Brisbane Roar return home without points after a late goal by Melbourne City destroyed hopes of a draw resulting in a 2-1 loss.
In the 22nd minute, a misplaced pass in Brisbane’s midfield saw Aiden O’Neill intercept the ball and shoot from long-range hitting the top right corner, seeing Melbourne lead early in the match.
Jordan Holmes made a brilliant save up against Jamie Maclaren’s penalty in the 49th minute to deny the League’s top scorer.
The Roar found their way in the last 15 minutes, becoming more aggressive and shifting into an attacking style of play that put pressure onto Melbourne City’s defence.
Jez Lofthouse was taken down in the 18-yard box in the 78th minute by Callum Talbot, giving away a penalty to the Roar.
Jay O’Shea stepped up for the kick and buried it into the right side of goal to make the scoreboard level and give Brisbane hope in defeating the competition leaders and taking home one point.
Melbourne City sealed the win with a late goal in the 88th minute off a corner with an Aiden O’Neill header to put City up two goals to the good.
Nikola Mileusnic hit a volley off a deflection in added time that curled towards goal but was saved by the reflexes of Thomas Glover.
Interim Head Coach Nick Green believes that Brisbane should have left AAMI Park with at least one point and was disappointed to concede a last-minute corner at such a crucial time in the match.
“I felt we probably deserved something from the game, the effort that we put into there, and it’s disappointing to come away with nothing however there’s still plenty of positives to come out of the game today,” Green said.
“There’s just some technical details that we need to get into the players that are going to help us with our tactical game plan, that takes a bit of time, each day we’re on the grass we are working on things and it’s effort, but that’s my job,” he said.
It was Brisbane midfielder Taras Gomulka’s first time playing against his former team since making the move to the Roar at the start of this year, and Green believes the 21-year-old is a great asset for the Roar with a big future.
“Taras has been unbelievable for us in the last three games, coming back to his old club meant a little bit more to him,” he said.
“I thought he was outstanding in the centre of the park for us, he won so many balls for us and his passing out was good, it set the tone for us. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s got a bright future as a young kid, he’s a bright prospect.”
Brisbane Roar face Western United in their Round 21 match-up at their home of Kayo Stadium this Saturday at 4:00pm AEST, where the squad will wear a purple kit in support of Epilepsy Queensland’s #MakeMarchPurple campaign.
Catch the action on Paramount+ or buy tickets here.
