The attacking cavalry won’t return in time to help the once all-conquering Brisbane Roar arrest their record losing streak in Saturday night’s crunch A-League clash with Melbourne Victory.
The competition’s two under-pressure heavyweights meet at Suncorp Stadium with both desperate to arrest unexpected form issues.
But the Roar will again have to attempt it without classy German playmaker Thomas Broich, slippery Brazilian striker Henrique and super-sub James Meyer due to lingering injuries which are proving more costly every week.
Less than a month after celebrating a national record 36-match unbeaten streak, the defending champions slumped to third on the table with a club record fifth straight loss on Boxing Day against a plucky Gold Coast.
Brisbane were unlucky not to grab a draw due to a contentious 88th-minute penalty but the 1-0 loss to the Coast, who lifted themselves off the bottom of the table, was still their most underwhelming display in the past month.
However defiant Roar coach Ange Postecoglou rated it a solid performance and instead rued poor finishing from their depleted forward line.
“We were obviously lacking a bit of cutting edge in the front third. Unfortunately at the moment we can’t score goals and if you can’t score goals you can’t win games,” he said.
“Overall it was a decent enough performance but we obviously struggled a bit in the front third and that’s the area we need to address.”
With Postecoglou admitting Broich (heel), Henrique (knee) and Meyer (groin) were unlikely to return until the following week’s road double against Perth and Adelaide, the coach has a battle to fix the problem against the sixth-placed Victory.
The competition’s leading scorer, Albanian Besart Berisha, hasn’t looked anywhere near as dangerous in combination with Mitch Nichols, Issey Nakajima-Farran and Kofi Danning.
Broich’s unusual heel problem is the cause for most concern as he was originally expected to miss just one or two matches and is only now, four weeks later, back to running in straight lines.
The influence of the former Bundesliga midfielder is such that Postecoglou won’t rush him back early and will wait until he’s fully fit to ensure he’s playing at the business end of the season when the Roar are also involved in the Asian Champions League.
In another concern, captain Matt Smith lasted 70 minutes in his return on Boxing Day before being replaced as a precaution when his groin tightened up in a spicy second half when eight yellow cards were handed out.
The Coast’s second straight win lifts them to 12 points and leaves Adelaide United (11) in last place.
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