Brisbane Roar boss John Aloisi is backing his squad to match Perth Glory’s physicality in Sunday’s Hyundai A-League clash at Suncorp Stadium.
The Glory are quickly becoming known as one of the most physical sides in the league, but with a raft of experienced players in his squad, Aloisi believes the Roar will be able to match Perth’s physicality.
“We have players that are experienced enough to be able to cope with the physical side so we won’t get bullied. We showed when we played them in Sydney during pre-season that that won’t happen,” Aloisi said.
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“We’re prepared and know the way they’ll look to play. We just need to be patient, play our game and not get too anxious.
“We know that we’re going to have a lot of possession but we’ll have to be careful because we know that Perth are a threat on the counter.”
The Roar have the edge in past meetings between the clubs, winning more than half the matches between the sides.
Brisbane and Perth have already met twice since the conclusion of last season, with Perth securing a 2-1 Westfield FFA Cup victory before the Roar dominated a pre-season clash in Sydney, winning 4-0.
The Glory have only won one of their last 10 matches at at Suncorp Stadium and Aloisi says it will be great to have the Roar’s faithful home supporters behind them on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a game that the supporters will enjoy and we want to win of course, especially in front of our home fans,” Aloisi said.
“We’re strong at Suncorp, we know that Perth don’t enjoy traveling here. We want to make sure we keep on improving and if we do that, the results will take care of themselves.”
Midfielder Brett Holman says last weekend’s maiden victory against Central Coast Mariners, as well as having played Perth twice in recent history, provides a great confidence boost heading into this weekend’s clash.
“It was really important last week and now coming back and playing at home is big in keeping the confidence up but we know it’s going to be a tough game,” Holman said.
“We got three points last week which gives you a good confidence boost. We’re still creating a lot of chances and the confidence will go up even further if we can find the net more.
“We’ve played Perth in pre-season, we know what to expect and we’ll match them physically.”
Jamie Maclaren will be looking to open his goal-scoring account for season 2016/17 after creating a number of good opportunities in last weekend’s victory over the Mariners.
Aloisi believes the goals will come from Maclaren’s boot if he continues to create chances and perform well.
“It’s not that he missed goals, [Mariners keeper Paul Izzo] made some really good saves, he hit the crossbar and his movement was very good,” Aloisi said.
“Jamie’s a goal scorer so if he can keep on playing like that then the goals will come.”
Winger Tommy Oar this week was one of five Hyundai A-League players named in an extended 30-man Caltex Socceroos squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier.
The final squad will be named following this weekend’s club fixtures, giving Head Coach Ange Postecoglou final chance to observe players in their respective matches.
“It’s great for Tommy and it shows how much Ange [Socceroos Head Coach Ange Postecoglou] rates him as a player,” Aloisi said.
“I don’t think it will be on his mind too much, he just wants to do really well for Brisbane Roar.
“The more that our players play together the better they’re going to get, their understanding is going to improve and Tommy Oar glimpses last week that he’s going to be a handful for any defender.”
