Trying to topple reigning Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane Roar is the next exciting challenge facing Adelaide United FC.
Trying to topple reigning Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane Roar is the exciting challenge facing Adelaide United FC on Saturday afternoon, and according to Coach John Kosmina, the next step in the Reds- ongoing process.
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since the last time the two teams met when the Roar inflicted United-s heaviest ever defeat back in Week 4 at Suncorp Stadium. Most notably since then, Kosmina has taken hold of the reins at United and the Reds are coming off of two confidence boosting wins in the past week.
Kosmina believes the motivation for the Reds heading into the match with the Roar is about continuing to improve, rather than trying to avenge what happened in the past.
“If you start worrying about giving back what you got ten weeks or even ten years before, you-re not really focused on the here and now, which is the most important thing,” Kosmina said.
“It-s not about revenge, it-s about the process and this is just another step along the line of where we want to end up at the end of the season and the type of football we want to play.”
“It-s about making a step to get a result that will be beneficial for the team and the club further down the track.”
Indeed, this line the Reds are on has gradually started heading upwards, a maximum six points in their last two games lifting them to seventh on the table, while the club-s negative goal difference is also heading back towards parity.
Similarly to the Reds, Brisbane-s season has also taken a few twists since that game in late October. The Roar-s unbeaten run came to an end at 36 matches before they remarkably went on to lose their next five.
Heading into this match, Brisbane are coming off a 3-3 draw in Perth, a result Coach Ange Postecoglou said his team was fortunate to obtain, which has Kosmina wary that the Roar players will be determined to prove a point to their coach.
“Brisbane are always dangerous. Even the games that they-ve lost, they played well enough to win,” Kosmina said.
“They-re a good side, we-re concerned about them. We can-t just say we beat Melbourne Heart the other day and played well, we-ve got to approach Brisbane like we approached Melbourne Heart in terms of our attitude and our thought processes.”
One saying Kosmina has used a number of times since he took over is ‘if it ain-t broke, don-t fix it-, and he is a man of his word as the Reds go into the match with an unchanged side from the one that beat the Heart just two days ago.
Kosmina will also not toy with the style the Reds have employed since he took charge, the emphasis being on the team striving to play better with each performance.
“We-re at home and we-ll play the same way we played against Melbourne Heart, which was the same as what we did against Wellington the week before, and they had conflicting styles, so we learnt to deal with things and we will focus on what we can do and trying to do it consistently at high quality,” Kosmina said.
In what is the only time the Reds are scheduled to host the reigning champions at Hindmarsh Stadium this season, it promises to be a game not to be missed. Kick-Off is at 5.00pm ACDT and tickets are available through Ticketek.
In addition to the match, Adelaide United is also supporting the GoTo Foundation, which is raising funds for the Flinders University Autism Early Intervention Research Program. Volunteers will be collecting gold coin donations inside the gates at Hindmarsh Stadium prior to kick-off and Adelaide United encourages all patrons to give generously to the cause. For more information about the charity, visit www.GoTo.org.au.
Hyundai A-League 2011/12 Season – Week 14
Adelaide United FC v Brisbane Roar
Saturday 7 January 2012, Hindmarsh Stadium
Kick-Off: 5.00pm ACDT
Tickets: Available through Ticketek (call 132 849, online at www.ticketek.com.au)
TV: Live and exclusive on FOX Sports 1
Radio: ABC Radio (891 ABC Adelaide, Grandstand Digital and online)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/adelutd_fc (hash tag #HALaubri)
Adelaide United squad: 1.Eugene Galekovic (gk) (c), 2.Osama Malik, 3.Nigel Boogaard, 5.Daniel Mullen, 7.Zenon Caravella, 9.Sergio van Dijk, 10.Dario Vidosic, 11.Bruce Djite, 12.Antony Golec, 14.Cameron Watson, 15.Jacob Melling, 17.Iain Ramsay, 18.Fabian Barbiero, 20.Mark Birighitti (gk), 21.Francisco Usucar
In: Nil
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Spase Dilevski (groin – 1 week), Milan Susak (knee – 1 week), Cassio (ankle), Evgeniy Levchenko (groin)
Adelaide United FC vs. Brisbane Roar – Hyundai A-League HEAD TO HEAD Record:
Played 20 – 8 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses
28-Oct-2011… L 1-7… 2011/12 Wk 4 (Suncorp Stadium)
2-Jan-2011… L 0-1… 2010/11 Wk 21 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
6-Nov-2010… L 0-4… 2010/11 Wk 13 (Suncorp Stadium)
18-Sep-2010… D 1-1… 2010/11 Wk 7 (Suncorp Stadium)
6-Feb-2010… W 2-0… 2009/10 Rd 26 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
12-Dec-2009… W 1-0… 2009/10 Rd 18 (Suncorp Stadium)
6-Nov-2009… L 0-2… 2009/10 Rd 14 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
21-Jan-2009… W 1-0… 2008/09 Preliminary Final (Hindmarsh Stadium)
14-Jan-2009… D 0-0… 2008/09 Rd 16 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
17-Oct-2008… W 1-0… 2008/09 Rd 8 (Suncorp Stadium)
24-Aug-2008… D 1-1… 2008/09 Rd 2 (Suncorp Stadium)
20-Jan-2008… W 2-0… 2007/08 Rd 21 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
2-Nov-2007… L 0-1… 2007/08 Rd 11 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
25-Aug-2007… D 2-2… 2007/08 Rd 1 (Suncorp Stadium)
4-Jan-2007… L 0-1… 2006/07 Rd 19 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
11-Nov-2006… W 1-0… 2006/07 Rd 12 (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
22-Sep-2006… D 0-0… 2006/07 Rd 5 (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
1-Jan-2006… W 4-2… 2005/06 Rd 16 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
22-Oct-2005… W 2-1… 2005/06 Rd 9 (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
2-Sep-2005… D 0-0… 2005/06 Rd 2 (Hindmarsh Stadium)
At Hindmarsh Stadium
Played 10; Adelaide United 4, Brisbane Roar 4, Draws 2
At Suncorp Stadium
Played 10; Adelaide United 4, Brisbane Roar 2, Draws 4
Last time they met in the Hyundai A-League
28-Oct-2011 Week 4, Hyundai A-League 2011/12 Season at Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Roar 7 (Henrique 21- (pen)/ 36- (pen), Berisha 23-/26-/29-/69-, Nakajima-Farran 81-)
Adelaide United FC 1 (Vidosic 5-)
Adelaide United last three results
Marathon. 4-1-2012… W 3-1… vs. Melbourne Heart (AAMI Park)
Wk 13. 30-12-2011… W 2-0… vs. Wellington Phoenix (Hindmarsh Stadium)
Wk 12. 22-12-11… D 2-2… vs. Sydney FC (Sydney Football Stadium)
