A-League football came to Cairns as the Roar grabbed their first victory in nearly a month with a 2-1 triumph over the Wellington Phoenix.
Brisbane dominated most of the statistical categories, but found themselves frustrated with blown chances and at times, excellent defending from the visitors. Roy Krishna opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time before Steven Lustica levelled off an impressive counter-attack. Jamie Maclaren won the game late on, getting a lucky deflection from a one-on-one chance to round the goalkeeper and finish into an empty net.
Brisbane Roar
Jamie Young – 6: Maybe he could have gotten a hand on the Phoenix’s first goal, but it was a quiet start to the game as most of his work came on goal kicks.
Jack Hingert – 6: Useful as an extra body in attack, but inconsistent when defending the play, he was the one Krishna beat to score the goal.
Daniel Bowles – 7: Brisbane’s best defender on the afternoon could have done better, but also could have done worse. His efforts disrupting aerial threats were the highlights of his afternoon.
Jade North – 7: Up and down North had some fantastic defensive work, but also found himself flat-footed when trying to stop the flair players. His highlight came from chasing down a Phoenix attacker in the clear and helping stop a one-on-one chance.
Shane Steffanuto – 6: Like Jason Davidson for the Socceroos, he automatically loses a point for that atrocious hairstyle. His passing was a bit below average, but he would be fairly happy with his return to his former stomping grounds.
Corona – 7: Plenty of long passes to get his attackers in the right positions, he continued to play at a consistent level for the Roar. Perhaps one concern for the team as we move into the really hot months in Brisbane (as opposed to the regularly hot months), is the fact he was withdrawn and whether or not the conditions got to him.
Matt McKay – 5: A very poor first-half for the Roar captain, receiving a yellow and generally being a step behind the play. Not his usual energetic self on the afternoon which is a surprise considering he is one of the league’s fittest players.
Henrique – 6: He continued his return from a knee injury with another confident, comfortable performance. While not quite there yet, he is certainly getting close to his confident best.
Dimitri Petratos – 4: Largely anonymous in his 45 minutes on the pitch, Petratos was not at the races in this game as his impressive run of the last couple of months came to an end.
Thomas Broich – 6.5: For the bulk of this game, Broich was average, possibly even bad but with the game on the line he came to life. He looked hesitant to beat his defender and was muscled off the ball on more than one occasion. But when his team needed him he produced some impressive passes including breaking
Jamie Maclaren – 8: A rough afternoon for Maclaren, he deserves plenty of credit for making good runs despite some tight marking. Unfortunately his efforts are brought down a notch by the fact he wasted most of his opportunities. Moving out to the wing late on was a turning point as he began to assert himself much more and was eventually rewarded with what turned out to be the game winning goal.
Substitutes
Javier Hervas [HALFTIME] – 8: Heavily involved in the game he is loving life as an impact sub for the Roar. You have to wonder if he will get a start at some point in the near future.
Jean Carlos Solozano [64 MINUTES] – 9: His presence up front helped disrupt the stingy Phoenix defence and while he was not rewarded with a goal he had the critical pass for fellow substitute Lustica’s goal.
Steven Lustica [67 MINUTES] – 7: A nice goal coming off a late run and a missed chance coming off a late run just about sums up the 25 minutes Lustica got on the pitch.
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