a week off after earning their right to host the A-League Grand Final nearly two weeks ago, and are helped by the fact that they have a fairly clean bill of health.
However, Besart Berisha is battling a virus and may be rested. Matt Jurman earned a red card in their last ACL match, as well, so he’ll be suspended. Ulsan, on the other hand, will be close to full strength.
Danger men:
Nick Fitzgerald – The young gun scored against Ulsan last time they met and will most likely play a major role in this match as well, given the Roar will need to ease their team through the week with the big A-League decider on the other end of it.
With Thomas Broich set to play in a false nine role if Berisha does not pull through, Fitzgerald and Henrique will be tasked with pinning Ulsan’s fullbacks down and piling on the pressure.
Kwak Tae-Hwi – The 30-year-old captain of both Ulsan and the South Korean national team is a cool head at the back for the Horangi and will have his hands full keeping Brisbane’s strike weapons from firing.
However, he also doesn’t mind getting forward himself – in their last match against each other, Kwak hit the crossbar with a solid header that had Roar counting their lucky stars.
At the end of the day…
It’s pretty simple – if Brisbane want to get out of their group and into the Round of 16, this is a must win. Whether they actually can depends on two factors.
First, with the Grand Final on Sunday, can they focus on this and avoid looking ahead? That’s easier said than done, but the Roar are made of the right stuff and have a track record of getting the job done when they’ve needed to.
While Ange Postecoglou’s future will no doubt become a distraction, these players are mature and professional enough to push all the external influences to one side. The other question is, can they match it with Ulsan?
Their last match suggests more than that – arguably, if it wasn’t for Matt Jurman’s send-off, Brisbane would have taken all three points away from South Korea.
They didn’t, but surely that will have left =Roar hungry to claim them this time around against an Ulsan side who are looking a little shaky on past results, not to mention the travel factor. Brisbane can do this.
