ANOTHER chapter was added to the book of “Special Bluetongue Nights” last weekend with an historic first victory over arch rivals Brisbane Roar at our Gosford fortress.
ANOTHER chapter was added to the book of “Special Bluetongue Nights” last weekend with an historic first victory over arch rivals Brisbane Roar at our Gosford fortress.
The team secured a well-deserved 2-1 win in what proved to be another thriller between the two clubs and kept our perfect home record in tact so far this season with nine points from nine at home.
The fact it was on the back of goals to two of our youngsters – Bernie Ibini-Isei and Tommy Rogic – and a rock solid defensive display at the other end by starting debutant Zac Anderson alongside Trent Sainsbury was all the more encouraging.
With big Daniel McBreen having amassed seven goals so far this campaign it-s important to see other names starting to appear on the score sheet and Bernie-s 4th minute header – on the end of a delightful Pedj Bojic cross to the far post – will no doubt give the talented speedster plenty of confidence.
With Patrick Zwaanswijk out suspended, Zac came in and did a fantastic job to prove there is real depth at the back. He has come off the bench in the weeks leading up to the Brisbane game and shown what he is capable of but it-s never easy to be 100% prepared to start a game and last the 90 minutes when you are not playing regularly.
The big defender did just that though and proved what a great professional he is, settling into the pace of the game right from the start and producing a near faultless performance next to Trent, who also equipped himself superbly well considering he was switched to the left side of central defence.
But, as always with us, it wasn-t about the individual with a great overall team performance – particularly a dominant second half – allowing us to finally turn the tables on the Roar at our place!
The result sets up a mouthwatering top-of-the-table clash with Adelaide United at Bluetongue tomorrow night.
In only our fourth home game in the opening nine rounds, it-s another chance to show we are the real deal again this season with a win to either side securing top spot on the ladder.
No league in the world is won in Round 9 though so top spot is not the motivating factor for us leading into the game.
Our performance and continuing to build in the right direction is what counts and as we always say, if we get the process right the result will take care of itself.
John Kosmina-s men have the stingiest defence in the league at this point conceding just five goals in eight games, two less than us and they have scored 12 goals (three less than us) so the statistics are very tight leading into kick-off.
With Maty Ryan away on international duty, Justin Pasfield gets his chance between the sticks and has looked very strong and focused in training this week.
Adriano Pellegrino, Mitchell Duke, Ollie Bozanic and Brad McDonald are vying to fill the void left by Tommy Rogic who is also away
with the Socceroos.
It promises to be a ripper of a game so don-t miss it! Kick-off is 5.30pm.
