Mulvey looks for improvement

Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey says his side still need to work on their consistency after they defeated Melbourne Heart 2-0 on Sunday.

After a highly impressive opening half, in which they comprehensively dominated their opponents to score through Besart Berisha and Thomas Broich, Brisbane dropped off in intensity in the second half.

“I’ll take the first half performance any day of the week, but not so the second half,” Mulvey said.

“The second half was not up to the standards that I expect.

“We forced the issue too much. We still created chances, but the second half was something we need to address, and we will do during the week.”

The Roar’s first-half showing should have seen them leading by more than two goals, according to Mulvey.

“I cannot give the boys enough praise,” he said.

“It was really good to watch, we created chances, our movement was good, the ball speed was good, and we could have come in with a bigger cushion.

“We talked about the second half. We talked about not becoming complacent.

“We didn’t become complacent, we just stopped doing the things we did well in the first half.

“We didn’t kill them off. We needed that third goal because 2-0 is always a little bit dangerous.”

With Jade North absent on Socceroos duty, Shane Stefanutto was brought into the centre of defence for the Roar and Corey Brown got his second A-League start on the left.

Attacking midfielder Mitch Nichols was also recalled to the starting line-up to replace Stefan Nijland, and he repaid his manager’s faith with a dynamic display.

“I thought he was magnificent,” Mulvey said of the 23-year-old.

“Some of his passing, some of his vision, some of his movement.

“Probably should have had a goal, if I’m critical. He got into a great position and just scooped it over the bar.

“But he deserves his opportunity and he took it with both hands.”