Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi felt his side missed a huge opportunity to "punish" Melbourne City in their 2-2 draw on Saturday night.
Despite leading 2-0 at half-time thanks a brace from Jamie Maclaren, Roar were pegged back after the break and had to settle for a point in Melbourne.
The draw means Roar missed the chance to close the gap on second-placed Melbourne Victory but Aloisi refused to be too critical of his side.
Roar only arrived back in Australia on Friday after their successful midweek trip to China where they qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage with a win over Shanghai Shenhua.
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"Obviously we're a little disappointed in the result because we felt when we went 2-0 up into the second half, we had a few one-on-ones where we could have actually punished Melbourne City," Aloisi told Fox Sports.
"All in all were disappointed not to have three points but were proud of the boys, especially the ones that played through the week, with the travelling and backing up tonight, they gave everything.
"We probably lacked that zip during the game but we still tried to go for the three points
"It was difficult. We arrived yesterday afternoon and we had to play tonight. So credit to the boys because it's not easy."
Meanwhile, City coach Michael Valkanis praised the club's youngsters after his understrength side came from behind at AAMI Park.
City were without nine first-team regulars through suspension and injury, with teenagers Dylan Pierias and Denis Genreau making their starting debuts for the hosts.
"The young boys were excellent and even the older boys with experience like Tommy Sorensen did a great job to make sure in the end we got a result," Valkanis told Fox Sports.
"I would have liked he three points but the boys were fantastic. The young boys have come in and they are full of energy and they have given everything.
"There's been a lot of comments about our culture and I think we showed what our culture is all about here at Melbourne City today."
