No coach, no worries as Roar beat Glory in Perth
Justin Chadwick |
Brisbane Roar have dedicated their 2-1 win over Perth Glory to Michael Valkanis after the veteran coach made an emergency dash to Greece due to a family medical emergency.
Valkanis jetted to Greece just hours before Friday night’s match in Perth, leaving assistant Borja Lema in charge.
Glory skipper Adam Taggart opened the scoring in the 19th minute before Christopher Long levelled the scores via a 30th-minute penalty.
Samuel Klein scored the winner in the 50th minute, with the victory snapping a three-match losing streak and lifting Brisbane, on 21 points, into third spot.
Glory, on 16 points, would have risen to fourth with a win, but the defeat leaves them in ninth.
“This win is dedicated for Michael, it’s very special, and we are behind him and his family,” Lema said.
“So very happy for for the guys, and it’s an important win for us.
“We don’t know yet when he’ll return. We we are in communication with him, and we are behind him and behind his family.”
Glory opened the scoring when Trent Ostler’s cleverly flicked pass set up Taggart, who expertly knocked the ball down into his own path before unleashing a confident finish low to the left.
The 32-year-old’s 59th goal for Glory drew him level with Andy Keogh for the most goals for the club.
“It’s a big achievement for any any player, but especially Adam Taggart. It’s a great achievement for him,” Glory coach Adam Griffiths said.
Taggart was at the heart of Brisbane’s equaliser, with VAR ruling the Glory skipper had committed a handball in the box after turning his body and sticking out his elbow slightly in a bid to stop Klein’s strike.
Long made no mistake with the penalty, and Roar attacker Michael Ruhs even had the cheek to go up to his former Western United teammate Matt Sutton and rub it in the face of the Glory goalkeeper as part of the celebrations.
Brisbane went ahead early in the second half when Klein’s looping header floated over Sutton, with Glory’s appeals for an earlier handball waved away.
Glory struggled to to create clear-cut opportunities for a large chunk of the match, with the shot count reading 14-1 in favour of Brisbane after 60 minutes.
That all changed in the final 30 minutes as Glory’s desperation grew, spurred on by a bustling 12,594 crowd.
Taggart had an excellent chance to equalise in the 69th minute, only for his shot on the fast break to be well blocked by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.
De Abreu’s long-range bullet was also dealt with by Bouzanis, while Nicholas Pennington lacked power on a volley in the 74th minute.
“I thought definitely deserved something out of that game. We had some big moments, and we just didn’t take them,” Griffiths said.
AAP
