A dejected Brisbane Roar defender Jade North summed up his team’s loss to Sydney FC as being ‘their own fault’ after two defensive lapses lead to both Sky Blue goals.
Roar in third spot were unable to gain ground on their ladder-leading rivals after a tight game saw Sydney FC ruthlessly make them pay for cheap turnovers.
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The win made it 13 rounds this season unbeaten for Graham Arnold’s men, while Brisbane Roar are in danger of slipping into fourth spot if Melbourne City win in Gosford on New Year’s Eve.
“It was a difficult one. Sydney are flying at the top of the table, so credit to them, but again we got punished for our silly mistakes,” a deflated North told Fox Sports.
Goals to skipper Alex Brosque and Milos Ninkovic in each half confirmed the win for the league leaders as they moved ten points clear of their rivals ahead of the four remaining matches in Round 13.
Roar had their chances though, with Manuel Arana hitting the bar in the second half and Dimi Petratos going very close in the first half.
In fact Roar had two more shots on target than Sydney FC and had better overall shot accuracy.
What’s more, they dominated the possession stats (though the red card to Sydney FC’s Brosque on 65 minutes was a major contributor to that).
“We were going central too much,” added North.
“It’s our own fault. We’ve got to find the solutions on the field. But like I said it was our silly mistakes that they preyed on.
“Sydney FC deserves to be up there. But at the same time we’ve got to take our chances too.”
Roar now must regroup to face Newcastle Jets at home on January 7.
