Brisbane Roar enter this season’s finals series after closely missing out on the Premiers’ Plate.
Following a season of ups and downs, a scoreless draw against their first finals opponent, Melbourne Victory, left them to settle for third.
It is now up to Brisbane to make amends. John Aloisi and captain Matt McKay have already spoken this week about the Roar’s desire to make the final, standing together in unison, an image that typifies Brisbane’s season.
Brisbane will be desperate to leap over the first hurdle against the Victory, and then who knows – anything can happen in a finals series.
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Strengths
Brisbane’s strengths lie in the midfield and forwards. The midfield three of Corona, Dimitri Petratos and McKay have formed an impressive partnership this season, combining the energy, speed and guile with metronomic passing, long-range shooting and effective tackling to form a well balanced centre of the park.
Corona stands as one of the signings of the season, having emerged from nowhere to complete the highest amount of passes in the league and make the holding midfield position his own. On the other hand, Petratos has finally begun to fulfil his potential but as an attacking midfielder, not a winger.
Through honing his speed, agility, shooting and passing, Aloisi has managed to mould Petratos into the archetypal creative midfielder, with a couple of very impressive goals helping the former Sydney FC players confidence immensely. Brisbane will be the better with these three midfielders fit and in form.
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After failing to score against a weakened Victory team, the Roar’s front line will be keen to make amends. However, Aloisi has a selection dilemma on his hands with Brandon Borrello, Thomas Broich, Jamie Maclaren and Tommy Oar all ready to play. As we all know, four does not fit into three.
Another strength of the Roar is the cohesiveness throughout the squad. Aloisi has managed to foster an environment where every player is proud of the club and everyone knows their role. The results have surprised some, but Aloisi will not be one. Along with his brother Ross, the Aloisi boys have created a team that has so far defied the odds, and they will be keen to put the final nail in the haters’ coffins.
Key Player
Although it may be difficult to decide the makeup of the front three, one player we do know will start is Maclaren. He has been one of the many shining lights in the team this season and has established himself as one of the most clinical strikers in the league.
While the youngster has managed to score 18 goals this season, he has only managed one goal since his hat-trick against the Victory at the start of March. This poses a slight problem for the Roar as they have looked to him for inspiration on many occasions this season. He knows each team the Roar face will be well aware of his ability, often trying to mark him out of the game with one or two defenders by his side, shaping his finals series as a true test of his footballing nous and ability.
For Brisbane to make any headway in the finals, the gun striker will have to find his goalscoring boots again, and where better to do that than in front of the Brisbane Roar faithful?
Recent Form
As far as form goes, Brisbane are sitting quite pretty with four wins from their last six, the only loss coming against Melbourne City at AAMI Park. However, apart from the 5-0 thrashing of the Victory, each win has only been via a one-goal margin, often only just sneaking a win. This does not ooze championship form, but it does prove Brisbane’s ability to win, a key facet of any A-League winner.
Moreover, should the Roar win against the Victory, a game against the Western Sydney Wanderers down in Sydney awaits. Last time these two teams met it was a very close 3-2 win to the boys from Brisbane, proving that the Roar can beat whatever they are faced with over the next few weeks.
Finals Prediction
It is always hard to predict how a team will fare throughout the finals, with so many variables coming into play. Will they choke? Will they hit form on the day? Will they get the roll of the dice?
Brisbane have already let the minor premiership slip from their grasp, and they will not want to let the same thing happen to the most important trophy. After defying preseason predictions after a tumultuous off-season, they now find themselves in the midst of the finals. Three games, three wins – that is all that is required. It would take a brave person to bet against Brisbane.
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