The apprentice outplays the master in Brisbane
It’s been a challenging start for new Brisbane Roar women’s coach Johno Clemente, but last weekend saw him finally break his duck after three successive losses.
And it came at the expense of the coach that taught him the A-League ropes at Melbourne Victory for the last four seasons – Jeff Hopkins.
A 2-0 win for Brisbane over Hopkins’ Victory was not exactly on the cards prior to kick-off, with the Melbourne side going undefeated in the first three rounds.
Yet that is only part of the story of how Clemente managed to get one over his old mentor, and Front Page Football caught up with both men after last Saturday’s game to find out more.
The journey and the process
Johno Clemente arrived in Brisbane in August with big wraps on him - touted as one of the brightest young coaches in the country.
His four years as assistant coach at Melbourne Victory under Hopkins were preceded by three years as head coach of Heidelberg United’s NPL women’s team – a role he commenced in 2019 at the tender age of just 20.
Yet it was under Hopkins where Clemente served his A-League apprenticeship, with the pair guiding Victory to finals qualification in each of the last four seasons.
Given their shared history, it was perhaps unsurprising the young Melburnian paid tribute to his former boss after the final whistle in Brisbane.
“It’s nice to beat Victory and Geoff, but I have so much respect for him and they’re a top team," Clemente told reporters.
"We showed today we can be up there with them and I’m so pleased for our girls."
He went on to add how he had seen progress in his team despite the string of losses to open the season.
“It’s a massive relief to get the first win, but I’ve been saying the last few weeks it’s a process and the girls have been working hard.”
We got the sense that it wasn’t just the team but also Clemente that needed the win – his demeanour on the sideline was markedly agitated throughout – and his joy at getting all three points was palpable.
The tactical battle
While Clemente revelled in his first A-League win, his opposite number was understandably not enthused by his side’s performance.
“It was a bad day at the office,” Hopkins admitted after the game, clearly unhappy.
The experienced Welshman – by some way the longest-tenured coach in the competition with over 10 years in charge of Victory – was much more complimentary about his former assistant as he explained the tactical battle.
"Johno is a smart coach and he switched things up at that first drinks break to counter our midfield," Hopkins noted.
We noticed exactly the same from the press box, as Victory had started the game on top and were being afforded acres of space in the centre of the pitch prior to a scheduled break due to the humid conditions in the sunshine state.
So what did Clemente say to his team to stem the flow?
“We asked our front four to be flexible on who was picking up the centre-backs, full-backs and six," he explained.
"There were times early where Tish Woods was really good at getting in the shadows, so we asked any one of the front four to block the six."
Melbourne midfielder Woods – returning to Brisbane just months after transferring from the Roar to Melbourne – was indeed dictating play in those opening 20+ minutes, and Clemente’s readjustments made an instant impact in nullifying her influence.
So much so that Brisbane took the lead just 12 minutes after the enforced break and didn’t look back from there.
The Melburnian outcoaching the Welshman? It wasn’t as simple as that, but the younger man definitely showed his tactical credentials in this exchange.
What’s next?
After seeing off a concerted effort from Victory in the second half – the stats showed the Melburnians had 23 shots to Brisbane’s seven – Clemente was delighted with his side’s defensive effort.
And it has clearly been a focus for the Queenslanders.
“We’ve been hearing a lot of noise around the narrative of Brisbane conceding a lot of goals, and to be honest we took that personally," Clemente revealed.
"To keep a clean sheet against a side like Victory goes to show the strength of the team."
He was quick to look ahead to this Sunday’s trip to Canberra, highlighting Murphy Agnew as a key player for Brisbane going forward.
“Murphy is a top player, and she just needed one performance for it all to click,” he commented about the American, who had a goal and an assist to deservedly take out player of the match honours.
As for Hopkins, his side will look to bounce back at home to a winless Adelaide this Saturday, and their coach will doubtless expect more than they showed in Brisbane.
“Tish and Sutter were our best players on the day, but we need to do better as a group,” he concluded.
Yet the final word fittingly went to Clemente, who revealed he educated his team during the week on Melbourne’s poor record in Brisbane as a way of instilling the confidence in his own group.
“I was telling them Melbourne Victory don’t beat Brisbane in Brisbane – I know that from experience! So I asked them to play free and be fearless. They did that.”
While the season is still young, you wouldn’t back against these two having more significant battles in the months ahead.
It may be a different story in Melbourne, but for now the bragging rights go to the younger man in this intriguing relationship.
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