Inspiring goalkeeping from the Roar’s Jamie Young ensured Brisbane secured a 2-1 win in their Hyundai A-League match against Perth Glory on Saturday, 2 January at Suncorp Stadium.
The Brisbane shot-stopper was rock-solid between the sticks, recording nine saves including a terrific one-on-one block against Glory’s Josh Risdon late in the match.
Roar Head Coach John Aloisi praised Young’s performance in a solid team effort.
“Jamie [Young] did really well. We needed him today and he stood up,” Aloisi said.
“At one-on-one’s he’s one of the best in the league and it’s good to have someone who can save those chances.”
The victory is the Roar’s fourth consecutive and cements their position among the leaders on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Aloisi feels like his side is benefting from the good run of form.
“It’s always good to win and keep on winning because it grows the confidence and everyone starts to believe in what we’re doing,” Aloisi said.
Both sides failed to find the net in the first half before Jamie Maclaren’s seventh goal of the season (above) shortly after half-time provided deserved reward for the Roar, who were on top for most of the first half.
Aloisi brought on Henrique in the 57th minute in what proved to be an inspired substitituion as the Slippery Fish scored a classy goal and doubled the Roar’s lead just minutes after entering the match.
Juan Carlos Solorzano and Javier Hervas also provided spark in attack for the Roar as second-half substitutes.
The Roar’s back four defied the Glory attack on numerous occasions with Jade North and Shane Stefanutto both clearing shots off the line.
Fullback Jack Hingert ventured forward on occasions and created problems for the Perth defence while also regularly thwarting the threat of Diego Castro.
Brandon Borrello and Dimitri Petratros regularly exploited free space on the wings provided by Perth’s compact defence and regularly delivered threatening crosses into the area.
Aloisi was impressed with the team-oriented play on display, in particular in the build-up to the opening goal.
“It was great build-up play from all the players involved. It’s movement that we work on and it was great to see it end in a goal,” he said.
Goals
52’: First-time touch from Dimitri Petratros plays Jamie Maclaren in behind the Glory defence and he calmly finishes across Ante Covic’s goal for his seventh of the season. 1-0.
61’: Jamie Maclaren lays off for Henrique at the top of the area. The Slippery Fish (above) turns himself towards goal and clamly slots a looping shot over Ante Covic. 2-0.
70’: Diego Castro latches onto a through ball on the left wing and cuts-back for Hagi Gligor who finesses his shot with the inside of his foot inside the far post. 2-1.
Talking Point
How long will the Roar’s winning streak go? The men in orange have recorded four straight wins now and look to be getting better every week.
Quote unquote
Brisbane Roar Head Coach JOHN ALOISI: “We knew that it was going to be hard to break them [Perth Glory] down. They are a side that’s on the up and they have good experienced players.
“They made it difficult for us. They created good chances and so did we but it was a difficult game.
“We feel that we can get better. Today showed that there are still aspects of our game that we can improve on. We’ll keep on working hard on training and trying to improve.
“We’ve got a difficult game next week in Wellington, few tough games coming up but we’re looking forward to it.”
Perth Glory Head Coach KENNY LOWE: “To come to a place like [Suncorp] and play a team like Brisbane’s, it’s a testament to our squad and our young boys that we played today.
“You expect to come here and have to dig in a little bit. I was really impressed with our performance in the first half and second half we had our opportunities again to get something out of it.”
On Roar striker Jamie Maclaren: “He’s a good footballer. He got better every season at the club [Perth] and now he’s come to Brisbane and got better this season.”
Roar Striker JAMIE MACLAREN: “It was great to score. It’s been a couple of weeks since I last scored.
“I just wanted to go out there and do well for the new club in Brisbane and it’s great to get a goal and the three points.”
What’s next
The Roar head across the ditch to face Wellington Phoenix on Sunday, 10 January (4pm KO Qld time) in the first of two consecutive away games for Brisbane, before returning home to play Adelaide United on Friday, 22 January.
Jamie Maclaren, Brandon Borrello (above) and James Donachie will be unavailable for selection after the trio were selected in the Olyroos side for the upcoming AFC U23 Championships.
Match Stats
Hyundai A-League Round 13, Saturday 2 January at Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Roar 2 (Maclaren 52′, Henrique 61′)
Perth Glory 1 (Gligor 70′)
Half-time: 0-0
Crowd: 17,696
Brisbane Roar FC: 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 7.CORONA, 9.Jamie MACLAREN (11.Jean Carlos SOLORZANO 69’), 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Daniel BOWLES, 17.Matt MCKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH, 23.Dimitri PETRATOS (18.Javier HERVAS 79’), 28.Brandon BORRELLO (10.HENRIQUE 58’)
Unused substitutes: 15.James DONACHIE, 36.Andre JANNESE (gk)
Yellow cards: Brandon BORRELLO 45’
Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 7.Gyorgy SANDOR, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), 14.Chris HAROLD (28.Joe KNOWLES 84’), 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Mitch OXBORROW, 19.Josh RISDON, 23.Michael THWAITE (15.Hagi GLIGOR 69’), 24.Jamal REINERS (29.Aryn WILLIAMS 45’)
Unused substitutes: 5.Antony GOLEC, 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk),
Yellow cards: Marc WARREN 19’
Red cards: Nil
Referee: Chris Beath; Assistant Referee 1: Matthew Cream; Assistant Referee 2: Anton Shchetinin; Fourth Official: Peter Green
