Melbourne Heart coach John van ‘t Schip is ruing his side’s lack of good fortune after losing all three points to Brisbane Roar on Saturday in a match that takes their finals destiny out of their hands.
The Heart went down 2-1 to the Roar but things could have been differently if players like John Aloisi and Gerald Sibon made the most of their numerous chances during the game.
The result leaves the red and white needing to not only win both their remaining games against Sydney FC and Central Coast, but praying that other results fall their way as they seek to earn a finals berth in their inaugural year in the A-League.
“We’ve played the Roar three times and lost three times so they are the better team, it’s a fact. We had our chances, they had theirs,” van ‘t Schip said.
“It’s difficult every time you come behind and it’s a problem we’ve had in the past few games. Today it wasn’t enough.”
“We came back from 2-0 to 2-1, John (Aloisi) had the big one at the end which didn’t work out the way we wanted and that’s how it went. You give away a lot of space and you give more risks. It could have gone both ways at the end but we just didn’t have that luck that we needed.”
“We needed the win so we knew what we had to do. You have to keep the balance of course, but coming from behind makes it more difficult. Overall we were very competitive and maybe deserved more but that’s how it goes.”
“We can still get (in the finals) but we don’t have it in our hands anymore. We still have to believe in ourselves, get six points in our last two games and then hope.”
“The boys played fantastically – with heart, with passion, and that’s what I asked before the game. I have no complaints about that but of course the disappointment is there.”
“This season has had a lot of ups and downs. We had some good periods and some very bad periods. But we always come back and fight as a team and we showed some good football. For our first year, we’re very competitive. We are a team that counts and we’re still in it.”
Heart captain Simon Colosimo echoed his coach’s remarks.
“We’re disappointed in the result, but not the performance,” he said. “It was hard to sit in (the dressing room after the game) but a lot of teams would have come against the Roar, the standout team of the competition, and probably played for a point like Wellington did on Wednesday.”
“We came for all three, we missed out, so we’ll be going home working out how to get three points against Central Coast and Sydney. If we pick up our six points – there’s a lot of ifs, and they don’t count for anything – but it gives us a chance. If we don’t, we won’t have a chance. We’re not going to die wondering.”
