Brisbane Roar striker Jamie Maclaren says confidence has returned to his side’s dressing room after their thrilling comeback win over Western Sydney.
The Roar snapped a two-game losing streak, headlined by heavy defeats to Perth Glory and Adelaide United, by disposing of the Wanderers 3-2 in front of a boisterous home crowd at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
MATCH REPORT: Roar re-join Wanderers on top after five goal thriller
Maclaren netted a brace, including an equaliser in the 81st minute after Western Sydney had taken the lead only three minutes earlier.
Dimi Petratos scored the winner in the 83rd minute to lift the Roar into a share of top spot on the Hyundai A-League table with the Wanderers.
“This is our bounce back, it’s what we needed,” Maclaren told SBS.
“The last two results haven’t been great, but to get back at home and win the three points is a great thing.
“It lifts our confidence…to go down 2-1 just shows the character we’ve got in our dressing room and it’s definitely title-contending.
“(We have) another home game next week against Victory and it’s going to be a tough game, but we know what to expect and if we come with the same performance we did tonight we should be right.”
Maclaren, who joined the Roar from Perth Glory in the off-season in search of more regular game time, now sits equal second with Victory’s Besart Berisha on 14 goals in the race for the Golden Boot award.
Melbourne City striker Bruno Fornaroli leads the pack with 17.
“You can’t beat scoring goals in front of your home fans and hopefully there’s more to come,” Maclaren said.
Brisbane will likely welcome Socceroo Tommy Oar into the fold against Melbourne Victory at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday.
