It was a second half to forget for the Central Coast Mariners at Suncorp Stadium where Brisbane Roar scored five, including a hat-trick to Jamie Maclaren to take all three points in Hyundai A-League round 25.
Brisbane Roar 5 (Maclaren 62’, 66’, 70’, Broich 83’ & D’agostino 91’) Central Coast Mariners 1 (Ferreira 48’)
The Run Down
After a scoreless first half Fabio Ferreira took proceedings into his own hands with a bullet from distance which unfortunately brought Brisbane to life.
The Mariners held majority of the possession in the opening 20 minutes of play but couldn’t find their way through the resolute Brisbane Roar defence.
For the home side, Maclaren looked dangerous up front but Ivan Necevski was confident in a keeper-sweeper role who came off his line on several occasions to intercept any danger.
At the other end of the pitch the Mariners most promising moments came through the wide men in Connor Pain and Kwabena Appiah who used their pace to get in behind the Roar back four.
It was Brisbane who came the closest in the first half when Brandon Borrello broke down the right. After the ball bounced around in the Mariners’ box a shot flew towards goal but Storm Roux made a timely clearance off the line to keep the game scoreless.
It was in the second stanza that the game would come to life thanks to a timely contribution by Ferreira. The Portuguese attacker ran 30 metres with the ball at his feet before trying his luck from outside the 18-yard-box which left Jamie Young with no chance.
The Mariners goal however would bring the Roar to life who then looked to return serve at the other end of the pitch just moments later. Thanks to back-to-back crucial clears from Harry Ascroft the away team held the lead.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last long when Maclaren reared his head in the 62nd minute. Borrello found the feet of Maclaren in the box who had enough quality to make it 1-1 from a tough angle.
Five minutes later Maclaren had his brace when another ball from Borrello flew past Liam Rose to find the feet of Maclaren who only had to tap home to make it 2-1.
In the 70th minute Maclaren had his quick-fire hat-trick with a clever finish into the bottom corner making it 3-1 to the home side.
Thomas Broich then turned goal scorer and confirmed the three points for Brisbane Roar when he took his time to fire into Necevski’s bottom corner and record his side’s fourth goal of the night.
In stoppage time, Nick D’agostino came off the bench and scored a stunning strike from distance to cap off second half to forget at Suncorp Stadium.
The result makes for a crucial #F3Debry next week to be played at Central Coast Stadium with both teams looking to make a late charge up the ladder.
Goals
0-1 Mariners: Fabio Ferreira 48’
After a scoreless first half, a second half a strike from Ferreira brought the game to life. After running from just inside the Brisbane Roar half the Portuguese Flyer steadied himself to shoot and his effort flew into Young’s top corner.
1-1 Roar: Jamie Maclaren 61’
After a couple of near chances Maclaren capitalised on the hour mark. From a tough angle inside the Mariners’ box, Maclaren bagged his 16th goal of the season from close range to level the scores at Suncorp.
2-1 Roar: Jamie Maclaren 66’
It didn’t take long for Maclaren to have his brace. A ball from Borrello evaded the Yellow & Navy back four and all Maclaren had to do was play it over the line.
3-1 Roar: Jamie Maclaren 70’
Maclaren had his hat-trick after a tidy finish from a one-on-one opportunity. His shot was tucked into the bottom corner, giving Necevski no chance.
4-1 Roar: Thomas Broich 83’
The experienced German put the game to bed with a composed finish from inside the box.
5-1 Roar: Nick D’agostino 91’
Second half substitute, D’agostino capped off a stellar second half by the Brisbane Roar with a sizzling strike from outside the area.
Paolo in the press
“For 60 minutes we were in there, I think the first half was good and we started well,” Okon said. “At times, we were in control without really threatening. It was a half where neither team had chances to score but we knew that the Roar would come at us in the second half.
“We score a good goal and possibly could have had a second. They get a little bit angry, put the accelerator down and just overrun us basically. No complaints about the result.
“It’s been a pattern this season – a lot of goals we concede are not goals that A-League teams should concede. We know that, we’ve known that for a while and that’s certainly an area next season we need to strengthen otherwise it’s not going to stop.
“In two weeks’ time, we will assess the season, we have a fair idea of what we need to do in terms of becoming a better football team. That’s been difficult to do during the season but there’s certainly no lack of commitment, desire or hunger to perform and win football games.
“We’ve got two games to go, we’ve got a #F3Derby next week, we would have hoped that a better result tonight would have seen us go into that game next Sunday against Newcastle with some momentum.
“I think any player at any club who is at the end of their contract is in the same boat [playing for their future] we have more than other clubs but I haven’t found that to be an issue, their attitudes have been great. That’s part of the game I guess. If people want to be at this football club next season they need to perform.
“We know the areas that we need to improve in and we will do our very best to get to that point where we will become a better football team. It’s a challenge, we don’t have the finances of some of the other clubs but we know where we need to strengthen,” Okon said.
Brisbane Roar FC: 21.Jamie YOUNG (gk), 5.Corey BROWN, 6.Avram PAPADOPOULOS, 7.Thomas KRISTENSEN, 9.Jamie MACLAREN, 10.Brett HOLMAN (15.ARANA 62’), 13.Jade NORTH (c), 19.Jack HINGERT, 22.Thomas BROICH, 28.Brandon BORRELLO (26.Nick D’AGOSTINO 84’), 29.Joe CALETTI
Subtitutes not used: 43.Tomislav BILIC (gk), 3.Luke DEVERE, 8.Jacob PEPPER
Yellow cards: Papadopoulos 46’
Central Coast Mariners: 1.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2.Storm ROUX (c), 3.Scott GALLOWAY, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 7.Fabio FERREIRA (17.Josh BINGHAM 84’), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 11.Connor PAIN, 13.Kwabena APPIAH (Trent BUHAGIAR 80’), 14.Adam BERRY, 16.Liam ROSE (21.Michael NEILL, 80’), 22.Jake McGING
Substitutes not used: 20.Paul IZZO (gk), 26.Steve WHYTE
Yellow cards: Rose 16’
Sunday 2 April, 2017
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Brisbane Roar vs. Central Coast Mariners
Attendance: 8113
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
