Football
AAP 6y

John Aloisi 'not happy' with Brisbane Roar despite three-goal comeback

Brisbane's first point of the A-League season has left coach John Aloisi wanting more after the Roar had conjured up a 3-3 draw with the Phoenix in Wellington.

Three goals inside the opening 20 minutes, including a brace to Serbian striker Andrija Kaludjerovic, looked to have wrapped up an early win for the Phoenix on Saturday at Westpac Stadium.

But the Roar, winless from the opening three rounds of the season, stormed back in the second spell to grab a hard-earned point.

Italian striker Massimo Maccarone gave the Roar hope with his 45th-minute strike, Avraam Papadopoulos jabbed home in the 66th minute to keep the visitors in touch, before Maccarone's 82nd-minute penalty secured the draw.

But while he was pleased with the Roar's second-half recovery, Aloisi was not happy.

"I'm not happy just with the point because we could have won it, and our performance in the second half would have been worthy of a win," he said afterwards.

Kaludjerovic had opened Wellington's account in the first minute, then Roy Krishna lashed home a long-range stinger in the 18th minute.

The Fijian striker featured again just two minutes later with a well-timed run down the right and a cross to the far post for Kaludjerovic to slot home his second.

"I actually thought that for the first 45 seconds, we were looking good," Aloisi said.

"Then all of a sudden, you find yourself three goals down after 20 minutes. I couldn't believe it."

Brisbane tightened defensively in the second spell, shutting down stand-in Nix skipper Michael McGlinchey in the midfield, and pressuring the Phoenix for every pass.

Already missing experienced defenders Marco Rossi and Andrew Durante to injury, Wellington lost right back Scott Galloway midway through the first half and their makeshift backline struggled for cohesion.

Phoenix coach Darije Kalezic, disappointed to see his team squander a 3-0 lead, said Maccarone's late first-half strike had been crucial to the visitors' comeback.

"They got the trust; they got the hope that they could change the game in the second half," he said.

Wellington couldn't implement their possession-based game, and paid the price for allowing the Roar too much space.

"We didn't put the pressure on the ball and, for me, the key was that we didn't keep the ball.

"The way we wanted to play, we didn't play any more in the second half."

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