The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

[VIDEO] Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar highlights: A-League scores, blog

28th March, 2015
Kick-off: 7:30pm (AEDT)
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Form: Melbourne City (D-W-L-W-W), Brisbane Roar (D-W-L-L-L)
Table position: Melbourne City 6th, Brisbane Roar 7th
Last meeting: Melbourne City 1 – 0 Brisbane Roar (07/12/14)
Head-to-head: Melbourne City 6, Brisbane Roar 6, 2 draws
Coverage: Live, Fox Sports 5
Betting: City $1.90, draw $3.50 Roar $3.75

Melbourne City
1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK)
5. Erik PAARTALU
7. Iain RAMSAY
8. Massimo MURDOCCA
9. Harry NOVILLO
10. Robert KOREN
13. Jonatan GERMANO
14. James BROWN
15. David WILLIAMS
16. Josh KENNEDY
17. Jason HOFFMAN
18. Paulo RETRE
20. Tando VELAPHI (GK)
22. Jack CLISBY
23. Mate DUGANDZIC
24. Patrick KISNORBO (c)
26. Marc MARINO
27. Kew JALIENS

Brisbane Roar
2. Jerome POLENZ
3. Shane STEFANUTTO
4. Adam SAROTA
6. George LAMBADARIDIS
8. Steven LUSTICA
9. ANDRIJA Kaluderovic
12. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO
16. Devante CLUT
18. Luke BRATTAN
19. Jack HINGERT
21. Jamie YOUNG (gk)
23. Dimitri PETRATOS
26. Lachlan JACKSON
28. Brandon BORRELLO
34. Shannon BRADY
36. Fraser CHALMERS (gk)
The Roar need a win against Melbourne City to keep their slim finals hopes alive. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Pro
28th March, 2015
72
2172 Reads

Melbourne City host Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park in a must-see match that could end the game of ‘ladder leapfrog’ between these two that started in Round 9. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEDT).

If the heat was on in these teams’ battle for the sixth and last spot in the A-League finals, then this clash is the boiling point.

In their previous match-up, in early December (Round 9), Melbourne City prevailed 1-0 thanks to an Aaron Mooy penalty. Since then, both sides have remained side-by-side on the ladder in sixth and seventh spot, often trading places round by round.

A win for City could spell the end of Brisbane’s title defence, with an eight-point gap seemingly too large for the Roar to haul back in five games.

Meanwhile, a win for Brisbane would tighten up the race for sixth spot, leaving them two points behind City with a game in hand. But with their heavy schedule and the unavailability of many key players, a victory for Frans Thijssen’s men seems unlikely.

The champions remain without Thomas Broich, Jade North, Henrique and Michael Theo through injury, while Matt McKay, Luke DeVere, James Donachie and Corey Brown are away on international duty.

This lack of quality and squad depth was drastically exposed on Wednesday night when Brisbane lost 4-1 at home to bottom side Western Sydney Wanderers.

With four of their starting defenders missing, the Roar were forced into pairing defensive midfielder Luke Brattan with left-sided defender Shane Stefanutto as makeshift centre-backs. The two struggled to adapt to their new positions as the Wanderers fired in four goals.

Advertisement

Brisbane will somehow have to shore up a leaky defence that has conceded 14 goals in four games if they are to have any chance of winning tonight.

Melbourne City will be keen to exploit this weak defence, especially with attacking trio Josh Kennedy, Harry Novillo and David Williams returning to their squad.

Star playmaker Aaron Mooy will be unavailable for City due to his call up to the Socceroos but City are not short on options to fill his place. Robert Koren and James Brown are both capable in central playmaking positions to partner Erik Paartalu in the middle of the park.

Brown in particular will be hoping that his match-winning goal against Sydney FC last Friday earns him a fifth start for the season.

A City win will complete a hat-trick of victories for John van’t Schip’s side over Brisbane this season, while the Roar will be out to prevent extending their losing streak to four.

Who would have thought at the start of this season that at this stage we would be seeing reigning champions Brisbane Roar and title-favourites Melbourne City desperately battling each other for the sixth spot in the finals?

It should be an exciting affair nonetheless.

Advertisement

Prediction
Melbourne City 3 Brisbane Roar 1

Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:30pm (AEDT).

close