Two-goal hero Jamie Maclaren was delighted Brisbane Roar found the energy to bounce back with a vital win on Sunday after their 6-0 loss midweek in the Asian Champions League.
Brisbane wore down a 10-man Jets winning 3-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium to take three valuable points on Sunday.
The win was a timely boost for their chances of hosting an Elimination Final (third and fourth host) with five rounds left.
Roar return to top four with win over 10-man Jets
Newcastle opened the scoring from the penalty spot but were dealt a blow when Jason Hoffman was sent off after 30 minutes.
And a second half brace from Maclaren saw Brisbane take the lead, with teenager Nicholas D’Agostino confirming the result late on with his first Hyundai A-League goal.
“All in all, after the week we’ve had, it’s nice to get three points away from home,” a relieved Maclaren told Fox Sports.
“It’s been a long week. I played 90 minutes as well in the week [in China] and they are managing me but for me it’s just good to get back on track with two goals and three points.”
The result sees the Roar move back into fourth, while the Jets remain in eighth, three points outside the top six with five rounds to play.
And it was Maclaren who lead the way with an eye-catching two goals, though he showed his frustration when he was withdrawn late on.
“I was disappointed coming off because I thought I could’ve had three,” he said.
The two goals were timely given the Caltex Socceroos World Cup qualifiers later this month, though the 23-year-old said he wasn’t thinking about the national team at the moment.
It’s been a mammoth 43 days with 11 games across four countries for Roar. They now have some time to recover before the ACL begins again next week.
In the Hyundai A-League, Roar next face Adelaide away on Sunday March 19 in the split round.
