Brisbane Roar have won back-to-back Hyundai A-League matches following a 2-1 win over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
A goal in each half from Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Borrello secured the three points for the home side, continuing the Roar’s dominance over the Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
Maclaren opened the scoring after fullback Corey Brown dropped the ball on a dime to meet Maclaren’s well-timed run at the edge of the six-yard box before Borrello restored the Roar’s lead following Nebojsa Marinkovic’s equaliser.
Head Coach John Aloisi praised the depth within his squad, as well as the impeccable combination between Brown and Maclaren for the Roar’s opener.
“We’ve got a deep squad with good players. Brandon [Borrello] is one of those who came on and showed that he wants to start and played well,” Aloisi said.
“Jamie [Maclaren] has been looking sharp. I said to him just keep doing what you’re doing and the goals will come because he’s a goal scorer, and that’s what he did.
“It was a superb ball from Corey. It’s something that we work on in training so it was good to see.”
The Roar now face Tim Cahill’s Melbourne City in a Friday night blockbuster at Suncorp Stadium.
Aloisi says there’s great belief among the Roar who will take confidence into matches against any opposition.
“If we play at our best, we’ll given any team in the league a run for their money,” Aloisi said.
“We’re looking forward to facing Bruno Fornaroli and Tim Cahill. There will be a big crowd and it’s not an easy place for them to come and play.
“We can’t wait.”
John Aloisi said during the week that the Roar expected to dominate possession which they did, holding 75% of possession after 20 minutes. The Roar locked the ball inside the Glory’s half for a majority of the first half, rarely allowing the visitors a sight of Michael Theo’s goal.
Thomas Kristensen (below) almost gave the home side an early lead after Corey Brown’s cut back found the Danish international on the edge of the area whose shot was blocked by Glory fullback Marc Warren.
The Roar continued to pepper the Glory goal as Thomas Broich fired over the bar from the edge of the area before skipper Matt McKay who drilled a low-shot narrowly wide of the right post.
Glory’s Rostyn Griffiths was substituted 25 minutes following a collision with Brett Holman and was replaced by young defender Brandon Wilson.
Perth started the second period on the front foot and equalised from the boot of Nebojsa Marinkovic nine minutes after the restart.
The second half provided a more even contest in comparison to the first 45, as clear cut chances became a rarity for both sides.
The Roar began to regain the ascendency as time wore on and capitalised on a good period of play with Borrello’s (below) first goal of the season firing the home side back into the lead.
The young winger was desperately unlucky to not have his second of the afternoon just minutes later, hitting a volley just over the crossbar.
Captain Matt McKay, who was named NAB Player of the match, was one of a number of strong contributors across the park for Brisbane.
The club had a moment’s silence recognsing the victims of two Queensland tragedies during the past week. BRFC would like to extend their gratitude to the crowd for their impeccable conduct and their strong support of the team.
Goals
31’: Inch-perfect early cross from Corey Brown is met by Jamie Maclaren on the edge of the area who reaches out and pokes the ball past Liam Reddy for his first goal of the season. 1-0
54’: Dummy and top-poke from Rhys Williams sets up Nebojsa Marinkovic who curls a shot into the bottom right corner. 1-1
75’: Quick throw down the right wing is looped back by Maclaren inside into the path of Brandon Borrello who drives towards goal before calmly finishing across the face of goal into the bottom left corner. 2-1
Talking Point
The Roar have secured back-to-back wins for the first time in the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 campaign in which both Brandon Borrello and Jamie Maclaren (below) scored their first goals for the season. Will they find the net again on Friday night?
Quote unquote
Brisbane Roar Head Coach JOHN ALOISI: “It was a very dominant first half but it doesn’t matter how much you’re in front, you still need to start the second half better than we did. If you allow a team like Perth back in the game, it’s frustrating.
“We got back on top of them in the last half hour, scored and created a lot of opportunities
“We were really good, but I wasn’t happy with the complacency at the start of the second half. We allowed them to equalise but after that, when we did make the change, we ran out the game well
“Moving Thomas Broich inside worked really well, he found some good areas and ran out the game really well.
“We know that having a good squad allows you to run out the game and try win games in the last 30 minutes.
“I don’t want to put all the pressure on any specific player, we just want to create chances, like we did tonight, and we know that we have players that can score.
“Every week is a big test, tonight was a big test. I think perth will be real contenders so tonight was a big test. Every week we have to prepare well and make sure we’re ready and we didn’t give them much tonight.”
Brisbane Roar captain MATT MCKAY: “I thought the guys that came on were great. We had some good signs, especially in the first half and if we can carry that into next weekend it’ll be good.
“The boys who aren’t in the squad have been pushing hard which you need at a club to be successful. If we can continue to push each other we’ll only get better.
On fellow midfielder Brett Holman (below): I thought he was exceptional. He’s a very smart player and very dangerous.”
Brisbane Roar defender LUKE DEVERE: “We created a lot of good opportunities, had some good patterns.
“We’ve got some players still finding their feet, we’re only going to get better and with the quality of attacking players we have, we’re going to cause problems for a lot of teams.
What’s next?
The Roar return to Suncorp Stadium next weekend to face Tim Cahill’s Melbourne City on Friday, 4 November (6:50pm KO QLD time) before travelling to Coopers Stadium to face defending Champions Adelaide United on Friday, 11 November (6:50pm KO QLD time).
Match Stats
Hyundai A-League Round 4, Brisbane Roar FC v Perth Glory, Sunday, 30 October at Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Roar FC 2 (Maclaren 31’, Borrello 75’)
Perth Glory FC 1 (Marinkovic 54’)
Half-time: 1-0
Crowd: 13,428
Brisbane Roar FC: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 5.Corey BROWN, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 9.Jamie MACLAREN (33.Joey KATEBIAN 90’), 10.Brett HOLMAN (28.Brandon BORRELLO 67’), 11.Tommy OAR (below), 13.Jade NORTH, 17. Matt McKAY (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 22.Thomas BROICH
Unused substitutes: 4.Daniel BOWLES, 8.Jacob PEPPER, 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk),
Yellow cards: Jade NORTH 59’, Thomas KRISTENSEN 72’
Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory FC: 2.Alex GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN, 5.Rhys WILLIAMS (24.Milan SMILJANIC 73’), 6.Dino DJULBIC, 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS (c) (15.Brandon WILSON 25’), 9.Andy KEOGH, 10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 14.Chris HAROLD (7.Joel CHIANESE 80’), 17.Diego CASTRO, 19.Josh RISDON, 33.Liam REDDY (gk)
Unused substitutes: 13.Nicholas FEELY (gk), 16.Joe MILLS
Yellow cards: Rhys WILLIAMS 32’, Brandon WILSON 77’
Red cards: Nil
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro; Assistant Referee 1: Nathan MacDonald; Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay; Fourth Official: Alex King
