Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi ‘happy’ with fired-up Henrique

THE “Slippery Fish” has turned into an angry ant, and that’s just fine with Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 27: Henrique of the Roar celebrates scoring a goal during the round 12 A-League match between the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne City FC at Suncorp Stadium on December 27, 2015 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

THE “Slippery Fish” has turned into an angry ant, and that’s just fine with Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi.

The normally happy Henrique showed his disdain at being axed from the starting team with a deadly glare in the direction of Aloisi after scoring the match-sealing goal in Brisbane Roar’s 3-1 win over Melbourne City on Sunday night at Suncorp Stadium.

Less than three weeks ago the 165cm pocket rocket told The Courier-Mail that “every player wants to start, but I will never question the coach’s decision”.

However, there was no doubting his displeasure at being again reduced to a “super-sub” role after three successive starts.

“I always say that no player is happy to be left out and I understand that,” Aloisi said.

“Instead of dropping your head, show the coach you should be playing. I was happy with his response.

“(The glare) was nothing disrespectful. It was a look of ‘I’m still here’, which I think shows that he cares and that he wants to play.”

Henrique wasn’t the only player with something to prove to Aloisi on Sunday.

Henrique showed his disdain at being reduced to a sub by John Aloisi.

Olyroos attacker Brandon Borrello, who took Henrique’s spot on the right wing, also responded in style in his recall to the starting team after missing out on the squad entirely in Brisbane’s previous two matches.

“I didn’t really have a plan on when I was going to bring Brandon back, but once I saw him during the week and I looked at Ricky (Henrique), I thought it was a good time to bring in someone fresh,” said Aloisi of Borrello, who scored his fifth goal of the season in the weekend win.

“That’s the reaction I wanted from Brandon. When things aren’t going your way you have to make sure you keep doing the right things and his confidence is back.”

Confidence isn’t lacking in the whole Brisbane squad, with the second-placed Roar aiming for a fourth-straight win when they host Perth Glory on Saturday.

Roar officials will this week meet with Ticketek and Suncorp Stadium staff to ensure there are not similar delays to purchasing tickets as there were on Sunday.

“The club is extremely disappointed that some families had to wait in queues that extended beyond the start of the game,” Roar chief executive David Pourre said.

Suncorp Stadium general manager Alan Graham said the delays were unacceptable but urged people to pre-purchase their tickets.

Having attracted their biggest home crowd of the season — 16,435 — on Sunday, the Roar are hoping to top that this Saturday and should be aided by their “Kids Go Free” promotion, in which one child gets in for nothing for every adult ticket bought.

Originally published as Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi ‘happy’ with fired-up Henrique