Brisbane Roar has extended their unbeaten home start to 2020 with a well-earned draw against Perth Glory at Redcliffe’s Dolphin Stadium.
In front of a 9,224-strong crowd in Redcliffe, a goal in the dying stages of the match for Macaulay Gillepshey, his first in Brisbane orange, sent the capacity crowd into a frenzy.
Head Coach Robbie Fowler was proud to see his squad continuing their knack of fighting until the final whistle, that has proved so successful this year.
“It’s important that you come into games like this and you try not to lose the game. We’ve shown in the past how good we are against competing against the good teams in this league,” Fowler said post-game.
“We’ve got plenty of belief. The mentalities are absolutely superb from our bunch of lads.
“To go a goal down against a strong Perth team and to have the character and the desire to come back and force a point, and maybe we could’ve gotten a little bit more. Full credit to our boys, I think we’ve showed it in abundance again.”
Gillesphey’s goal, assisted from a Jay O’Shea Corner, cancelled out a first-half goal from Bruno Fornaroli.
Up against an in-form Perth side, Fowler says his squad always believed they had what it took to get a result & reaffirm their spot inside the league’s top six.
“When you’ve got a player like [Diego] Castro and Bruno Fornaroli up front, they’re a handful for any team,” Fowler added.
“It was just a case of look, try and do a little bit more on those players, have a little bit of belief in yourselves and go out and there and not show me but show yourselves what you can do.”
The Head Coach added that the support of the capacity crowd in Redcliffe provided a crucial lift for his side.
“Anytime you are playing football, when you are playing in front of a vocal crowd, a crowd who gets behind you, it gives you a little bit of a lift,” he added.
“When you’ve got a crowd who are right behind you, players are lifted, the person next to you is lifted. When you’ve got that noise and that drive by the supporters, it definitely aids you. We want to see this all the time.”
The Roar next face a trip to AAMI Park to face Melbourne City before back-to-back home fixtures at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, 6 March & Friday, 13 March – get your tickets HERE.
GOALS
Perth Glory – Bruno Fornaroli 34’ – 0-1
Fornaroli shoots from just inside the box which takes a deflection, sailing into the top right corner.
Brisbane Roar – Macaulay Gillesphey 84’ – 1-1
Gillesphey rises highest from an O’Shea corner, guiding the ball into the top right for the equaliser.
MATCH DETAILS
Hyundai A-League 2019/20: Round 20 –Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory
Dolphins Stadium, Redcliffe
Saturday, 22 February
Brisbane Roar 1 (Gillesphey 84’)
Perth Glory 1 (Fornaroli 34’)
Half-time: 0-1
Crowd: 9,224
