Brisbane Roar coach Ange Postecoglou says a lack of respect for the Central Coast Mariners very nearly cost his side their dream of hosting the Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
Brisbane, the 2010-11 season’s stand-out performers, took a two-goal advantage into the home leg of their major semi-final and securing grand final hosting rights seemed a mere formality.
But it was just that assumption that looked to have cost the Roar, as the visiting Mariners showed no signs of being intimidated, and leading 2-0 at half time at Suncorp they seemed on the cusp of completing the shock upset.
Postecoglou’s men were able to reset in the second stanza and steal a draw from the jaws of defeat, thanks to a Thomas Broich special in the 63rd minute and a cracking equaliser from Henrique in injury time.
The indifferent performance from the premiers was enough to ensure their flawless record at home remained intact and stretch their undefeated streak to 27 games, but the first half signs of complacency clearly didn’t impress the coach.
“If you don’t respect the game and don’t respect the opposition, sometimes you get a little bit too far ahead of yourself,” he said.
“We just thought that it would be an easy game. We had some chances early on and we didn’t take them, we weren’t as clinical as we have been in the past, we weren’t as crisp, and then we got done with two sucker punches, one after the other.”
“It’s just a matter of making sure you do all the right things that we’ve been doing all year long. I didn’t go off at the boys (at half time), there’s no point doing that; they’re working hard enough.”
“You’ve just got to respect the game and respect your opponent at all times, or else you’ll get a slap in the face, and that’s what happened to us, we got a couple of slaps.”
Opposition coach Graham Arnold claimed a ‘psychological victory’ for his side in the post-match press conference, and there was no denying the Roar had been rattled at stages of the match.
But it is a sign of the Roar’s dominance that arguably their worst performance of the season – with exception to their 3-0 loss to Melbourne Victory in Round 5 – was good enough to earn them a draw with the second placed side in the competition.
The Mariners stretched the Roar with their savvy tactics and fast-paced attack, but as often as they threatened, the hosts were equally dangerous, registering 19 attempts at goal to the Mariners’ 12 and demanding a top-notch showing from 18-year-old shot-stopper Matt Ryan.
