Sideline spell motivating Inman, says Fowler

Brisbane Roar coach Robbie Fowler says in-form goal scorer Brad Inman is realising his potential following another stellar showing for the Queenslanders.

Inman lifted his tally to four goals from the last three games with a first-half double in the Roar’s 2-2 draw with Melbourne City on Saturday evening.

The Adelaide-born attacker twice put the Roar ahead with clinical finishes in the 34^th and 45^th minutes at Suncorp Stadium, forcing City to claw back a point through goals to Craig Noone and Nathaniel Atkinson.

Inman’s form in the attacking third has sparked a partial resurgence in recent weeks for Fowler’s side, who are now unbeaten in their last three starts after winning just two of their opening nine matches of the campaign.

Speaking to Fox Sports, Fowler suggested leaving the 28-year-old Inman out of his side prior to Christmas may have proven the jolt the former Scotland youth representative needed.

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“I said that from day one with Brad, that once he realised his own potential then he can probably go on to much bigger and better things,” Fowler said.

“He’s probably taken a little bit of heed what we’re saying about his finishing, about his movement, getting on the ball and being a bit more direct going at the players.

“Certainly in the last three games he has had his rewards. We kept him out for a little bit and maybe that little bit of a spell on the sidelines has made him hungrier.”

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Despite the Roar twice taking the lead in a match played in sapping heat and humidity – and pushing hard for a late winner – Fowler conceded the draw was a fair result for his side after they were stifled for large parts of the contest by a hard-working City defensive effort.

“We were probably fortunate if we had won the game anyway because it wasn’t our best performance, but it is a point,” Fowler said.

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Fowler added: “We struggled with the press at times to be honest.

“I’m happy with a point of course, it is better than no points. I want to win every game and we go into every game looking to win it.

“But for whatever reason, and I don’t know what happened today, I think we were a little bit slow and we were a little bit jaded. But we will look at that.”

The result leaves the Roar in ninth position on the league table, but only two points shy of the Hyundai A-League Finals Series positions.