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Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi has hailed his Newcastle Jets counterpart Scott Miller for turning last season’s A-League basketcase into a solid, defensively sound and occasionally dangerous outfit.
Fresh off an upset 2-1 win over Melbourne City last weekend, the Jets take on second-placed Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
It’s a match the Roar should win if they’re serious about their title ambitions, but Aloisi remains wary of a side he believes deserves more credit for the way they’ve bounced back from the ugly turmoil of the Nathan Tinkler and Phil Stubbins regime.
“I think last year they struggled to win any games,” Aloisi said.
“This year they started off well and everyone expected them to be fighting for top six.
“Then when they went on that bad run, everyone started to criticise.
“But it takes time to get a club in order and change what he believes wasn’t a good culture. I think (Miller’s) done a good job there.”
Aloisi said the surprise victory over City was proof that, at their best, Newcastle can shut down any A-League opposition.
“They’re a hard team to break down and for them to keep the likes of Fornaroli, Novillo and Mooy quiet shows they are a difficult team to play against,” Aloisi said.
“Whatever they do, we’re prepared for everything.”
Brisbane are likely to go into the match unchanged, despite fears earlier this week bench weapon Henrique would miss out.
The 30-year-old was sent for scans after tweaking his hamstring at training but they’ve come back all clear, meaning the Roar will get the second-half boost from Henrique that has proved so valuable, so often this season.
Newcastle, meanwhile, will be counting on a further boost from new signings Steven Ugarkovic and Morten Nordstrand, who were both instrumental in the City win.
Former Danish international Nordstrand was particularly influential, scoring one goal and setting the other up off the bench.
Miller spoke this week of the Jets’ plan to close off supply to Brisbane’s midfield pair Corona and Matt McKay, who revelled in the space they were afforded by Central Coast in last week’s 4-0 belting.
“We’ll be kept busy, but we’ve analysed their game and there’s areas in their game where we can hurt them,” Jets goalkeeper Mark Birighitti said.
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