Mariners coach Graham Arnold thought the match could have gone either way but his Brisbane counterpart Ange Postecoglou says his side deserved to win their major semi-final first leg at Suncorp Stadium by a clear margin.
The Roar led from the eighth minute when Brazilian trickster Henrique tapped in, but it wasn’t until the 86th that they put the game beyond doubt with a powerfully driven goal to defensive midfielder Erik Paartalu.
The match looked similar to the many tight Roar-Mariners battles fought out in recent years, with Brisbane dominating the majority and Central Coast settling comfortably into the role of counter-attackers.
But for their different approaches, there was no doubting the Roar had the run of play and could have racked up a handsome total if not for indifferent finishing from a number of players.
“I just wanted us to get a reward from the boys playing so well,” said Postecoglou.
“We worked so hard and created so many good opportunities and played some good football, so I think it would have been a bit of an injustice to go in 1-0.”
“In terms of the tie, I don’t think it makes a massive amount of difference, but in terms of the psychology of the game and reward for what I thought was great play, it was fantastic that we got the second one.”
The Roar’s second goal could prove vital with aggregate from the two-leg semi deciding which team progresses straight through to the Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
Both sides have Asian Champions League matches to survive during the week, but the Roar are the ones that have to travel to Korea and then back to Gosford, while the Mariners play twice at home and have an extra recovery day after their midweek game.
Arnold was salivating at the prospect of a fatigued Roar for the second leg, but Postecoglou said wear and tear would not be a problem for his battle-hardened troops.
Following their last ACL match, the Roar rested a handful of starters for their final regular season game against the Gold Coast, but Postecoglou said the decision had been to get minutes into fringe squad members and that several of his senior players had been disappointed not to play.
“It wasn’t about resting players last week, it was about getting game time into different players,” said Postecoglou.
“The players were ready and willing to play and they would have been fine.”
“If you had have seen them (after the game against Gold Coast), some of them were actually disappointed they didn’t have a game.”
“The players are in good condition and they’re ready for this time of the year.”