Midfield recruit Hirofumi Moriyasu is in line to make his Sydney FC debut after he was named in the Sky Blues 16-man squad to take on the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night (7:30pm kick-off).
Midfield recruit Hirofumi Moriyasu is in line to make his Sydney FC debut after he was named in the Sky Blues 16-man squad to take on the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night (7:30pm kick-off).
After almost giving the game away when playing in his native Japan, Moriyasu headed to Australia for a shot at a professional contract in late 2009 and after playing a starring role for NSW Premier League club APIA Leichardt, the 25-year-old signed a one-year contact with Sydney FC in July 2010.
Already without Mark Bridge (hamstring) for the match, the Hyundai A-League Champions suffered another major blow after losing fellow striker Alex Brosque (ankle) for the important match on Wednesday after he picked up an ankle injury at training.
In the only other change from last weekend-s match against the North Queensland Fury, defender Matt Jurman replaces Antony Golec.
“From our side of things it has been a disappointing start to the season so far,” midfielder Stuart Musialik said. “I think we-ve been in situations where we could have picked up points but haven-t so it is a very important game for us.”
“At the moment we are kind of getting punished for every little mistake we make and it is just a phase we are going through but we are making little mistakes that we can-t afford to make so it is definitely something we are going to have to focus on and rectify for the Brisbane game.
“I think in general we are fairly solid and here and there we have lacked in concentration and been punished for it.”
Musialik knows the trip to Suncorp Stadium this weekend, much like previous seasons, will be a huge challenge and one made even harder by the new look Roar.
“They-ve got some new players from last season so we don-t know too much about them plus they had the weekend off but we do know that they are a very hard working, mobile side,” Musialik said.
“In their game against the Gold Coast they played very well and probably dominated possession so we are definitely expecting a hard game but we work hard together and support each other so we will be up for the challenge.”
From the 17 previous meetings between the two sides, the ledger sits at 5 wins a piece, including seven draws.
Sky Blues Coach Vitezslav Lavicka said while loss of the ‘Killer B-s- is a huge setback it will enable the talents of youngster Kofi Danning to shine.
“It-s a real situation us but we are staying positive,” Lavicka said. “We have problem with Mark Bridge and Alex Brosque but we believe they will be back soon. Now there is a good chance for our young players to show their qualities and I believe we will do well.”
“We were disappointed after the last game in Townsville. We-ve since had game analysis and we-ve spoken about what we need to improve but still we stay positive.
“We expected better results and performance, especially in the second half in Townsville but football is sometimes like this but we believe we are able to play good football and get a good result this weekend against Brisbane.
“We are a very positive group of players and staff and that is important. We are all focused and positive about the game.”
The Sky Blues arrive in Brisbane today and will hold a final training session this evening.
Sydney FC squad: 1. Liam REDDY (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL 3. Stephan KELLER, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 10. Nick CARLE, 11. Kofi DANNING, 12. Shannon COLE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (c), 17. Matthew JURMAN, 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 21. Scott JAMIESON, 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT
*one to be omitted*
In: Hirofumi MORIYASU (promoted), Matthew JURMAN (promoted)
Out: Alex BROSQUE (Ankle – 1 week)
Unavailable: Mark BRIDGE (hamstring – 1 week),
Head-to-Head: All matches (played 17): Brisbane Roar wins 5, Sydney FC wins 5 (7 draws)
