Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou said his side’s record-equalling unbeaten streak is a reward for the hard work his players put in after their tough 2-1 victory over the Jets on Saturday evening.
The Roar had to fight back from 1-0 down at half-time and the loss of skipper Michael Smith to grind out a 2-1 victory courtesy of second-half goals to Henrique in the 56th minute and substitute forward James Meyer with seven minutes left on the clock.
The win sees the Roar equal the record for an unbeaten streak in top-grade sport in Australia with the 35 games without loss matching that of the Eastern Suburbs Rugby League team in 1934 and 1935.
“We haven’t really focused a lot on it, but obviously it is a great achievement and it is a record that has stood the test of time so I guess for us to be able to equal it has been fantastic,” Postecoglou said after the win over Newcastle.
“But I am really proud of the effort by the players today it was a tough game, they have had three wins at home and you can see why, the crowd gets behind them and it is a tough place to come and get three points.”
“It was the one we hadn’t done in the run so far so it sort of completes the set for us,” the Roar coach added as Brisbane had only drawn against the Jets in their previous games under Postecoglou.
“We had to really guts it out today. And I think we all stood up today when we had to especially Michael (Theoklitos) are certain times. I was just really pleased for the players to get the reward of their hard work.”
The Roar seemed rattled by the Jets’ physicality in the midfield and a high pressing game as Newcastle capitalised on their pressure with a goal to striker Ryan Griffiths just before half-time.
The Jets had a golden opportunity to double their advantage just after the break but Theoklitos pulled off a great save to deny Kiwi international Jeremy Brockie from point-blank range.
The loss of goalkeeper Ben Kennedy after he copped a boot to the face seemed to break the momentum of the home side and when Henrique pounced on an errant back pass from Ruben Zadkovich to equalise the goal noticeably took the wind out of the sails of the hosts and they faded physically towards the final whistle.
“We were super positive at half-time and we said we want to play the ball in their half, Michael pulled off a crucial save just after half-time and that gave everyone a lift. From there we gradually got on top and as I said it was a great reward for the players,” Postecoglou said.
“They (the Jets) worked really hard but I think in the last 15 to 20 minutes they got really tired and that is the toll it takes on you when you play that type of game.”
“There were times we played out OK and there was times when they forced us into mistakes but we always know that if a team does that they have to do it for 90 minutes.”
“In the last 15 minutes they tired markedly and we got a bit of space to play but we were a little bit wasteful in the front third.”
The Roar also had the better play early and should have converted a couple of good chances but even when they went behind Postecoglou said there was no panic in the team.
“I was never panicky because I know we will always score goals,” he said. “The one thing people have overlooked through this whole run is that we have scored in every game. There is not one team that has kept us to zero.”
“That is 35 games where we have scored and I always have a feeling that this team will score at some point be it the first minute or the last minute. And that is the thing about this run that we have such a positive attitude.”
“When we got to 2-1 we could have just shut up shop but we were trying to get a third goal and a fourth goal – and that is the type of team we are and we want to be and we want to be better at.”
