After two heavy defeats, Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi was proud of his side’s emphatic response in disposing of Sydney FC on Saturday night.
Roar snapped a three-game winless streak with a superb 3-1 win over the Sky Blues at Allianz Stadium.
MATCH REPORT: Roar weather Sky Blues at rain sodden Allianz
“What I really wanted from the players is a response from the last two weeks where we conceded eight goals,” Aloisi said.
“We had a lot of possession and dominated a lot of the game the last two weeks but didn’t do a lot with it.
“I wanted desperation in both boxes, defending and also in the final third and we showed that. It was a great response from the players and I thought they did well.”
Roar’s cause was helped by having Olyroos striker Jamie Maclaren back in the side and he marked his return with a brace.
Skipper Matt McKay scored the visitor’s other second goal – his first goal of the season – to put Roar back in front after Corona’s own goal drew Sydney level early in the second half.
The result lifts Brisbane up to second spot, just two points behind the Wanderers, heading into the final 10 games of the campaign and well placed for a tilt at the title.
“We haven’t even thought about where we can end up. We think about every week and where we can improve in our structures,” Aloisi said.
“The last couple of games even though we felt we played quite well, we were too open defensively. We had to make sure we improved in that. We haven’t even looked at ‘we’ve got 10 games, where can we end up?’
“We know if we play at our best that we can beat anyone whether it’s at home or away.
“Whether people talk about us [as contenders] I don’t look at that because people spoke about us being not that good the last two games either as well.”
Asked about Maclaren’s rich vein of form – which has seen his goal tally reach nine for the year now – Aloisi said: “It’s a really good return from him and he’s missed quite a few games as well.
“I feel every time he plays he’s going to score because he gets into position to score goals.
“He’s a goal-scorer, he wants to score goals. There’s a lot of improvement left in him too but to get nine goals so far and there’s still a lot of football to be played, I expect him to bang in some more.”
