After their win against Melbourne City in Round 6, the Western Sydney Wanderers suddenly found themselves lower on the A-League Men's table after failing to capitalise against the winless Brisbane Roar at home. A display that had merit in front of the Wanderers faithful could continue the momentum the team is building towards following a poor start to the season.
Alen Stajcic has guided the Western Sydney Wanderers to only two wins so far this season. (Image: WS Wanderers FC X)
Despite dropping points in a 2–2 draw against Brisbane Roar, in a match that saw the Western Sydney Wanderers dominate, it was a sign of progress in the eyes of Alen Stajcic, who was pleased with his side's performance.
"Yeah, a little bit frustrating. I thought we did enough to win the game," Stajcic said post-match.
"We needed that cutting edge, especially in the last 20-30 minutes when we were pressing for the winner and needed that extra bit of quality in those moments.
"We let them back into the game with some poor discipline on and off the ball, and we got punished for those moments. We need to learn from that and get better."
An own goal by Gabriel Cleur and a quality finish by Thomas Waddingham helped Brisbane equalise twice. Brandon Borrello's performance kept the Wanderers pushing for a winner after the interval following a superb first-half brace, which included a stunning free-kick from distance.
"He is a tremendous leader on the field, and the goals are obviously what he's here for and what we require of him. But the other things for me are just as important," Stajcic said.
"Whether he scored goals or not, he's just a tremendous person to have in the team and fuses so much energy around him. It was great for him to get the two goals and give him that little bit of confidence."
The three points could have been in reach for the Wanderers if time had been in their favour. A major controversy that agitated fans watching around the nation was Brisbane's time-wasting, which their head coach, Ruben Zadkovich, has been heavily criticised for.
Roar players across the pitch seemed to be dropping with cramps for most of the last 20 minutes in a clear act of time-wasting that echoed boos from fans around CommBank Stadium.
Whether the referee's leniency aided it, Brisbane Roar came out of the match as the clear winners, having caused the Wanderers to drop crucial points.
"Ultimately, you can't control any of those elements," Stajcic said, giving his perspective on the time-wasting.
"I've seen plenty of that behaviour, and it's up to you to be able to deal and cope with it, and be mature enough and know they're obviously trying to disrupt rhythm.
"It's not easy to keep your rhythm when things like that are happening, but that's part of the game, and you have to learn to deal with it.
"You can't control what the referee does or what the opposition does. I'm more interested in what we're doing and what we need to do better."
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Looking ahead, Stajcic remains upbeat about the atmosphere in the team and believes his experienced players are part of the reason that his side will start turning up consistently.
"We've got three to four fantastic leaders in this group in Lawrence (Thomas), Josh (Brillante), Bhoz (Bozhidar Kraev), and even Juan (Mata) when he came in.
"The way they communicate with the rest of the group is outstanding and makes people accountable. They raise the standards, keep everyone on their toes and are just good people who are humble and want everyone to grow with them.
"So from that point of view, I think we're really building an excellent foundation for the future, and, for me, that's probably the most important thing. Had we won tonight, we would've been in sixth place, so that makes it a little bit more frustrating, but we're back to the drawing board, and we're going to work harder."
After missing their opportunity against Brisbane, the Wanderers could enter the top six with a win against the Wellington Phoenix this Sunday at CommBank Stadium.
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