A stellar second half display from Brisbane Roar saw them record a 3-0 win over Melbourne Heart at Suncorp Stadium this afternoon.
A stellar second half display from Brisbane Roar saw them record a 3-0 win over Melbourne Heart at Suncorp Stadium this afternoon.
The Roar-s performance has placed them at the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder after the opening four rounds.
Brazilian striker Henrique starred for the home side, netting home two goals early in the second half.
Roar captain Matt Smith then made it 3-0 in the 77th minute after he linked up nicely with Matt McKay.
The opening 45 minutes was a much more two-sided with both the Roar and Heart producing some entertaining football.
It was all the visitors for the opening fifteen minutes – Iain Ramsay latched on to an Andrea Migliorini long ball in the 6th minute only to push the ball wide.
Five minutes later, Michael Misfud intercepted a Brisbane Roar back pass but his shot was also off target.
It was 25 minutes before the Roar-s first major chance when crowd favourite Matt McKay controlled the ball nicely in the Heart-s penalty area but shot just wide of the bottom corner.
Frustrated by wasted chances in the first term, the Roar came out after the break fully firing.
Young striker Kwame Yeboah was denied only by Heart keeper Andrew Redmayne in the opening minutes of the second half.
Moments later though, Luke Brattan beautifully chipped a ball into Henrique, who smartly chested the ball and volleyed in the first goal of the match.
The Heart nearly equalised though as Iain Ramsay-s sensational effort from well outside the box rattled into the post.
But in the 65th minute, Henrique doubled the home side-s lead after he pounced on a rebounded effort from Roar substitute Dimitri Petratos.
The Roar weren-t finished though, as Matt McKay cleverly crossed in a ball for his captain Matt Smith who made no mistake with the finish.
Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey, although not entirely impressed, was glad to walk away with the points.
“On first half performances, we were a bit stiff today,” Mulvey said.
“But it is still good to be able to win when things are going like that”.
Heart Coach John Aloisi was quite upbeat, but admitted his side wasted their opportunities.
“I was happy with the performance, we took the game right to Brisbane in the first half. We created a lot of chances, and we made it hard for them,” Aloisi said.
“But when you come to Brisbane and create probably five one-on-ones you think you are going to get more out of it”.
Just over 15,000 fans were at Suncorp Stadium as the Roar made it two wins at home this season.
Brisbane Roar 3 (HENRIQUE 48-, 65-, Matt SMITH 77- )
Melbourne Heart 0
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Crowd: 15,011
Referee: Lucien Lavendure
Brisbane Roar: 1.Michael THEO (gk), 2.Matthew SMITH (c), 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 10. HENRIQUE (28. Brandon BORRELLO 78-), 13. Jade NORTH, 17.Matt McKAY, 18.Luke BRATTAN (14. Diogo FERREIRA 79-), 19.Jack HINGERT, 22.Thomas BROICH, 26. Corey BROWN, 29.Kwame YEBOAH (23. Dimitri PETRATOS 64-)
Substitutes not used: 20. Matt ACTON (gk), 15. James DONACHIE
Yellow cards: Nil
Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Heart: 1.Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 2. Jeremy WALKER, 3. Robbie WIELAERT (c), 6. Patrick GERHARDT, 7. Iain RAMSAY (14. Golgol MERBRAHTU 78-), 8.Massimo MURDOCCA, 11.Michael MIFSUD, 15.David WILLIAMS, 16.Aziz BEHICH, 23. Mate DUGANDZIC (28. Paulo RETRE 88-), 25. Andrea MIGLIORINI (21. Stefan MAUK 64-)
Substitutes not used: 20. Tando VELAPHI (gk), 18. David VRANKOVIC
Yellow cards: Andrea MIGLIORINI 37-, Massimo MURDOCCA 44-, Robbie WIELAERT 66-, Stefan MAUK 21-
Red cards: Nil
