Brisbane Roar to 5-1 win over Dempo FC in their opener at the Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy on Saturday.
It's pre-season football time and Brisbane Roar got their first taste of Indian football at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, on Saturday.
They thumped Dempo 5-1, but not before meeting a challenge by the Goan outfit.
The first half was played amid a heavy downpour and the Australian club, playing five debutants, were suitably matched in defence by their Goan opponents.
"I thought it was a very competitive game, especially in the first half. Dempo were a positive team. They made it difficult for us but at the end of the day our quallty shone through," Brisbane Roar's coach Ruben Zadkovich said at the post-match media briefing.
Zadkovich's boys showed sparks of brilliance and among them was mid-fielder Jez Lofthouse. Lofthouse played the roving role to perfection, running up the flanks to feed the ball upfront.
And when Brisbane's Jack Hingert was sent off in the 28th minute after getting two yellows for dangerous play, Lofthouse manned the defence and thwarted Dempo's numerical advantage.
Dempo, fielding 70 per cent of their development team, defended stoically to go into the break with both teams goalless.
The Australian club touched down in Goa after a 52-hour travel thanks to flight cancellations and long lay overs. And although there was some sign of fatigue in the first half, Brisbane were a different version of themselves on resumption.
"The first half was very different, the conditions were very different. The refereeing was different and some of our players haven't experienced those kind of moments before. I think once we put on a few more experienced players, our team had a little more composure and settled a bit into the game," Zadkovich analysed his team's second half performance.
Substitute Corey Brown broke the deadlock in the 46th minute to open the floodgates as they pumped in five goals.
Shalom Pires's moment of brilliance handed Dempo a consolation goal. Pires converted a corner with a stunning diving header, going parallel to the ground as he made contact with the ball to send it into the back of the net.
"We did very well in the first half but in the 2nd half we lost focus," Dempo coach and former India international Samir Naik said.
Naik rued the lack preparation for his team going into the tournament
"We didn't know we'd be playing this tournament till about a week or 10 days ago. We started our pre-season training on the 1st and in the pre-season we put in a lot of hardwork to prepare the team for the season. It is their mistake. But that is not an excuse.
"The boys did well as a team. But then to concede 5 goals against ten men... whoever be the team. We know they are one the top clubs but we should have been more focussed. But I'm happy that we showed character on the field. I take positives from this game that our players are getting an opportunity to play against quality, foreign opponents." Naik added.
Brisbane coach on his team's showing.
"Obviously, I'm happy with the win but I'm more pleased with our resilience. We were down to 10-men, difficult conditions in the first half. We played a very young starting line-up and some guys making their debut for our team so I think it's a learning curve and I'm pleased we got through it."
