Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith says teamwork and effort were the keys to success against Adelaide United on Boxing Day.
The Roar won away for the first time this season, notching a 1-0 victory through Henrique's second-half goal.
It was Mike Mulvey's second match in charge of the Roar, after defeat the previous week to Perth.
Brisbane are up against Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium on New Year's Day.
When asked what had caused the turnaround in fortunes for the club, Smith said the formula was a simple one.
"A couple of things really. I think the first thing is hard work. It was a real collective effort against Adelaide," Smith said.
"Every single player played their part. There was a sense of togetherness out there.
"And it certainly helps when you take your chances."
Smith himself put in a spirited effort in defence against United, doing well to shackle a lively Bruce Djite, though he insisted his personal performance was just part and parcel of the game.
"Every team's fighting for something, every team's got a worthwhile cause," he said.
"It doesn't matter if you're pushing for the top of pushing to get off the bottom, you've got to have that fire in your belly.
"You've got to protect the team and the club and obviously you've got to protect yourself. Any sign of weakness can obviously be taken advantage of.
"We said at the beginning, we had to be on the front foot, we had to go and attack them and put pressure on them, and I think we did well."
Midway through the season, the Roar sit in eighth place on the A-League ladder, 13 points from the table-topping Mariners.
However, the defending champions' focus at the moment is the upcoming clash with Wellington, according to Smith, who said that the Phoenix's relatively poor away record this season wouldn't make them easy pickings.
"We're aiming for a double. We're aiming for two wins on the trot," he said.
"I think it would be silly to focus on anything more than that.
"Our season so far, just summing up at the moment, has been a bit inconsistent so we'll work hard this week and see if we can back up our performance last week.
"We haven't had the best home record this year.
"If you take that equation, that Wellington Phoenix haven't done well away from home, but we haven't done particularly well at home, anybody in this league can certainly beat anyone.
"That was proven at the weekend. We hadn't won away all season and Adelaide hadn't lost at home, so we don't really read too much into the stats."
Mulvey hinted last week that reinforcements would be considered for the Roar squad in the January transfer window, something Smith said was a decision which rested entirely with the coach.
"I certainly think that we've got a good squad," he said.
"We've got some very good players. The rotation of players over the last couple of years has been relatively small compared to most clubs.
"But that's the gaffer's decision. If he thinks that we need some more players, then that's his area of expertise."