Indonesia international attacker Rafael Struick opened his A-League Men account on Friday as he scored in Brisbane Roar’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Sydney FC at the Suncorp Stadium.
After a goalless first half, Sydney’s Patryk Kimala gave his side the lead in the 51st minute, before Brisbane’s Thomas Waddingham drew things level in the 67th minute. Sydney then struck back in the 71st minute, with Leo Sena restoring the lead for the 5-time A-League Men champions.
In the 78th minute, eight minutes after he was thrown into the fray by Brisbane head coach Ruben Zadkovich, Struick latched onto a delightful Waddingham pass before coolly slotting home past the legs of Sydney goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, restoring parity.
However, Brisbane’s resistance was broken in the last minute of the match, as Sydney’s Jaiden Kucharski’s 90th minute strike sealed all three points for the away side.
Despite defeat, Zadkovich voiced his praise over Struick’s goal, clearly expecting more things to come from the former ADO Den Haag player as former Perth Glory head coach Zadkovich believed that he saw much potential oozing from Struick.
“He didn’t get to play much at Den Haag but he gets to gain vital playing time for the Indonesia national team,” said Zadkovich in his post-match interview, “Now he’s finding his feet and for us it’s incredible.”