Twenty seconds in, even Warren Moon feared the worst, but they rallied to ask some genuine questions of Jesse Marsch’s defence thanks to their pace on the counter attack, writes David Weiner.
Leeds carved Brisbane open and Brenden Aaronson tapped the ball home, adjudged millimetres off-side.
Brisbane settled, setting up conservatively but looking deliberately to play on the break – until Dan James struck ruthlessly. Leeds went 2-0 up in a brutal two minute spell, thanks to a goal and an assist for Joe Gelhardt, form the former Manchester United winger, whose job was done, substituted on the half hour.
The Premier League outfit might be in pre-season mode but started with the intensity they have come to be renowned by in recent years; now, under the tutelage of Jesse Marsch, there are refinements to the helter skelter Marcelo Bielsa methods, and after a torrid campaign where the only focus was staving off relegation, the American is using this tour to start to embed some of the principles he believes in to take the famous club to the next level.
“It was very tough start,” Moon conceded.
“We knew (that would happen because) Leeds came out of the blocks against Blackpool before they left and we knew they would cause us problems.
“It was about us staying in the game – I though we did that really well, which is why it was disappointing we copped two goals in a couple of minutes because we were working our way into the game.”
He explained: “Proud of the effort and the response; came out of the blocks really fast; fear was they could blow us away here.
“Boys stuck at it really well, stayed composed, worked our way into it really well and int he end could’ve pinched something.
“But bigger picture, it was a good first-up test for us.”
From captain Tommy Aldred throwing himself at another Aaronson effort, to Jay O’Shea’s poise in midfield; a growing fearlessness from youngsters like Henry Hore and Kai Trewin and sheer scramble from Connor Chapman, Roar clawed their way back into the contest when it threatened to get ugly.
Context is everything: Leeds are in the middle of a gruelling pre-season, with those players who only played 30 minutes set to cop a big session on Friday. Brisbane are a month down, with three months to go, until the Isuzu UTE A-League commences. After their Australia Cup game against Heidelberg on July 27, they will take a pause in their pre-season. Still, they were able to ask questions of Leeds.
“If you were to ask Leeds if they were at a good level, I would say they would say yes,” Roar skipper Aldred said .
“They started well, pressed us high and the movement off the ball was really impressive. First 20 minutes they were electric.
“For us it was frustrating…we conceded at a time we worked our way into the game…I think we gave them a good show tonight.
Not just Brisbane, but the A-League itself. A lot of positive moving forward for us.
– Brisbane captain Tommy Aldred.
There were moments where Leeds purred; Roca’s passing range and a couple of fleet footed Rodrigo surges in particular. Patrick Bamford, off the bench, came close to adding a third.
But overall, Brisbane didn’t just compete; they ought to have equalised in the second term. Jesse Daly teed up O’Shea, who forced a superb diving save. Luke Ivanovic was a real handful. Jez Lofthouse had a chance to seal his headline moment but couldn’t convert, and Riku Danzaki came out with some sublime early touches. See below.
“The lads got a bit of belief in terms of what happened, how we scored to get back into it,” Alrdred added.
“The players gained belief, took the shackles off and went for it.”
Suddenly, Leeds had themselves a good challenge.
Their boss Jesse Marsch assessed: “I thought we had a really good start to the match; a really close goal if it is off-side or not in the first minute.
“Then we were able to get the 2-0 lead.
“Brisbane did a good job getting a goal toward the end of the half, second half I thought they put a lot into it.
“But I thought our guys got a little bit more fitness; Pascal (Struijk) was able to play 90 minutes, we’re injury free, we’re working through some of the tactics, there were good moments and then some moments where we allowed too many counters and too many big chances that way.
“But we’ll keep working on it but I feel we’re moving forward with this group.”
While both clubs turn their attention to Aston Villa, Roar’s next competitive game is on 27 July in the Australia Cup against Heidelberg, while the Premier League season starts on 6 August.
