North Queensland coach Franz Straka has lamented the fact that Cyclone Yasi robbed the Fury of the opportunity to farewell their loyal fans after their rescheduled match at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast ended in a brave 2-1 loss to Brisbane.
Yasi wreaked havoc across all of northern Australia and did not spare the Fury’s home ground, Dairy Farmers Stadium, which has no access to water or electricity and thus was unable to host North Queensland’s final home game of the season.
It could be their last game ever given their precarious financial position, but Straka believes the heart showed by his men in their battle with the league leaders proves that the Fury belong in the Hyundai A-League.
“It is very important to play after this last week, after this horror; it was very emotional. I’m very happy the guys are OK. I’m proud of my team today,” Straka said.
“I was very upset about one point; that we couldn’t play at home. We wanted to say goodbye to the fans for supporting us. It hasn’t been an easy season for us. The team tried their best. Don’t forget after the 8-1 loss to Adelaide we were so down, it was not easy for us to keep going.”
“We did what we could and it was a good game, especially in the first half. We played very well and had two big chances and maybe there was a penalty for us. Don’t forget that we played against the best team in the A-League.”
“The Roar’s short passing game is brilliant and it’s not so easy to control the game. They always move and they rotate in the midfield but I think we played well. It was a good performance for us but they are at the top of the league.”
His opposite number, Brisbane supremo Ange Postecoglou, compared the game to a training run, such was the lack of atmosphere with a crowd of just over 1000 people braving a rainy night on the Gold Coast to bear witness to a dead rubber on neutral territory.
“It was just a weird night. The boys fell into that kind of mode as well – the intensity wasn’t there. It was almost like a training run and it wasn’t smooth but we got the three points and we got the job done,” he said.
“It was just one of those nights where we didn’t play anywhere near what we can and we probably fell into a trap with the atmosphere of the whole night.”
But on Saturday, the Roar return to Suncorp Stadium to face arch-rivals Gold Coast United and they will be presented with the Premiers’ Plate on a night Postecoglou hopes is one of great celebration after a remarkable season from the men in orange.
“It’s been a tough month on the road and our supporters haven’t had a chance to see us play. With us winning the Premiers’ Plate and it being presented against Gold Coast, I’m hoping to make it a big celebration,” he said.
“It’s good recognition for all the hard work everyone’s put in. I’m hoping everyone grabs something orange from home, puts it on and makes it to Suncorp. It’d be great to see 25,000 people there feeling a part of something special.”
