An undermanned Adelaide United FC squad that is set to comprise of six trial players, will face reigning Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane Roar on Saturday night in a pre season friendly at Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Stadium.
An undermanned Adelaide United FC squad that is set to comprise of six trial players, will face reigning Hyundai A-League champions Brisbane Roar on Saturday night in a pre season friendly at Toowoomba-s Clive Berghofer Stadium.
From the side that drew nil-all with Gold Coast United last Friday night, captain Jon McKain, Andy Slory and Daniel Mullen did not make the trip to Toowoomba, while Dario Vidosic is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Reds Head Coach Rini Coolen is taking a cautious approach with his squad as it builds towards the club-s season opener on October 9 against Perth Glory, the Dutchman not willing to risk anyone that is not 100 per cent fit.
While some of the Reds- more senior players may be absent for the game, Coolen says it opens the door for others to put their name up in lights and gives him a chance to move the chess pieces around.
“We can-t use all of the players for this game. We have to be careful so we left some players home but we brought in some extra players, some young guys and players from local clubs to join us,” Coolen said.
“This is a fantastic opportunity against Brisbane to trial some players in different positions because at the end of the day you want to win the game, but we are still working on shape and other things, and everyone has to have a chance to do well, so it-s still an important friendly but not more than that.”
“It-s very important for us to make the next step in a physical way but also in our shape, and everybody gets a chance to have some playing time and an opportunity to put their hand up for the starting eleven when the season starts.”
Coolen hinted midfield duo Evgeniy Levchenko and young former North Queensland Fury Osama Malik would start as the Reds- central defensive pairing against the Roar as he explores possible alternatives across the back.
New names coming in for the match include left footed central defender Antony Golec from Sydney FC-s Youth Team plus midfielder John Mavromatis and defender Michael Markham, who are both from local club Pirates and were members of the Reds- Under 18-s Weifang Cup squad.
Michele LaStella is another local South Australian youngster to be in the travelling party, while Brisbane based goalkeeper Duncan Short will be the backup to Eugene Galekovic, with Mark Birighitti joining Mullen in camp with the Olyroos.
“It-s good to have them here and it-s nice that players from our local clubs have a chance to join us, travel with us and maybe even get some play time during the game,” Coolen said of the trial players.
But for all of the inexperience heading to Toowoomba, the Reds still have a number of seasoned campaigners that are certain to relish the opportunity to measure themselves against last season-s champions and stand out performers, the Roar having gone on a remarkable 28 game unbeaten run on their way to the title.
Match Details
Brisbane Roar v Adelaide United FC
Saturday 17 September 2011
Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba
Kick-Off: 7.00pm AEST (6.30pm ACST)
Adelaide United: 1.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 2.Osama MALIK, 6.CASSIO, 7.Zenon CARAVELLA, 8.Evgeniy LEVCHENKO, 9.Sergio VAN DIJK, 11.Bruce DJITE, 14.Cameron WATSON, 16.Spase DILEVSKI, 17.Iain RAMSAY, 21.Francisco USUCAR, Michele LASTELLA *, Michael MARKHAM *, John MAVROMATIS *, Duncan SHORT (gk) *, Evan KOSTOPOULOS *, Antony GOLEC *
* Denotes trial players
