Henrique has marked his first game back since a knee reconstruction eight months ago with a goal off the bench to give Brisbane Roar a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory in Round 6 of the Hyundai A-League at Suncorp Stadium today.
The striker was emotional after the neat finish in the 74th minute, openly weeping in the arms of his team-mates as he celebrated what became the match winner.
“When you have been out for so long you realise how much you love the sport,” Henrique said afterwards.
Spanish import Javier Hervas produced an assist with his first touch in the Hyundai A-League, skilfully flicking the ball into the path of a flying Henrique.
Dimitri Petratos (below) hit the woodwork twice and Thomas Broich also had an outstanding game for the Roar, with both fashioning a raft of chances for the home side.
Goalkeeper Jamie Young made a spectacular save late in the game to palm away a Glory free kick to preserve the winning margin.
The Roar dominated the first half of the match, but weren’t able to capitalise on their possession.
John Aloisi used his three substitutions midway through the second half, and it made the difference as Devante Clut combined with Hervas and Henrique for the goal.
The Roar have a short turnaround to the next round, hosting Melbourne City on Friday night (7pm kick off). To secure your seats, click here
Goals
74′: The three substitutes combined with Devante Clut heading to Javier Hervas whose clever flick pass set up Henrique who held off a defender to flick his shot past the keeper and into the net. 1-0
Quote Unquote
Striker Henrique: “It feels great, it’s a reward for all the hard work.
“(This squad) can go far, we have done it in the past and we will do it again, we have great people here, we have a good coaching staff and we are altogether and in this season we want to achieve great things.”
Brisbane Roar Head Coach John Aloisi: “That’s what you want, people to come on and make a difference . . . we all know what Henrique can do and Javier (Hervas), no one has really seen him and I thought that he made an impact and Devante (Clut) as well made an impact. That’s what you want, to use your whole squad and make sure that everyone is up to it.”
Aloisi on Henrique: “Anyone who has had a major injury, they know its hard. It’s not only hard being out for a long period and not playing. It’s hard work, you have your ups and downs in terms of little setbacks, you feel good again and then you get setback again . . . I couldn’t have asked for anymore from him in terms of his preparation and getting fit again.
“He is fan favourite, what he has done for the club, winning championships, scoring important goals, penalties. It’s great for him and lets hope there is more to come.”
Aloisi on selections for next week: “It’s a good selection headache to have when you have a strong squad. When any players are away, it’s important that other players stand up and I think there were quite a few that did.”
Perth Glory Head Coach Kenny Lowe: “The guys they brought on all had a bit of quality and they combined together to make the goal.”
Talking point
Welcome back Slippery Fish. His goal had the fans on their feet cheering and we all can’t wait to see more game time from our favourite Aussie/Brazilian striker.
What now?
In addition to a short turnaround – we host Melbourne City on Friday (7pm KO) – Head Coach John Aloisi has some interesting selection headaches with Matt McKay, Jamie Maclaren and Corey Brown to come back into the winning squad.
Match stats
Hyundai A-League Round 6, Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory, Sunday 15 November, Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane Roar FC 1 (Henrique 74′)
Perth Glory FC 0
Crowd: 11,748
Brisbane Roar FC: 3.Shane STEFANUTTO, 7.CORONA, 8.Steven LUSTICA, (18.Javier HERVAS 73′) 13.Jade NORTH, 14.Daniel BOWLES,19.Jack HINGERT, Jamie YOUNG (gk), 22.Thomas BROICH (above), 23.Dimitri PETRATOS, 26.Nick D’AGOSTINO (10.HENRIQUE 58′) 28. Brandon BORRELLO (16.Devante CLUT 63′)
Unused substitutes: 15.James DONACHIE, 36.Andre JANNESE (gk)
Yellow cards: Nil Red cards: Nil
Perth Glory FC: 1.Ante COVIC (gk), 3.Marc WARREN, 5.Antony GOLEC,10.Nebojsa MARINKOVIC, 11.Richard GARCIA (c), (24.Jamal REINERS 78′), 13.Diogo FERREIRA, 15.Hagi GLIGOR,( 2.Alex GRANT 46′) 17.Diego CASTRO, 20.Guyon FERNANDEZ,(16.Sidnei SCIOLA 46′), 23.Michael THWAITE, 29.Aryn WILLIAMS
Unused substitutes: 12.Jerrad TYSON (gk), 25. Jacob COLLARD.
Yellow cards: Michael THWAITE 47′, Sidnei SCIOLA 63′ Red cards: Nil
Referee: Shaun Evans; Assistant Referee 1: Anton Shchetinin; Assistant Referee 2: Andrew Lindsay; Fourth Official: Alex King.
