Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina has paid tribute to the courage and professionalism of Craig Moore, after the skipper returned from surgery for testicular cancer to help deliver a 4-1 win over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Just 12 days after undergoing surgery, Moore gave a faultless performance in the centre of defence as the Roar secured a first home win of the season.
Farina revealed post-match that the decision to play Moore had been a last-minute one, owing largely to the persistence of the player.
“There was no plan to play him,” Farina admitted.
“I’ve known Craig for a very long time and I could see him loitering around after training yesterday. I walked back on and he’s come over to me and said ‘you know what I’m thinking don’t you?'”
“I said we’d see how he was in the morning and he sent me a text very early in the morning – he normally sleeps in!”
“Craig Moore knows his body better than anyone. He’s never let me down before in terms of decisions he’s made.”
“There was never any need for me to question him, it was all about whether he was mentally and physically prepared. And tonight I thought he was outstanding again.”
Farina’s sentiments were echoed by energetic midfielder Michael Zullo, who said Moore’s presence was inspirational.
“I didn’t know until just before we went to the changerooms. One of the boys told me his name was up on the board in the starting line-up,” Zullo said.
“It was amazing. I don’t think anyone imagined that he’d be back for a while and it’s the epitome of who he is and what he is to this team. That’s why he’s our skipper.”
Farina was relieved to finally have a home win under his belt for the season and delighted by a result that lifts the Roar into third spot on the Hyundai A-League table.
“I thought it was most probably the worst first half of football we’ve seen this year. It was pretty ugly but to come in 2-0 (at half-time) was fantastic,” Farina said.
“We worked and battled really hard and got the rewards. The second half was much better, we controlled the majority of it and got another two goals and maybe could have had a couple more.”
