Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina has heaped praise upon his defence as his side held on to register its fourth away win of the 2008/09 Hyundai A-League season with a tough 2-1 victory over Newcastle at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Sunday night.
Queensland came back from an early Joel Griffiths goal to take a 2-1 lead into the half-time break courtesy of strikes from Matt McKay and Charlie Miller. And while Newcastle dominated possession and territory in the second half, the Roar defence looked comfortable in holding out the Jets to grab all three points.
“They had a fair bit of possession in the second half down our end but (goalkeeper) Liam (Reddy) was taking quite a few clearance and I don’t think they (the Jets) had what you would call ‘clear cut’ chances,” Farina said after the match.
“Craig Moore has been fantastic not only one the field in defence as a leader, but off the field as well the last couple of games he has done really well. Big Josh McCloughan, that is only his second game back and young Matt Mundy, has done really well in the last two games for us, so I was pleased with them.”
“Our midfield was also one of keys, they work hard they press and Matty (McKay) popped up with a goal today and Charlie got one as well, so it was pleasing.”
The Roar coach said he was ‘happy’ to score the win despite not playing their best football.
“I thought we played pretty well today, not exceptional, but pretty hard,” Farina said.
“We got two quality goals and the second half turned into a bit of a struggle for both sides and Liam made that good save towards the end, and it is about time we stopped getting scored against in the last few minutes, so we are happy to take the three points.”
Goal-scorer McKay said the fact the Roar struck back after the Griffiths strike was a turning point in the game.
“It was really important obviously Mundy blocked one of their shots straight after as well,” McKay said.
“To get back into the game so quickly level is always a plus because the longer it goes on you get under pressure, so it was nice to get back into it and then Charlie got a nice finish as well and then we held on in the second half which was really pleasing.”
The win sees Queensland leap into fourth place on the Hyundai A-League table, while the Jets are firmly entrenched in the bottom half.
