Brisbane Roar Head Coach Warren Moon commended the performances of Jesse Daley and Luke Ivanović after drafting the pair into his starting XI against Adelaide United on Saturday.
A typically industrious Daley was a standout in midfield, winning seven duels and three fouls, and completing two tackles and two interceptions.
Ivanović, meanwhile, looked dangerous on his first Isuzu UTE A-League start in orange, going close with a curling effort in the first half and then forcing a sharp double save from James Delianov in the second.
“I thought Jesse was our best player, personally,” Moon enthused after the match when asked about the impact of his midfield dynamo. “He gave us exactly what we needed in that game and we probably lost a bit when he came off if truth be told.
“He was good and Lukey was obviously knocking on the door. He’s someone we think highly of.
“We just had to be patient with him and wait for him to get the all-clear from the high performance staff.”
In the first two games of the season, both away losses, Brisbane were hampered by restrictions placed on their travel meaning they were only able to fly into Melbourne on gameday, something Moon believes gives an upper hand to their opponents.
“You got to see us in our first home game with proper preparation that any elite team would expect and we put on a good performance,” he said of the Adelaide game.
“It probably gets magnified because of the two weeks previous and the two losses. But at the end of the day our season starts here and we got a result.
“Now, if I look at the table and we’ve got one point out of three games it doesn’t look too flash.
“But all I can do is prepare our team the best I can and if we get a bit of help from the APL then it’s even better because we can be competitive in every game we play this year.”
Brisbane face same-day travel to Victoria yet again for a GMHBA Stadium clash with Western United on Saturday and Moon had a definitive answer when asked if there were any lessons to be learned from the previous flight arrangements.
“There’s one lesson: don’t do it. It’s simple,” he said. “And the APL needs to listen.”
He added: “I know they’re doing their best – this is not a perfect situation, I know that.
“Is this proper preparation for an elite team, in this league, when others aren’t doing that, and is that an even playing field? I would say no.”
