Caltex Socceroos winger Tommy Oar has claimed the rest of the Hyundai A-League is “fearful” of Brisbane Roar and insists if the Queensland side plays to their best in the finals they can be crowned champions.
Last week, Brisbane were in pole position to claim the Premiers’ Plate heading into the final round of the regular season but were unable to defeat an undermanned Melbourne Victory line-up.
That scoreless draw at AAMI Park saw Adelaide United crowned premiers, while Western Sydney Wanderers eventually pushed Roar down to third in the A-League table.
It forced Brisbane to play in the first week of the finals.
Oar told Goal Australia on Tuesday that Roar remain disappointed by missing out on the Premiership but aren’t worried about the possibility of slipping up again as they aim to lift the toilet seat on May 1.
Brisbane will host Victory on Friday night in the first elimination final.
“We’re not the ones who have to feel the pressure,” Oar said.
“The other teams are more fearful of us. We’re a team that no-one likes to play. Very fit and very mobile and have a lot of a really good ball players as well.
“So I think that from our perspective, there’ll be no backward steps taken… we’ll just go out there and do our thing. And I think if we do that, there’s no reason we can’t win [the championship].”
The 24-year-old added: “If you look at training today, it was really sharp and everybody’s really looking forward to this game.
“Obviously still a little bit disappointed and hurt from the weekend.”
The 0-0 draw with Victory was Oar’s first start for Brisbane since returning to his boyhood club in February.
While some fans may have been frustrated with waiting for Oar to be included in John Aloisi’s starting XI, the Australia international argued he was pleased with Brisbane not rushing him into action.
“On the weekend, I felt strong – maybe as strong and fit as I have for quite a while,” he said.
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In a tight contest in Melbourne, Oar almost teed up an early goal as Jamie Maclaren and Matt McKay failed to get a touch on his in-swinging cross in the third minute.
Oar also had a chance to score in the first half, finding the side-netting in the 25th minute, but insisted neither he nor any other Roar player would be haunted by their missed opportunities this week.
“The devil is in the detail and obviously, when you get to this level, you have to finish the chances you create, and if you don’t score, you can’t really have any complaints,” he said.
“So I guess from that perspective, we have no-one else to blame but ourselves.”
Oar added: “Last time we played Melbourne Victory [in Brisbane] we probably created the same amount of opportunities and we won 5-0. So it’s just one of those things.”
Brisbane put five goals past Victory on March 12; their only win against the reigning champions in six A-League meetings.
