News
Gold Coast out to settle a score
Fri Dec 9 2011Back in round five Gold Coast led 2-0 early in the second half, but Sydney fought back to claim all three points thanks to a highly controversial penalty awarded in the dying seconds of the game.
The fallout from the dramatic match lasted for weeks and is still fresh in the minds of Bleiberg’s troops who are not only more determined than ever to snap their recent run, but also angry enough to exact their revenge on the sky blues.
According to the Gold Coast Head Coach, the time for talk is over and the actions must begin.
“It’s time for our actions to speak louder than words and for us to get a win on Sunday. We are all feeling the burning desire to win. I feel it and the players feel it,” Bleiberg said.
“We also want to get some sort of revenge for what happened last time we played Sydney. The memory of that 93rd minute penalty they got, and the euphoria that followed it, has hurt me and if the players feel only 10% of what I feel then they will run amok on Sunday.”
Bleiberg also revealed he will field a strong and experienced line-up for the visit of Vitezslav Lavicka’s men with the return of Dutch duo Paul Beekmans and Peter Jungschlager a welcome boost to United’s midfield. Both were sidelined for last weekend’s trip to Perth with Beekmans nursing a foot injury and Jungschlager suffering from an ankle knock he picked up against Melbourne Victory.
Bleiberg said: “Both Peter and Paul will be back and both will play. Peter is not 100% with his injury, but at 98% he is fine to play.
“The bottom line is that we will have the strongest and most experienced side that we can put out. Everybody is ready and everybody is keen. We’ve all had enough of not winning and not getting points, so we will be doing everything in our power to change that on Sunday.
“If all those things combine and everyone plays to their maximum ability giving 100% effort, then there can only be one result,” he declared.
Also back in the provisional squad is towering defender Ante Rozic who earlier in the week was expecting bad news on his knee problem. However, scans have revealed improvement in his condition and he was cleared to resume full training, although Bleiberg says he may elect to give him a full 90 minutes in United’s Youth Team on Saturday to build his match fitness.
“Ante was feeling pain, but the scans and the doctor have confirmed that there his knee is very much improved. However, because he hasn’t played for a while he will be a bit rusty so we may prefer to give him a full game with the youth team rather than 10 minutes with the senior team off the bench.”
Hyundai A-League Week 10 - Sunday 11 December 2011
GOLD COAST UNITED v SYDNEY FC
At Skilled Park, Gold Coast
Kick Off: 4:00pm local
Referee: Ben Williams
TV Broadcast: Fox Sports 1
Twitter: #HALgcusyd
Gold Coast United squad:
1.Glen Moss [gk], 3.Michael Thwaite (c), 5.Kristian Rees, 6.Paul Beekmans, 12.Dylan Macallister, 13.Ante Rozic, 14.Ben Halloran, 15.Adama Traore, 16.Maceo Rigters, 17.Chris Harold, 18.James Brown, 20.Jerrad Tyson [gk], 21.Daniel Severino, 22.Peter Jungschlager, 23.Dylan McGowan, 24.Jonas Salley, 29.Mitch Bevan.
*two to be omitted*
In: 6.Paul Beekmans (return from foot injury), 13.Ante Rozic (return from knee injury), 17.Chris Harold (promoted), 21.Daniel Severino (promoted), 22.Peter Jungschlager (return from ankle injury)
Out: 4.Zac Anderson (suspended – 1 game), 7.Golgol Mebrahtu, (not selected), 26.Ambes Yosief (not selected).
Unavailable: 4.Zac Anderson (suspended – 1 game), 9.Joel Porter (calf – 3 weeks), 19.Chris Broadfoot (ankle injury – 6 weeks).
Sydney FC squad:
1. Liam Reddy [gk], 2.Sebastian Ryall, 3.Jamie Coyne, 4.Pascal Bosschaart, 5.Michael Beauchamp, 6 Hirofumi Moriyasu, 7.Brett Emerton, 8.Karol Kisel, 9.Bruno Cazarine, 10.Nick Carle, 11.Dimi Petratos, 12.Shannon Cole, 15.Terry McFlynn (c), 18.Juho Makela, 20.Ivan Necevski [gk], 21.Scott Jamieson, 23.Rhyan Grant
*two to be omitted*
In: Scott Jamieson (returns from suspension), Hirofumi Moriyasu (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Mark Bridge (back – 1 week), Terry Antonis (rested – 1 week)
Head-to-Head: All matches (played 7): Gold Coast United wins 4, Sydney FC wins 2 (1 draw)
