A slow start to the game and a lack of desperation contributed to the Mariners loss on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium, as the visitors allowed their hosts to build momentum off the back of their loss to Wellington.
Speaking post-game on Saturday, Alen Stajcic admitted his side came out of the blocks slowly and adjusted poorly to tactical changes from Robbie Fowler’s men.
“I thought Brisbane dominated the first fifteen minutes, we didn’t really get out of our half,” he said.
“They got a lot of momentum in that early period but as the half wore on we started to get forward a little bit and break out, and probably started to control the game towards the end a little bit and particularly in the second half.”
A big performance from @MarkBirraz earns him another Macca's Fan's Player of the Match award! #CCMFC #BRIvCCM pic.twitter.com/yBqYpPxlQp
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) December 1, 2019
Stajcic’s side were oh so close to going ahead when Eunsun Kim thrashed an effort against the bar just after the 15-minute mark but that was a bright spot in an otherwise tough opening stanza from the view of Stajcic.
“We spoke about what we needed to do at the beginning of the match and it was a pretty poor beginning,” he said.
“It allowed them to get the momentum when they are coming off the back of a loss and lacking a bit of confidence and they probably wanted to come out fired up – and we allowed them to do that and gain belief & confidence which was disappointing.”
Asked about the impact of Sam Silvera, who came off the bench this week, Stajcic said the youngster provided the spark that was needed after the Roar went ahead and also hinted that new signing Jair could be in line for a debut when the Mariners take on Sydney FC.
“He [Silvera] will start a lot of games, he’s played every game and started a lot of those,” he said.
“I thought he looked dangerous when he came on and created some good moments, [he] got pushed off the ball once or twice which he still needs to work on.”
“But coming up here with the conditions we thought he could give us the energy late in the game and he certainly did that.”
“He [Jair] missed four months of pre-season so that makes it tough and obviously he’s playing catch up.”
“When you pick up a little niggle you fall behind the pack a little bit more in sharpness and fitness, but he has had a good few weeks of training and we have a bye next week before Sydney FC so hopefully he can get through that two week block and be ready to go for that one.”
