Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip has named an extend 18-man squad to take on Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park this Saturday.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip has named an extend 18-man squad to take on Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park this Saturday.
Forwards Jason Hoffman and David Williams, as well as defender Craig Goodwin are the additions to an otherwise unchanged side, as Heart looks to capitalise on its recent form and consolidate its place in the top six, while simultaneously mounting a charge for a home final.
Hoffman, 23, has been out of the reckoning for the past fortnight after falling ill upon his return from a four-week long sojourn with the Australian U/23s in the Middle East, curtailing his hopes of making a swift return to the Heart match day squad.
Fellow attacker Williams meanwhile, has been a victim of Heart-s substantial depth, making only 15 appearances this season as he has struggled to force his way into John van ‘t Schip-s line-up due to the form of Eli Babalj and Mate Dugandzic.
In Goodwin, Heart-s surplus of exciting wide players comes to bare, with the left back, who starred on debut in the Melbourne Derby last month, finding himself relegated to the stands following the return of Aziz Behich from international duty.
The first Heart youth player to make the leap to Hyundai A-League duty, Goodwin has proved himself more than capable of handling the transition to top flight competition, demonstrating a poise and awareness which belies his experience.
Indeed, such as been the nature of Goodwin-s impact that Aurelio Vidmar named the 20-year old in his Australian U/23 squad taking on Iraq in Gosford next week.
On the injury front, Kristian Sarkies remains the only player unavailable for selection after suffering a quadriceps strain during training late last week.
Sarkies, 25, was a fixture of Heart-s starting eleven through January and early February, scoring twice, only to suffer back-to-back injuries consigning him to the sidelines.
Squad
1.Clint Bolton (GK), 2.Michael Marrone, 3.Brendan Hamill, 4.Simon Colosimo, 5.Fred ©, 6.Matt Thompson, 7.Rutger Worm, 10.Wayne Srhoj, 11.Alex Terra, 13.Jonatan Germano, 15.David Williams, 16.Aziz Behich, 17.Jason Hoffman, 18.Curtis Good, 19.Eli Babalj, 23.Mate Dugandzic, 27.Craig Goodwin, 30.Sebastian Mattei (GK)
In: Jason Hoffman, David Williams, Craig Goodwin (all promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Kristian Sarkies (1-2 weeks – quad)
