It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but Brisbane Roar’s 2-0 win over Central Coast Mariners on Friday night was a game of two halves, says Brisbane coach Frans Thijssen.
Frustrated early on in the match, the Roar dominated the second stanza and scored penalties through Jean Carlos Solorzano and Andrija Kaluderovic to record their third win in a row.
Result: Central Coast Mariners 0 Brisbane Roar 2
“I’m happy with every win and going away from home, every game is difficult and in the first half we had some problems, but in the second half we controlled the game,” he said.
“In the end we deserved to win. In the second half I thought we had more ball possession and not many chances, but it was a lot better than the first half.
“We played an easier game and had more control. We didn’t give much away, so I’m happy with three in a row and hopefully we can keep going.”
After a slow start to the season, the Roar have fought back into finals contention, sitting sixth on the table with a game in hand to most other teams.
“If you get nine points from three games, that means you get up the ladder a little bit,” Thijssen said.
“You’re looking at all the teams above us and if they lose a couple of games and we keep winning, then that gap will keep closing. We’re quite confident we can get in a higher position.
Thijssen also believed both penalty decisions were correct, saying: “(The first one) was a certain penalty, I couldn’t see the second one, but the first one was certainly clear and a penalty.”
