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‘Spiderman’ Macallister closing in on recall

The United striker, who earlier in the season was bitten by a red back spider, has missed the last three outings but trained fully today and looks to be well on the way to full fitness in time for the visit of Wellington Phoenix.

His availability is a welcome boost to Miron Bleiberg’s attacking stocks, but at the same time will present the Gold Coast Head Coach with something of a selection headache after his side fashioned 30 attempts on goal last weekend.

‘Spiderman’ has fond memories of his time with the Phoenix, but was left frustrated the last time the two teams met in round one of this season’s competition when he had two goals disallowed for offside.

One was clear cut, but the other marginal to say the least, and the 29-year-old is more than keen to add to his three-goal tally this weekend if given the chance.

“I think I was a bit unlucky in the first game of the season. Both of my ‘goals’ were given offside and I think one of them was a bit dubious, but this week it’s important for me to get some minutes on the field if I can and if I can get a goal for the team then that would make everything even better,” Macallister said.

“I’ve still got to strengthen it (the hamstring) up a bit and go through a few more tests to make sure I’m okay because you don’t want to rush a hamstring injury, but so far, so good.

“Last time we played them they got a goal quite early and even though we played good football it was a late strike from James Brown that snatched us a point.

“We’ve been playing well these last few weeks and this is a game we should be winning. We’re still well in touch with the top six regardless of our current league position so there’s a lot to play for. Two wins on the trot in the Hyundai A-League and you shoot up the ladder.

“Wellington have been doing well and have had a good season so far, but we’ll be concentrating on our own game and what we’re doing, not worrying about the opposition. We want to come out firing and start taking more of the chances we’ve been creating. If we can do that then we can shoot up the table.

“A draw on Sunday won’t do and we’ll be thinking about nothing else but all three points and a good win. Results haven’t been what we wanted or expected for most of the season, but football-wise we’ve been doing well. There are still very high hopes for this campaign as we’re only halfway through and the mood among the players is positive every day.”

Apart from long-term victims Glen Moss (groin) and Joel Porter (hamstring), Miron Bleiberg should have the luxury of a full roster to choose from with no suspensions or injuries hampering his team selection. Gold Coast have lost only one of their last six matches, conceding just four goals in the process.