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Stalemate ends 2014 for Roar, Sky Blues

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

by
There was little separating Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium, with a 0-0 draw wrapping up 2014 for both teams.

There was question throughout the game as to whether there was an A-League match being played, or if fans had in fact entered a Brisbane Ping-Pong arena. As soon as the ball entered Brisbane’s forward line it was almost instantly back in their defence.


While improvements are undoubtedly evident in the Roar’s game, their constant struggle to make use of the ball in the forward line is yet to be overcome. Is it too late to beg for a Besart Berisha return?

The Roar’s midfield managed to endow a strong performance, despite Matt Mckay’s absence. However, their hard work just couldn’t be rewarded. Roar’s Dimitri Petratos looked promising late in the first half, but some impressive keeping from Sydney’s Vedran Janjetovic left the Brisbane forward goalless and with a total of 35 shots for the season so far.

Roar goalkeeper Jamie Young made some exceptional saves, in particular denying Sydney captain Alex Brosque an opening goal, deflecting the ball over the crossbar. Young’s confidence appears to increase with every match he plays, and fans are no longer forced to hold their breath when the ball is in opposing territory.

Sydney appeared lazy in their goal square, and the Roar grasped every opportunity to take advantage of their sluggish attack. The humidity at Suncorp Stadium only dampened The Sky Blue’s enthusiasm, and they looked anything but refreshed upon returning to the field for the second half.

The second half mirrored the first, and most fans were convinced it would be more likely for a pterodactyl to swoop through the field, than for either team to put points on the board. Surprisingly, no prehistoric reptiles made an appearance. Unsurprisingly, nobody scored.

Henrique’s offside attempt at a bicycle kick was about as exciting as the game got. In a perfect world Petratos’ endless hard work would have been rewarded, but the Roar’s nightmare season is unlikely to be given a helping hand by luck.

Fans were hopeful for a dramatic turn around during stoppage time, something that’s not uncommon amongst the two teams. However the Roar failed to win their first home game, and Sydney FC maintained their unbeaten away record.

Sydney FC will look to pull themselves out of their slump in the New Year against Newcastle Jets, while the Roar will face a tough match against Wellington.



Brisbane Roar squad: 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 4. Adam SAROTA, 5. Corey BROWN, 8. Steven LUSTICA, 10. HENRIQUE, 12. Jean Carlose SOLORZANO, 13. Jade NORTH (c), 14. Daniel BOWLES, 15. James DONACHIE, 16. Devante CLUT, 18. Luke BRATTAN, 20. Kofi DANNING, 21. Jamie YOUNG, 23. Dimitri PETRATOS, 28. Brandon BORRELLO, 30. Matthew ACTON (GK)


Sydney FC squad: 1. Ivan NECEVSKI, 2. Sebastian RYALL, 6. Nikola PETKOVIC, 8. Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 9. Shane SMELTZ, 11. Bernie IBINI-ISEI, 12. Hagi GLIGOR, 13. Christopher NAUMOFF, 14. Alex BROSQUE (c), 16. Alexander GERSBACH, 17. Terry ANTONIS, 18. Peter TRIANTIS, 19, Nick CARLE,  20. Vedran JANJETOVIC (GK), 21. Marc JANKO, 23. Rhyan GRANT, 24. George TIMOTHEOU, 25. Aaron CALVER