Roar told to ignore low crowd numbers

CORONAVIRUS fears may lead to one of the smallest ALeague crowds ever at Suncorp Stadium but Brisbane Roar coach Robbie Fowler is urging his team to maintain their standards regardless of the atmosphere.

Unlike many leagues and competitions across the world, the A-League is yet to impose any bans on spectators at venues due to the virus outbreak but it’s understood sales for Friday’s clash between the Roar and Central Coast are extremely low.

The lowest A-League attendance at the Brisbane venue was a crowd of 5150 when the Mariners lost 2-0 to the Roar in October 2010.

With his team hoping to boost their top four hopes with a victory, Fowler is eager to ensure the side just focuses on the task on the field. “We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to do what we need to do,” the exLiverpool star said.

“Regardless of whatever crowd is there, we’ve got to go out there and try and make the game a good spectacle.”

Brisbane put in their best performance under Fowler last Friday with a 3-1 win over Western Sydney – a result that puts them just one point off fourth-placed Perth Glory.

The Mariners, meanwhile, have slumped to eight straight defeats and appear destined for a third-straight wooden spoon.

The Gosford-based club hasn’t tasted success against the Roar since April 2014 – a run stretching across 17 matches. Despite his team’s strong favouritism, Fowler is wary of taking the Mariners too lightly.

“We’ve watched a few performances of Central Coast and I don’t think they’ve been as bad as what the scoreline suggests,” Fowler said.

“They’ve had a few good performances and probably in moments of games, lapses in concentration, they’ve faltered that way. We’ve got to have the right attitude, the right desire and just do what we’ve been doing.”