Brisbane Roar achieved back-to-back wins at Kayo Stadium on Saturday after taking down reigning champions Western United 1-0 in an exciting display of goal opportunities which saw the ball in the back of the net three times but disallowed due to offside calls.
This victory put a halt to Western United’s three-game winning streak, threatening their bid for a top 6 spot.
In the 18th minute, Stefan Scepovic regained possession for the Roar who saw the ball at the feet of Jez Lofthouse who played a classy one-two with Jay O’Shea.
Lofthouse had a shot which bounced to Scepovic for him to bury it into the back of the net, but it was ruled offside to refuse the Serbian his first Brisbane Roar goal.
Scepovic later received a ball from Kai Trewin through the middle of the park which he crossed in for Jay O’Shea to take a shot but a defensive header from Leo Lacroix denied this goal opportunity.
Lofthouse and Scepovic once again connected up front in the 46th minute and Scepovic made a run into the goal area to receive a cross from Lofthouse and took a shot that called for a great save by Jamie Young.
Lofthouse found himself on the end of a ball put through by Rahmat Akbari and took a touch to tuck it into the bottom right corner in the 64th minute.
His celebration was interrupted moments later when the referee turned to the VAR that ruled another offside, taking the goal off the scoreboard.
Brisbane Roar finally found their well-deserved goal from none other than star midfielder Jay O’Shea in the 81st minute that secured the three points for the Roar with an outstanding strike from outside the 18-yard box.
Interim Head Coach Nick Green was thrilled to get the win at home after a match full of countless opportunities and great defensive efforts from his side.
“They’re funny games as well, them games where you sort of dominate quite a lot of the ball, you get a couple ruled out offside, and could’ve had a penalty potentially. Then, to stay in the game and keep that concentration, that focus, and go and get the win,” Green said.
“Great finish from Jay, fitting to win any game if I’m honest, but I’m delighted as well for the clean sheet and also to get the goal,” he added.
“Two wins from two at home, I’m delighted with that.”
Heading into the international break, Green looks forward to exploring the talent of the younger players through internal games to push for opportunities for them in the remainder of the season.
“We’ve got a couple of boys going away which is fantastic for the boys and the club. We’re going to use this time to embed a few of the messages we are trying to do but also give the lads a mental breather,” he said.
“We’re going to be doing some internal games as well, which is going to be fantastic for me to see some of the younger players through. If the lads are good enough and we believe in them, they’ll get an opportunity.”
Green is not concerned with the competition’s ladder at this point in the Isuzu UTE A-League season as he believes it does not matter until the end of the season.
“The league table is the league table, and it doesn’t really matter until the end of the season. We’re fighting for performances and we’re obviously fighting for points but we’re fighting for that improvement which will lead to a more stable opportunity for us to get more wins on the board,” he said.
“It’s coming, we’ll have ups and downs, but we need to remain stable for what we’re doing and how we’re working together as a group.”
The Roar take on fourth-place Central Coast Mariners away at Industree Group Stadium on Saturday April 1 after the international break.
Catch the action on Paramount+. KO at 4pm AEST.
