THE 2007 Pre-Season Cup campaign kicks off for Queensland Roar at Maroochydore tomorrow and boss Frank Farina is looking to kick-start the precursor to the season with a win over southern rivals Sydney FC.

Already deprived of young forward Robbie Kruse who suffered a facial injury at training yesterday, Roar will also be without midfielder Marcinho who became another training casualty when he strained his groin during a practice game this morning.

Also under a cloud is young midfield dynamo Chris Grossman who took a knock to his ankle, but is expected to recover sufficiently to be considered for selection.

Brazilian Marcinho is likely to be sidelined for at least two weeks but Farina still has a 16-man squad to choose from and is confident his side will give a solid account of themselves in the much-awaited clash.

“We can only put fifteen names on the teamsheet and we still have fifteen available so I’m still pretty happy,” Farina joked.

“I’m confident, but I suppose Branko Culina is as well. It’s a good exercise for both teams and will be a good indicator as to where we are at in our preparations for the new Hyundai A-League season.

“Chris Grossman’s injury isn’t too bad but with the game only 24 hours away it does make it a little difficult for him, but we’ll see how he is later on today. Marcinho isn’t long-term either but he certainly won’t take any part in tomorrow’s game unfortunately.

“Robbie (Kruse) was very unlucky yesterday, but his injury, and the ones we picked up today, are just part and parcel of the game. I’ve always said that we have to be adaptable in terms of the way we play and that’s what we’ll have to do tomorrow. It won’t change our style, just out personnel,” Farina said.

In a change from the previous two Pre-Season cup competitions, all group phase matches will be subject to the bonus point rule that will see teams gain one (1) bonus point if they score two (2) goals in a match, two (2) bonus points if they score three (3) goals and three (3) bonus points if they score four (4) or more goals. The rule is applied to both teams irrespective of the result, whilst the traditional allocation of points will still be applied (three (3) points for a win; one (1) point for a draw; zero (0) points for a loss).

QUEENSLAND ROAR v SYDNEY FC
Saturday 14 July 2007 - Kick-Off 7.00pm AEST
Maroochydore Regional Football Complex,
462 Maroochydore Rd, Sunshine Coast

Queensland Roar Squad:
1. Liam REDDY (gk), 5. Josh McCLOUGHAN, 7. Michael ZULLO, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Simon LYNCH, 10. Ante MILICIC, 11. REINALDO da costa, 12. Tahj MINNIECON, 14. Ben GRIFFIN, 15. Matt McKAY, 16. Hyuk-Su SEO, 17. Mitch NICHOLS, 18. Danny TIATTO, 19. Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 21. Chris GROSSMAN, 24. Jake HALING (gk).

Unavailable: Stuart McLaren (ankle– 1 week), Andrew Packer (hamstring – 4 weeks), Matt Ham (shoulder injury – out for season), Robbie Kruse (facial injury – 6 weeks), Marcinho (groin – 2 weeks)