Maclaren at the double as Roar beat Wanderers

Brisbane Roar FC is set to add a second Spaniard to the club’s Hyundai A-League squad with the expected arrival of midfielder Javier Hervas Salmoral on Thursday.

“That’s one of the big things as a coach you’ve got to be able to deal with”, he said.

Centre-back Brendan Hamill attempted to hook the ball back to Andrew Redmayne but sold his keeper way short and left him stranded off his line, leaving ample space for the ex-Perth striker to lob it straight over his head.

Nichols almost made it two but was controversially disallowed for handball by referee Jarred Gillet in the 35th minute.

Popovic had warned his near-unrecognisable side was a work in progress after last season’s torrid run.

“I came in and asked a few of the older players what it was and they said they didn’t feel that they trained hard enough the last pre-season. It paid off tonight and we scored three goals”.

On the other hand, the Wanderers’ new number nine Federico Piovaccari showed promising skill and positioning, but really lacked the final touches.

“He loses his defenders very well”, Aloisi said.

Hervas’ arrival comes just a week after the Roar announced the signing of another Spanish midfielder, Miguel Angel Garcia Perez-Roldan, known on the playing field as Corona, who played six seasons in La Liga with Almeria.

“That’s football isn’t it, it can be harsh”, he said. Mitch Nichols scored a well taken goal but the Wanderers were unable to take their chances, with the A-League getting off to a wonderful start in its 11th year. His constant presence in the front third gave the Roar not only a player to hit with direct balls, but also an avenue in behind with chips and longer passes into the corners.