Three rounds into the A-League season and the Brisbane Roar have just two points with coach John Aloisi feeling they are playing well but starting too slowly.
Brisbane opened the season with draws with Central Coast and Wellington ahead of Saturday night’s 2-1 loss in Perth.
Aloisi was confident of a strong showing against the Glory but that went out the window when the home team created a host of chances in the opening 20 minutes with Andy Keogh eventually converting.
The Roar played well the rest of the evening but did concede an own goal in the 63rd minute and only got on the board themselves with a penalty to Adam Taggart in the 83rd.
That leaves Brisbane with just two points from three games but once they settle into a game, Aloisi is content with much of what his team is doing even if they’ve just scored two goals.
The sluggish starts is where his frustration lies.
“We need to get into the game straight away. That’s what disappoints me. We worked on how we could stop them playing out and how we could press them but the first goal we concede we’re pressing,” Aloisi said.
“They go long and we get caught out, it just wasn’t good enough. We have to get better. We show in the first three games that we’re a good footballing team but you can’t give the opposition that time and space.
“We just have to make sure we are on from the start, I think that’s the easiest thing to do. We have to put the opposition on the back foot straight away, don’t let them do it to you.”
Compounding Aloisi’s disappointment of Saturday night’s 2-1 loss in Perth was the missed opportunities in the first two rounds. But he’s looking forward to the challenge of the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday in what he deems virtually neutral turf of Mudgee’s Glen Willow Sporting Field.
“We should have had six points from the first two games, we know that, so we’re not a bad side. It’s just that it disappoints me that we started so bad, that’s why I’m angry,” Aloisi said.
“I’ve already got thoughts on the Wanderers. We know that it’s not going to be an easy game but we need to recover well and make sure that we are ready for that game in Mudgee.
“It’s a different place that we’re going to but it’s going to be the same for them, they have never played there before. We need to go there and put in a performance that’s going to get us the three points.”