Bautheac injury exposes Roar’s limitations in scoreless draw

BRISBANE Roar’s horrid run with injuries has continued with star winger Eric Bautheac suffering a hamstring strain in a gloomy 0-0 A-League draw against Wellington.

The Frenchman looked like the only Roar player capable of sparking something in attack yesterday afternoon but was forced from the field just before halftime after pulling up sore.

His teammates struggled in his absence, despite coach John Aloisi emptying his bench with 20 minutes to go.

Aloisi said it was too soon to know the extent of the damage but Bautheac, who was only just starting to find his feet in the A-League, was arguably the player they could least afford to lose.

The Roar was already missing Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Brett Holman, Thomas Kristensen, Michael Theo, Luke DeVere and Jade North to injury while Avraam Papadopoulos has a six-game ban for spitting.

Both coaches believed their sides deserved to win.

Aloisi claimed the Roar was never really threatened by Wellington, who dominated possession and territory and had five shots on target.

Substitute Corey Gamiero could have won it late for Brisbane as he surged forward on counter-attack but Wellington gloveman Lewis Italiano blocked his shot.

It was the Roar’s only attempt on target.

“It wasn’t our best performance but we created the three big chances of the game and we weren’t able to take it,” Aloisi said.