Brisbane Roar hold off on Eli Babalj but Lokoli-Ngoy to feature

Brisbane recruit Eli Babalj will have to wait to make his debut but Charles Lokoli-Ngoy should feature against the Wanderers.

Brisbane Roar striker Charles Lokoli-Ngoy. Picture: AAP

Brisbane recruit Eli Babalj will have to wait at least another week to make his debut for the Roar after being overlooked for Friday’s A-League clash with Western Sydney.

The one-time Socceroo was signed by the Roar on Wednesday as an injury replacement until the end of the season, but wasn’t named by interim coach Darren Davies in his squad to face the Wanderers at Suncorp Stadium. Instead Davies has largely stuck by the team that claimed a thrilling 5-3 win over Central Coast in their last outing.

While Babalj misses out, fellow striker Charles Lokoli-Ngoy is a chance to make his first appearance for the Roar.

The ex-Sydney FC forward was an unused substitute against the Mariners after finally receiving his medical clearance following his February transfer. Davies said Lokoli-Ngoy narrowly missed out on featuring in the eight-goal epic at Gosford.

“I intended actually to use him down in Central Coast but as the game developed, tactically, we decided against that,” Davies said.

“He’s been fantastic on the training pitch the last two weeks, so, yes he’s ready to go.”

The Wanderers head north after a spirited draw against league leaders Perth in their last outing, which came after back-to-back victories over Adelaide and the Mariners.

Coach Markus Babbel has added speedy ex-Roar attacker Kwame Yeboah to his squad, along with skipper Brendan Hamill and new recruit Giancarlo Gallifuoco. The last time the Wanderers headed to Brisbane, the Roar stole a 2-2 draw with two goals in stoppage time, including an Adam Taggart equaliser after Wanderers goalkeeper Vedran Janjetovic needlessly conceded a corner.

“They had a positive result last time against Perth so I’m sure they’ll be coming up here in a positive mindframe and should be an entertaining game,” Davies said.

“A little less stress with the same entertainment maybe.”

Meanwhile, coach Mark Rudan has delivered an ultimatum to the Phoenix — bring his family to Wellington or he’s leaving.

Rudan shed light on what has been a messy period for the Phoenix, who are without a win since January and are in danger of dropping out of the top six. Off the field, conjecture has reached fever pitch over whether the Australian will serve the second season of his contract, the speculation not helped by silence from club management.

Rudan hadn’t spoken since bagging his bosses in the wake of their last start 1-0 loss to Sydney FC and he bypassed his usual pre-match media session on Thursday. However, the 43-year-old conducted a radio interview in which he made it clear he will only coach the Phoenix next season if his Sydney-based wife and two sons cross the Tasman to live with him.

He wants the club to help make it happen and has been in negotiations for several weeks.

Rudan said he had found it harder than he’d imagined living apart from his family, a fact driven home by spending last week with them during a bye round.

“If I coach here, great, but my family will have to be with me for that to happen,” Rudan told Radio Sport.

“If I coach in Australia, my family will be with me at the end of this season, whether it is Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Townsville, Brisbane.

“They (Phoenix) are looking at ways and means to try and make that happen.”

AAP