Brisbane Roar vs. Central Coast Mariners: A Tale Of Two Ends

John Aloisi’s Brisbane Roar were back to their winning ways last weekend when they disposed of struggling Sydney FC, 3-1. This Saturday, at home at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, the Roar will look to put pressure on Western Sydney when they host Tony Walmsley’s Central Coast Mariners. Like Brisbane, Central Coast defeated their opponent 3-1 on the road…but it was against Wellington Phoenix. For the Roar, they will be looking at Thomas Broich to deliver the goods.

“I think he’s probably the only player in the team who could do that ball. It was freakish,” Brisbane’s Jamie Maclaren said of Broich’s ability as a provider. “I knew what he was doing, he knew what I was doing, it just happened in a split second and thankfully we got a goal from it.

“I know Thomas has got the ability to do that. I just make those runs and I know he will find me. It was a freak ball and a great assist.”

“All I wanted from them was to show that desire in the box on both ends – defending and also attacking,” Aloisi added. “We did that, we created a number of opportunities, we got into good areas. We scored three goals but could have scored more.”

As for the Coast, if they need a goal, all they have to do…is call Lucho. Luis “Lucho” Garcia, that is…

“We have to go away to Brisbane now and repeat, we talk about repeatability and sustainability, we haven’t been there yet but it’s coming,” Walmsley said. “The most pleasing aspect was the team’s ability to adapt at half time and go out and deliver a much better second half. Wellington had the line share of possession in the first half. We weren’t under too much threat but I felt the back four were under pressure.

“You look at your bench and when you’ve got a player of Luis Garcia’s capability on there it makes making changes that little bit easier. He played a different role for us tonight, we played him as a false nine and he had the freedom to drop into pockets. He already had a goal and an assist before he really got into the tempo of the game but that just shows the quality that he’s got.

“There have been a number of games where we’ve lost by a narrow margin or drew so it’s a goal here or a goal there or an error here or an error there. What can you say, Luis Garcia is a very clever player, he knows where space is and he sees things that the average player doesn’t typically see.

“The impact he’s having with the players on the training pitch, in and around the hotel is immense. He has words of wisdom from many years of experience so he’s impact was unquestionable.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. PT (Friday)/1:15 a.m. ET (Saturday)/4:15 p.m. AEST. Here are 10 Bold Predictions for Saturday’s match between Brisbane Roar and the Central Coast Mariners.

• Paul Izzo will make at least four saves.
• Michael Theo will make under four saves.
• Luis Garcia will score for Central Coast Mariners.
• Jamie Maclaren will score for Brisbane Roar.
• Thomas Broich will score for Brisbane Roar.
• Brandon Borrello will score for Brisbane Roar.
• At least 40 fouls will be whistled.
• At least four cards will be issued.
• No goals will be scored in the first 10 minutes.
• No goals will be scored in stoppage time.

So, what we will have is another 3-1 scoreline. But this time, form will be following, and for Brisbane Roar, they’ll need this victory to give chase to the team running the ladder heading into the start of Round 18: Western Sydney. Brisbane to win.

Brisbane Roar 3, Central Coast Mariners 1

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