Brisbane Roar took a giant step towards confirming Finals Series football when they beat Premiers Melbourne City 3-0 at Moreton Daily Stadium on Tuesday evening.
An unsurprisingly pleased Warren Moon faced the assembled media after full-time and praised the performances of the players who stepped into the starting XI.
“Tonight was massive for us,” the Roar Head Coach said. “I think we could have three or four back for Sunday. From a squad perspective, getting through tonight with the three points and knowing we’ve got some pretty important players coming back, that puts us in a good position leading into Sunday’s match.
“I’m so pleased for the boys that came in and performed tonight. Jesse Daly and Rahmat Akbari in that midfield were superb.
“I thought the whole back four were excellent. I could rattle off everyone, there were great performances all over the park. But special credit to the boys coming in – Jordy [Courtney-Perkins] came in tonight with not much football, but once he grew into the game I thought he was excellent.”
The victory puts Brisbane into a strong position as the Finals Series approaches, with the team now up to fourth spot with three games to go.
“I’m pretty sure no-one fancied us to make the six,” Moon said. “So the pressure’s not really on us.
“We just need to keep winning and the teams below us who probably should be there need to go and win games now.”
Young midfielder Alex Parsons signed his first professional contract with the Club on Monday and further added to his already burgeoning reputation with a terrific performance featuring a goal and an assist.
“Last few weeks have been surreal you know,” the 21-year-old said when being interviewed on the sideline by Fox Sports, before providing an insight into his intelligent 38th-minute strike.
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“I was actually looking for Dylan [Wenzel-Halls] in the box and I saw the keeper cheat a little bit going to his back post and instinct really kicked in then.”
With Hassan Ramazani making his A-League debut and Cyrus Dehmie adding another appearance to his tally, the Brisbane Roar Youth side continues to furnish exciting young talent for the first-team roster.
“It’s always just about working hard, see what can come, always do that. If you perform, no matter whether it’s NPL [or] A-League, opportunities will come,” Parsons said.
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