Regardless of whether his side will be playing finals football next weekend, John Aloisi has heaped praise on his Brisbane Roar squad.
Roar kept their faint Hyundai A-League Finals Series hopes alive thanks to a 3-2 win over Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Saturday night.
It means Brisbane will need Western Sydney Wanderers to lose their final match on Sunday against Adelaide United if they are to face Melbourne City in next Friday’s Elimination Final.
Being in this position seemed unlikely just a few months ago as Roar were languishing near the foot of the ladder.
But seven wins and a draw from their last 11 games saved their season and catapulted them up the table.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” Aloisi said.
“A lot of other teams would have folded with things going against them like they have for us, but this group doesn’t know how to.
“That’s the Brisbane Roar way. Going back 11 games, no one thought we’d be in this position.
“In the last 11 games, we’ve picked up a lot of points and seven wins mean we deserve to be fighting.
“It shows the character of the group and the club, they just don’t know how to give up.”
Two crucial goals in Perth means @RIQUESILVA_33 is now our second-highest all-time leading goalscorer 👏 #BRFC
Here's our wrap of last night's win: https://t.co/W87K4SS1vv pic.twitter.com/gZs8Keyd65
— Brisbane Roar FC (@brisbaneroar) April 14, 2018
If Roar does sneak into the finals, they will have to go the hard way to get to the grand final.
But Aloisi’s troops have proven they can cause upsets this season, including away wins against champions Sydney FC and last season’s grand finalists Melbourne Victory.
“We’re hoping another result goes our way because we believe that if we are in the finals series we can win anywhere,” Aloisi said.
“We’ve shown that already.”
While the season stays alive for Roar, it’s a frustrating end for Perth Glory, whose traditional late-season surge couldn’t sneak them into the six.
“I’m just frustrated really. We started off well in the first 20 and we seemed to be in control but a couple of sloppy goals put us behind the eight ball a bit,” Glory boss Kenny Lowe said.
“Then in the second half we’ve come out and had a go. We had half chances or chances to get back into the game but I think on the night we didn’t quite do enough to get something out of the game.”
