Shane Lowry is expecting Brisbane Roar to provide a stern test in Thursday’s Round 12 clash at Suncorp Stadium, but is confident that Glory can build upon last weekend’s win over Wellington by securing another positive result.
With the club’s injury list continuing to shorten week by week, the stand-in skipper feels that Kenny Lowe’s side are very much on the up and will head to Suncorp Stadium in buoyant mood.
“Last week was a good win and a clean sheet which I was happy about,” he said. “We’ll take confidence from it and roll into this game again tomorrow.
“It’s a tight turnaround for us, but it’s the same for Brisbane as they played on Sunday, so it evens itself out a little bit.
“I think Brisbane have had a similar situation to us in that they have had injuries and lost key players at the wrong times. They are a good footballing team who like to dominate the ball and although I’ve never actually played there, [at Suncorp Stadium] the humid conditions make it hard by all accounts.
“But it should be an interesting game and I’m really looking forward to it.
“With players coming back, there’s competition for places which is a good headache for the gaffer to have and people are chomping at the bit to get into the team.”
Lowry’s personal form this term has seen him named in the Hyundai A-League Team of the Week on several occasions and he feels that the side’s overall defensive performances have improve significantly in recent games.
“I thought we deserved a clean sheet against Newcastle, but two lapses of concentration right at the end killed us,” he said, “and in the Central Coast game we nullified them but a little bit of quality undid us.
“Then we had a deserved clean sheet against Wellington. We haven’t been conceding a lot of chances and we take confidence from the discipline and structure we’ve shown in our defensive shape.
“Personally, I think I’ve been going all right and that’s just down to getting a run of games and getting my match fitness up. Last year was really disappointingly personally because I had a lot of injuries, but this year I’ve been able to stay fit and play my natural game.”
Glory’s record of just two wins in 18 trips to the Queensland capital makes for grim reading, but John Aloisi’s men have recorded only one home victory thus far this season and are currently sitting ninth on the ladder.
They are also set to be without several first-team regulars on Thursday, including injured trio Michael Theo, Jade North and Brett Holman, along with suspended former Greek international defender, Avraam Papadopoulos.
Match Details
Thursday, 21 December 2017
Brisbane Roar FC v Perth Glory
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-Off: 4:50 PM (WST) (6.50 PM LOCAL)
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referee 1: David Walsh
Assistant Referee 2: Ashley Beecham
Fourth Official: Alex King
Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gillett
TV Broadcast: Live coverage on FOX SPORTS 501 from 7.00pm (AEDT) and Sky Sport 3 (New Zealand)
Radio Broadcast: ABC News on Radio, Grandstand Digital, Online & via the ABC Listen App – A-League Live.
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #BRIvPER
To purchase tickets visit www.aleague.com.au/tickets
Brisbane Roar FC squad: 3.Luke DEVERE, 4.Daniel BOWLES, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 9.Massimo MACCARONE, 11.Corey GAMEIRO, 14.Fahid BEN KHALFALLAH, 16.Mitchell OXBORROW, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 24.Connor O’TOOLE, 25.Rahmat AKBARI, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 31.Brendan WHITE (gk), 33.Petros SKAPETIS, 36.Daniel LECK
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 3.Luke DEVERE (promoted), 11.Corey GAMEIRO (promoted), 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO (promoted)
Outs: 77.Ivan FRANJIC (quad – 2 weeks)
Unavailable: 1.Michael THEO (gk) (finger – 2 weeks), 6.Avram PAPADOPOULOS (suspended – 4 games), 10.Brett HOLMAN (knock – 1 week), 13.Jade NORTH (groin – 1 week), 18.Joe CALETTI (foot – 10 weeks), 20.Shannon BRADY (broken foot – TBC), 22.Eric BAUTHEAC (hamstring – 4-6 weeks)
Perth Glory squad: 2.Alex GRANT, 4.Shane LOWRY (c), 5.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 6.Mitch NICHOLS, 7.Joel CHIANESE, 9.Andy KEOGH, 13 Nick FEELY (gk), 14.Chris HAROLD, 15.Brandon WILSON, 16.Joseph MILLS, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18. Andreu GUERAO, 19.Joe KNOWLES, 20.Jake BRIMMER, 24.Callum TIMMINS, 29.Jeremy WALKER, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 34.Yagoub MUSTAFA
**two to be omitted**
Ins: 2.Alex GRANT (returns from injury), 9.Andy KEOGH (returns from injury), 24.Callum TIMMINS (promoted), 34.Yagoub MUSTAFA (promoted)
Outs: 26.Jacob ITALIANO (omitted), 27.Riley WARLAND (omitted)
Unavailable: 3.Marc WARREN (ankle – 3-4 weeks), 8.Xavi TORRES (groin – 1-2 weeks), 22.Adam TAGGART (hamstring – 1 week), 23.Scott NEVILLE (toe – 2-3 weeks), 25.Daniel STYNES (hamstring – 2-3 weeks)
#CREATEDESTINY
