Ruben Zadkovich fronts the media following Brisbane Roar’s 0-0 draw with Melbourne Victory in Isuzu UTE A-League Round 25 action at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Despite enjoying 60% possession and fashioning 21 efforts at goal Roar were unable to find a breakthrough as the sides battled to a goalless draw.
Saturday’s result sees Roar climb above Adelaide United into eighth on the A-League ladder ahead of a battle with the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in their final match of the 2023/24 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
Zadkovich discussed Saturday’s match, identity of the team and direction going forward as well as the impact of young players including Thomas Waddingham.
MATCH REPORT: Melbourne Victory 0-0 Brisbane Roar
Zadkovich on Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Victory:
“I thought tonight, mainly positives, there’s so many positives to talk about. I’m really proud of the way my team played and really proud of their effort. I thought we were totally dominant, which was good.
Well, he’s had a good game as well, Paul (Izzo), to be fair to him, he’s a very good keeper. And you know what, we’ve had some chances, I think the positive thing is, we’ve created chances without going into too much detail from a style of play and a philosophy that we wholeheartedly believe in, the players to guide .They’re under pressure and perform like that away from home against a very good Victory team, just shows, how far we’ve come in a short space of time.
Obviously, we’d like to take some of those chances and I’m sure some of those boys would, would like a few of those moments over again, but, to create the chances from things that we’ve worked on is a massive positive and something we can definitely take moving forward.”
Zadkovich on the identity of the team:
“I’ve tried to give the playing group, a real clear identity and a DNA that I believe, can take Brisbane forward, over a longer period and that is to be in control of the ball and in control of the game and I think that’s the biggest positive from tonight. It would have been nice to win, it would be nice to still be in finals contention. That’s certainly what the players have been aiming towards. But we’ve fallen short, unfortunately. And there’s a clear process at the moment in terms of the way we play, and that gives us some, you know, some clear areas to improve. And I think that’s important to have that clarity.”
Zadkovich on the mentality of the group:
“To be honest, I look at the playing group and I think about games I want to go too far back but we went away to Wellington, we conceded in the first minute and then totally dominated that game in every facet. chances on goal, final third entry, corners, shots on goal, possession, pass completion pass accuracy, but we lost 1-0 and Wellington are very good team that the top of the ladder. We’ve gone away to Western Sydney, same thing, control the game, every key marker indicates that the players, their mentality, their effort, their pride in the jersey and their belief in the way we’re playing is very clear.
Last week was no different, we had two very poor defensive moments. But again, we totally controlled that game and were the dominant team and again today, so I don’t think I don’t think those announcements have affected the players in any way, you know, positive or negative. I think the players have been fantastic through a very tricky period and I’m proud of the way they’ve kept their composure and held their heads and kept pushing forward.”
Zadkovich on the direction forward for the club:
“There’s plenty of areas, it’s quite clear the club hasn’t played finals in a few seasons, so that’s something that we want to rectify, but we want to do it the right way. We want to produce some of our homegrown players. We want to bring people through our system, we want to create a clear identity and something that we can stick to, something that attracts players, there’s so many areas we can improve that and there’s no point me sitting here talking about it now.”
Zadkovich on Thomas Waddingham:
“First of all, what a fantastic player and a fantastic person to lead the line at his age, he started the season, 17 years old, I’m thinking back to games, I’ve watched replays, of him in the cup, where he’s going toe to toe with people like Marcelo, some of the strongest defenders in the league, he’s led the line fantastically for the club, through a lot of turmoil and a lot of change and, you know, he’s been going away and he’s had the privilege of representing his country in under 23 level, which, which shows some really good recognition for him.
His load is through the roof and he’s certainly fatiguing at this end of the season, and rightfully so. But there’s also a lot of interest around Tommy Waddingham, there’s also we’ve had a lot of conversations and a lot of talks about clubs potentially look into by Tommy. We don’t make players like Tommy Waddingham anymore. He’s that old school proper number nine, he’s got so many areas, he can improve and grow. And I think he’s a massive asset to the club.”
MATCH DETAILS
Isuzu UTE A-League Men 2023/24 – Round 25: Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Saturday, 20 April
Melbourne Victory – 0
Brisbane Roar – 0
