Brisbane Roar coach Frans Thijssen will not argue the red card shown to young defender Corey Brown in Saturday night’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Perth Glory at nib Stadium.
Brown was given his marching orders by referee Ben Williams after grabbing and bringing Glory striker Jamie Maclaren to ground in the 76th minute.
Brisbane was leading 2-1 at the time, but eight minutes later Glory’s Dino Djulbic scored the equaliser to salvage a point for the home side.
Result: Perth Glory 2 Brisbane Roar 2
There was debate on social media after the match about whether the red card was too harsh, but there was no doubt in Thijssen’s eyes.
“For me it was a red card,” Thijssen said at his post-match press conference.
“I haven’t seen it back, but I think if he (Maclaren) beat Corey then he goes to the goal. It was a scoring opportunity and that’s a red card. You can’t complain about it.
“His position wasn’t good so he had to make the foul. It was a mistake so he’s learns from it, as a young player.
“It’s disappointing because you give points away and he knows (that) too. He’s disappointed, he knows he made a mistake.”
Thijssen said he had “mixed feelings” about the drawn result, which denied Brisbane the chance to return to the top six.
The Roar appeared on track for their fourth consecutive Hyundai A-League win after Jean Carlos Solorzano and Matt McKay scored within the space of three minutes in the second half.
“If you go 2-1 up, of course there is disappointment to see the red card and in the end you have to fight to keep the point,” Thijssen said.
“We should have won, I think, because we were the better team. I think we had much more ball possession and after (going up) 2-1, I didn’t see any problems but of course the red card was a red card and you’re left disappointed in the end.”
Thijssen praised all of his players for their desire to win in Perth just three days after playing Beijing Guoan in an Asian Champions League match on the Gold Coast.
The Dutch coach was especially proud of McKay, whose goal came after he eclipsed Glory defender Josh Risdon for speed at a crucial stage of the match.
“It’s handy to have a player like that in midfield, who works hard and doesn’t give the ball away,” Thijssen said.
“He’s very important and if he starts scoring goals he’s even more important.”
