Melbourne City have had plenty of more impressive wins this Hyundai A-League season but skipper Scott Jamieson believes the one of Brisbane Roar could be the most significant of the lot.
City registered just their second win in their last five games with the 1-0 triumph at AAMI Park to jump back into outright second on the ladder.
Erick Mombaerts’ men weren’t at their fluent best but deserved the victory, creating the better opportunities over the 90 minutes.
For Jamieson, who was playing his 250th match in the Hyundai A-League, the win showed another side to City’s game he believes could be important come the Finals Series.
“For us to have a week off to regroup and run the game out, under the pressure [at the end] we defended really well,” the City skipper told Fox Sports.
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“That’s better than a five or six nil [win] for us I believe, it was a good character win.
“We know there’s going to be ups and downs between now and the end of the season, teams are going to drop points and teams and going to make them.
“If we just worry about ourselves like we have tonight, build on that, I think we’ll be ok.”
City would have led before the break but Roar keeper Jamie Young made two outstanding saves to deny a Rostyn Griffiths header and Adrian Luna’s wicked free-kick.
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But Young’s luck changed after the break as the hosts took the lead in unusual circumstances.
Josh Brillante’s thunderbolt volley appeared headed for the goal only to hit the post, rebound onto the Roar custodian and then over the line for an own goal.
“I’ve had a couple of those…it’s a shame it didn’t count as mine,” a philosophical Brillante said after the match.
“It wasn’t the most polished performance but the most important thing was the three points.
“We kept the pressure on through most of the game, we were under the pump a bit towards the end but we carried it out and got the win.”
City’s win sets up a massive clash away to third-place Perth Glory next weekend, with the opportunity to pull further away from the defending premiers in the race for a top-two finish.
Mombaert’s troops have failed to score a goal in two previous meeting with Glory this season, losing 3-0 and drawing 0-0 in both games at AAMI Park.
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Perth Glory Melbourne City
Sunday, 8 March
HBF Park
Kick off: 3pm local, 6pm AEDT
