Thu 18th Jan 2007

The Sydney FC squad is now settled in Brisbane with a training run this afternoon in preparation for Saturday night’s game. The weather conditions in Sydney leading up to this weekend have been conducive to the hot, Queensland conditions they are likely to play in.

Even if the temperature cools down, the heat will continue to be on Sydney in this do or die match with the roar of a large partisan crowd at Suncorp Stadium.

“It’s D-Day for the club. We’ve been there before and it’s a great opportunity to finish the season on a high” said Terry Butcher at training today.

“Queensland will have the same target as us though.”

“Despite having lost our last two games, I’ve been happy about the way we’ve played- except of course that we haven’t been able to put the ball in the back of the net. Sometimes it boils down to not just playing well but winning and taking the three points.”

“We have a big hole in our central defense with the loss of Mark Milligan and Terry McFlynn. We need to get a system that works with the players who are available like Talay and the system needs to be flexible enough to change through the game if necessary.”

“And as far as the ongoing talk about playing more that one up front is concerned, playing three or four forwards doesn’t guarantee you a win.”

“Queensland have put themselves in a great position with their recent wins against the top teams, Adelaide and Melbourne. The situation we also find ourselves is also self-inflicted, but we are out to prove a point. We’ve already overcome a lot of hurdles this year. This is just another one.”

Much of the media interest in Sydney for this game (other than injuries) has focused on Alex Brosque playing against his former club.

Having scored for Queensland against Sydney last season, Brosque is keen to turn the tide on his former club.

“I had a funny feeling it would come down to playing Queensland in the last game. We’re going to go out there and with everything we’ve got.” said Brosque.

“Personally I’d love to score the winning goal for Sydney on Saturday night.”

The team lineups

Queensland Roar FC Squad: 20.Liam REDDY (gk), 2.Andrew PACKER, 3.Remo BUESS, 6.Stuart McLAREN, 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 9.Simon LYNCH, 10.Ante MILICIC, 11.REINALDO, 13.Spase DILEVSKI, 14.Ben GRIFFIN, 16.Hyuk-Su SEO, 17.Damian MORI, 18.Dario VIDOSIC, 19.Sasa Ognenovski, 24.Griffin McMASTER (gk).

In: Liam Reddy (return from suspension), Stuart McLaren (promoted), Simon
Lynch (promoted).

Out: Josh McCloughan (suspended - 1 week), Matt McKay (suspended - 1 week),
Tando Velaphi (end of short term contract).

Unavailable: Tom Willis (shoulder injury - season), Josh McCloughan
(suspended - 1 week), Matt McKay (suspended - 1 week).

Sydney FC squad: 1.Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Iain FYFE, 4. Mark Rudan, 6.Ufuk
TALAY, 7.Robbie MIDDLEBY, 8.Ruben ZADKOVICH, 9.David ZDRILIC, 10.Steve
CORICA, 11.Sasho PETROVSKI, 12.David CARNEY, 14.Alex BROSQUE, 20.Justin
PASFIELD, 21.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 28.Tallan MARTIN.

In: Nikolai Topor-Stanley (injury replacement), Tallan Martin (short-term
signing).

Out: Alvin Ceccoli (foot - 1 week), Jacob Timpano (Injury - 4 weeks), Mark
Milligan (Suspended - 1 week) and Terry McFlynn (Suspended - 1 week).

Unavailable: Jeremy Brockie (International duty)

Stats, Facts & Milestones:

Should the Newcastle Jets defeat Melbourne Victory, Queensland Roar would have to defeat Sydney FC to qualify for the Hyundai A-League 2007 Finals Series. A Jets win and a Roar draw will see Newcastle jump over Queensland into fourth position based on goal-difference.