Winless since mid-January and desperately needing three points to stay in touch with the top-six, especially after Macarthur's win over Newcastle earlier on Thursday, the Roar went quiet in front of goal on Thursday against a Sydney side enjoying their first game under interim boss Kisnorbo.
Though the under-pressure Valkanis was pleased with his side's application, they remain 10th with three games to play, six points behind sixth-placed Bulls and the sides around them who have games in hand.
"I was pleased with the whole team today," Valkanis told Paramount.
"I think we've been like a bear, sleeping in the cave, hibernating, waiting -- and, finally, we brought the roar back.
"The message is to continue in this way, with this intensity, with this way of play."
The outlook facing Kisnorbo, who's been parachuted into Sydney on a short-term deal following the ousting of Ufuk Talay over the international break, is more positive, but still not without concerns.
Sitting fifth, the Sky Blues are three points clear of Macarthur and six ahead of seventh-placed Central Coast but they've played two more fixtures than the Mariners.
Al Hassan Toure had two goals denied for offside in the opening stanza, but Sydney would ultimately be credited with just a single shot against a Roar outfit that entered without a clean sheet in 14 games – an attempt from Ahmet Arslan that was comfortably saved.
Brisbane handily outshot the visitors but Harrison Devenish-Meares was up to the task when called on to deny Jay O'Shea's 55th and McGarry's 78th-minute stand-out attempts, before gratefully watching McGarry spray a would-be winner over the bar just before full-time.
"We've had him come in the last week, and we've had to take on board a lot of information," Devenish-Meares said of Kisnorbo's arrival.
"We've tried to implement what he's wanted.
"For me, it's heartbreaking that we haven't taken away the three points."
The Roar will travel to face Central Coast next Friday, while Sydney have a derby showdown with Western Sydney, who announced Talay had signed a two-year contract to coach them from next season, days after his exit from Sky Park.
