Thijssen rues Brisbane's errors as Suwon grab draw

Strikes from Brandon Borello and Devante Clut had put Brisbane two goals up but the Australian champions saw their lead wiped out by goals from Seo Jung-jin either side of halftime, before Jong Tae-se had put visitors Suwon of the Korea Republic 3-2 ahead.

But with 10 minutes of the tie remaining, midfielder Clut scored a superb equaliser from range to secure a share of the spoils for Brisbane.

Match report: Brisbane Roar 3-3 Suwon Samsung FC

“It’s mistakes. If you go into half time at 2-0 up you can relax a little bit but with 2-1, with the height they have, they gave us problems,” said Brisbane Roar coach Thijssen.

“If you’re 3-2 down and you score (to make it) 3-3 you have to be satisfied with the draw. But if you’re 2-0 up and it looks like it’s going to be an easy game then it’s disappointing.”

The former Netherlands international, though, did have words of praise for the impact of brace-scoring midfielder Clut whose goals salvaged a point for the Queenslanders and keep their knockout round hopes alive at the midway point of the group stage.

“He’s a young lad and I’m of course very happy with his performance,” added Thijssen.

“If you score two goals you can only be happy about the player. We knew he’s a player that scores a lot of goals and he showed today even in the first team he’s a player who can be very important.”

The draw leaves both teams level on four points in Group G, trailing leaders Beijing Guoan by a further five, ahead of the return fixture in early April.

But Suwon coach Seo Jung-won believes his side are well positioned to advance to the knockout stages.

“I’m proud of my players. I was still confident even when we were behind. We didn’t come to lose in Australia and I had faith in the team,” said Suwon coach Seo.

“Our goal is to win our remaining home matches and I think we can still qualify for the next round.”

Photo: WSG