A LATE comeback from Redlands United was not enough as Brisbane City got their third win in a row with a 2-1 victory on Saturday night.
Redlands coach Nick Dibbs said while he was disappointed with the result he thought his side played well.
“I told the boys I can't knock their performance at the halftime period,” he said.
“I thought their reaction at halftime was also very positive.
“I thought we played well but we fazed out in two or three occasions and we get punished against good sides and that's going to happen.
“I think we deserve more from it but that is football.”
I thought we played well but we fazed out in two or three occasions,
- Nick Dibbs
Scott Sargent returned to the starting side after overcoming a hamstring injury while defender Liam O'Bryan also made his return after spending the past seven months on the sideline with a knee injury.
City was off to a near perfect start when Tristan Hugo put the ball in the net from the corner but the referee blew his whistle for a foul on the Redlands goalkeeper.
Redlands took a while to settle in the game with their first attempt at goal coming just before the half an hour mark as Jayden Prasad raced into the box and forced City goalkeeper Jake Clancy to tip the ball over the bar. The game started to become more even as both teams continued to have their chances before the break but neither side was able to break the deadlock.
But just before halftime City was able to put the ball in the goal as Nathan Bird delivered a cross to the head of Seiji Shizuno who was able to head the ball backwards over the goalkeeper. Redlands had the opening chance of the first half as Graham Fyfe beats Clancy to the ball but could not direct his shot into the net.
However, City was not letting up and doubled their lead as Sam Sibatuara mopped up the scraps after Shizuno was tackled in the penalty area. Both sides had their chances but Redlands got the reply as Prasad fired the ball past Clancy from the edge of the area.
“We will always work until the end,” Dibbs said. “I thought we dominated the whole game in all fairness and thought we were the better side in the first half but I thought we switched off in the second minute of injury time.
“We should have dropped and dealt with the ball behind and we conceded, that is disappointing.”
There were two big calls at the end of the game that could have gotten Redlands an equaliser, after a free kick the ball fell in the 18-yard box with a Redlands player brought down but the referee waved it away.
