Melbourne Heart FC’s marquee man Orlando Engelaar says he and his teammates can’t wait for the opportunity to challenge themselves against Brisbane Roar
Melbourne Heart FC’s marquee man Orlando Engelaar says he and his teammates can’t wait for the opportunity to challenge themselves on Sunday against Hyundai A-League leaders Brisbane Roar.
The side-s only game against Roar this season came in a 3-0 away loss at Suncorp Stadium.
The match saw Melbourne Heart register a dominant first-half display, but the side were to rue missed scoring opportunities and were ultimately punished by a clinical Roar outfit in the second half.
However, the Red and White are now the competition-s in-form outfit, with the team’s 5-0 domination of Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium boosting its recent record to four wins and two draws in seven games during 2014.
“It is pretty good you know, we have been winning, everybody feels good,” Engelaar said.
“I think there [are] not that many teams winning away at Wellington; it-s a hard game to play so I think we did well.
“That-s football, every day can be different, it is just a matter of trying to stay confident even though [we] were losing a lot.
“We need to stay confident and believe in yourself and you always know things can turn around in football, luckily that is what happened.
“It doesn-t mean we are going to win on the weekend, [we] remember the game they played away a few months ago in Brisbane we also killed them, but we didn-t win.
“You never know, we feel good now, but it doesn-t give any guarantees for the next game.”
Engelaar, who played 14 times for the Netherlands while also appearing for Schalke and PSV, scored his first Melbourne Heart goal at the weekend, and the Dutchman is finally enjoying some continuity after injury sidelined him for the first 14 rounds of this A-League season.
“It feels great to be back and doing what I-ve always loved to do,” Engelaar said.
“It is the worst thing about being injured, its not the injury itself because you know that will heal, its just not being able to be on the pitch and play with that ball.
Click play on the video below to watch the full interview with Orlando
“[It felt] very good, it is always good to score a goal, especially if it-s the first one… it’s always important in an away game to get ahead.”
Despite the turn of fortunes, Engelaar maintains the team’s focus is on a game-to-game basis.
“It makes a big difference, there is a lot of factors involved [in the team’s reversal of form],” Engelaar said.
“I think it’s confidence, it-s a bit of luck or it’s just form on the day.
“We are still bottom, we have had a few good results, we are playing better but we are still bottom, so we keep taking it week by week.”
However, Engelaar said there would be nothing better than rewarding Melbourne Heart fans at AAMI Park this Sunday with a win over the Brisbane Roar.
“Its good to give the crowd something back, there has been a lot of people that kept on coming every week even though we lost, so its good to give back,” Engelaar said.
“Everyone-s fit, Harry has been fit, and he is out now [which is] unlucky, but he will be back soon, it keeps the competition in the team, makes everybody sharp and better so that-s what we need to keep doing.”
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Match Details
Hyundai A-League Round 20
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Melbourne Heart FC vs. Brisbane Roar
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-off: 5pm
