A-League: Brisbane Roar looking to bounce back against Jets

Suncorp Stadium groundstaff have laid new turf to improve the playing surface for Brisbane Roar’s next home game.

Brisbane Roar skipper Matt Mckay is tackled by Sydney FC’s Josh Brilliante at Allianz Stadium last Friday night.

New turf has been laid over ­sections of Suncorp Stadium with officials adamant the surface is vastly improved from the last time Brisbane Roar played an A-League match at their home ground two weeks ago.

Both Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers players complained about the loose surface following the 1-1 draw on December 23. Certainly a concert by the rock band Coldplay staged at the venue on December 7 didn’t help but it is the change of season that adds to the drop in the quality of the grass.

“The winter rye grass is dying out and the summer couch grass is trying to grow. It’s always a ­challenge for our groundstaff this time of year because they are ­battling mother nature,” Suncorp general manager Alan Graham said yesterday.

“We don’t have the luxury of a six- to eight-week break between seasons (rugby league to soccer) which would be ideal. But the ­surface is safe and playable and much, much better than it was for the last Roar game.”

Brisbane return to Suncorp this Saturday night to face Newcastle Jets.

Captain Matt McKay agreed the playing group was shaken but not stirred by their humbling 2-0 loss against Sydney FC last Friday night at Allianz Stadium, a result that ended a string of wins and draws stretching back 10 rounds.

“It was a disappointing result but I felt our form wasn’t too bad. It was just key moments of the game where we let ourselves down and that cost us.

“Then we couldn’t break them down,” McKay said.

“The beautiful thing about football is that there’s a game every week. We’ll show everyone what we’ve got Saturday night.”

McKay said there was no ­anxiety by players over the state of the Suncorp pitch, where the Roar is aiming for lucky No 13 in terms of how many unbeaten matches they have strung together there, spanning two A-League seasons.

“We’ve got a great home record there from last season and into this one. We’re extremely comfortable there and it’s had a few weeks to ­recover so I’m sure it will be fine,” he said.

Graham said the players would certainly notice the difference. He also said with Roar’s following two rounds away from home — to Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix — it would be January 28 before the next Suncorp game.

“The field is continuing to improve daily. We’ve laid new grass in the centre and western side,” he said, adding there had been no complaint received from Football Federation Australia over the a standard of the field.

“In terms of the main mechanisms of stability and ball roll, it falls within the parameters of what is required. There’s not as much grass as we’d like but it’s improving every day,” he said.

Roar lost to the Jets in round two, on the receiving end of a 4-0 thumping, a result which sparked something in the Brisbane side.

“It obviously wasn’t a good ­result down there (v Jets on October 16). We’ve come a long way since then and are a 100 per cent better side,” McKay said.

“We took stock back then and had a grinding result against ­Central Coast next game and got the three points.

“It’s not about ­revenge; it’s about the next half of the season.”