The Wanderers are back in action on Friday night against Brisbane Roar.
The side are looking to recover from a heartbreaking finish to their last match against Auckland FC at home; it was an exciting end-to-end match, but the visitors stole a win in the 95th minute.
It was a massive blow to a Wanderers side who deserved at least a point from the match, but instead now head to the sunshine state looking to end a two-match losing streak.
With the season just past the halfway mark, points are beginning to become more crucial, especially in a congested race for the top six, where eight teams are fighting for four spots in the finals.
The Wanderers continue to battle injury issues; as well as long term injuries to Gab Cleur and Dylan Scicluna, Brandon Borrello missed out last week, whilst Jeong Tae-Wook continues his recovery from a long-term injury.
The side could be boosted by the debut of Alex Gersbach, who is a new signing after returning from a long stint in Europe, whilst Mohamed Al-Taay also made his debut against Auckland after returning to the Wanderers.
The new signings will need to hit the ground running as the Wanderers look to regain their momentum after stalling in the last couple of weeks.
They can take plenty of positives from the defeat to Auckland, with some great defending holding the top of the table side out for most of the match, with captain Lawrence Thomas in particular being impressive.
They also looked a constant threat on the counter attack as the pace of Zac Sapsford caused problems for Auckland; he had the Wanderers’ best chance of the game in the first half when his effort was just about saved by Alex Paulsen.
But they need to find their clinical touch in front of goal again after spurning a few good opportunities in their last two defeats at home, and they will hope a match against bottom of the table can do that.
However, they mustn’t take Brisbane lightly, who have had a week off thanks to the bye and also won their last game in the league.
It was quite a phenomenal one against our crosstown rivals, as they shot to a 3-0 and then a 4-1 lead at Allianz Stadium despite not winning a game all season, as they clinically took apart the sky blues defence.
Two late goals for their opponents would matter little, as the Roar held on for a crucial victory that they hope will give a bit of life to their season.
The Wanderers will also be desperate to overturn a poor record against the Roar, with Brisbane being something of a bogey side for the Wanderers in recent years.
This was no more clear than in their last meeting in December at CommBank Stadium, where the Wanderers were unable to win.
Borrello had a game to remember, scoring two goals, but an own goal and a Thomas Waddingham strike saw the Roar earn a share of the points, though they were harshly criticised for their timewasting tactics employed, as well as coach Ruben Zadkovich openly telling his team to go down with cramp at the end of the game.
That said, they have now lost Waddingham to a move to England, and the Wanderers will look to take advantage of Brisbane’s loss of fire power in what is a hugely important match to end January.
