Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou said the floods devastating Queensland were never far from his players minds following Wednesday night’s 3-3 classic with the Central Coast Mariners at Gosford.
With many of his players having family and friends directly involved with the floods, Postecoglou said his team showed outstanding qualities to put in such a strong performance at Bluetongue Stadium.
A cracking goal from the edge of the box from second-half replacement James Meyer sealed the draw after the Roar came from 2-1 and 3-2 down in the second half.
“I’m very proud of this group,” the Roar coach said.
“We left Queensland yesterday with no indication things would turn out so bad at home. We all started getting calls so it certainly played on our minds.”
“It’s been a very tough 24 hours.”
The result means the Roar have now gone a staggering 21 games without defeat.
While disappointed his team could not hang on for a win, Mariners coach Graham Arnold was delighted with the effort of his team.
“The boys are disappointed but to get a 3-3 draw with the first placed team takes a big effort, I’m very proud of them,” Arnold said.
“Overall I think the performance was fantastic. Two dead moments killed us.”
Arnold was referring to Brisbane’s first goal when Erik Paartalu was left unmarked from a corner and Meyer’s equaliser when he was free from a throw-in.
“They got us on the counter,” Arnold added.
