Words: Aaron Cooper
Images: Adelaide United FC

Brisbane Roar Youth Coach Josh McCloughan believes several players in his squad have what it takes to eventually play in the Hyundai A-League.

McCloughan recruited a number of fresh faces this season and is pleased with how the young squad has gelled following a promising start to their Foxtel National Youth League campaign.

Ahead of this weekend’s match against Melbourne City Youth, McCloughan said he expects exciting futures for the entire group.

“There are any number of players in this side who could go on and play in the A-League,” McCloughan said.

“It all depends on what they do and how much they want it in the next 12-18 months.”

Young Roar sit top in Conference A of the Foxtel National Youth League despite their first loss of the season last weekend against Adelaide United Youth.

McCloughan said he took plenty of positives despite being on the wrong end of the 1-0 scoreline.

“The performance [last Saturday versus Adelaide United Youth] was good and the only thing missing was a goal,” he said.

“I came away from the game happy with where we’re at, but when we create so many chances we need to be scoring goals.”

McCloughan has focused on fine-tuning the side’s work in the attacking third at training and explained learning how to win is part of his squad's football education.

“Performance is important; it’s a part of their development and as part of their development, they need to learn how to win games,” McCloughan said.

“We were in a situation (against Adelaide United) not only to take one point, but we should have taken all three.”

“It’s something we’ll learn from and we’ve worked hard all week in preparation for (Melbourne) City,” he concluded.

Fixture Details:

Foxtel National Youth League 2015/2016
Round 5 - Saturday, December 5
Melbourne City FC Youth v Brisbane Roar FC Youth
CB Smith Reserve, Melbourne
Kick-off at 4:00PM (local time)