Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey said his side’s well-deserved triumph over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday was ‘probably as dominant a 1-0 win as I’ve been involved in for a while’.
Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey said his side’s well-deserved triumph over Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday was ‘probably as dominant a 1-0 win as I’ve been involved in for a while’.
The two-time reigning Hyundai A-League champions were comfortably the better side in virtually every facet of play throughout the afternoon but were forced to wait patiently until substitute Ben Halloran’s goal in the 81st minute to finally secure the points and jump back into the top six.
The Roar could – and should – have won by more but Mulvey was happy with the result.
“It’s well documented we’re not happy with where we are on the table and we’re trying to do something about it,” Mulvey said.
“It’s the business end of the season.
“We’ve been working very hard and I think you’ve seen some of the fruits of our labour today.
“We created chances … the only thing missing was the killer instinct.
“It was probably as dominant a 1-0 win as I’ve been involved in for a while.”
With Adelaide gloveman Eugene Galekovic pulling off some fine stops, the woodwork intervening more often than usual and Besart Berisha uncharacteristically missing a second-half penalty shot,
Mulvey could have been forgiven for thinking it just wouldn’t be Brisbane’s day.
But during the half-time break he implored his charges to remain patient and felt that their time would come.
It did, nine minutes out from the 90-minute mark when Halloran pushed one past Galekovic after receiving the wide pass from Berisha.
“If you keep knocking at the door, something’s going to happen for you,” Mulvey said.
“It took us a long time.
“As we said at half-time, if it takes us until the 95th minute, let’s just keep playing the way we’re playing.
“We could have easily been a couple of goals up at half-time.
“I thought it was the best 90 minutes we’ve played since I joined the club.
The nature of Roar’s victory, if not necessarily the modest final scoreline, will no doubt prick the interest of rival sides determined to see of Brisbane’s dynasty.
But Mulvey isn’t getting carried away.
“We’ve just won one game,” said the English-born manager.
“It doesn’t matter how many games there is to go.
“We’re still the masters of our own destiny.
“We got our just rewards today and the key thing now is can we do that again next week (against Melbourne Victory at Suncorp Stadium).
“That’s the big test.”
