Brisbane Roar has gone down to Sydney United 58 FC in extra time of the Australia Cup Semi-Final on Sunday.Â
A goal from Riku Danzaki and a Charlie Austin penalty wasn’t enough to overcome the former NSL team in front of 3,177 at Sydney United Sports Centre.Â
Brisbane went close to taking the lead in the 11th minute after Nikola Milenusic tried to find the feet of Rahmat Akbari then Henry Hore picked out Austin in the box, but his header was blocked.Â
Not long afterwards, Hore squared the ball back to Danzaki who turned the ball home close to range in the 13th minute to give Roar the early advantage.Â
Brisbane continued to push for a second goal with the best chance coming from a Milenusic free kick, but Sydney United goalkeeper Danijel Nizic comfortably made the save.Â
The ball then quickly made its way down to the other end of the pitch as a Sydney United cross found the head of Matthew Bilic to level the scores.Â
In the dying moments of the first half, Austin’s cross was handled in the box with the referee giving a penalty to Roar. Â
Captain Jay O’Shea stepped up to the plate, but his effort was saved by Nizic and saw both teams head into the break all squared. Â
The big moment of the second half came 17 minutes after the restart when Hore was brought down in the box, giving Roar a second chance at a penalty.
Austin stepped up to the spot, hitting the ball straight down the middle to put his team ahead.
Sydney United fought their way back into the match with substitute Patrick Antelmi’s deflected shot nestling into the corner of the goal to level the scores again.Â
Both sides continued to have their chances as the clock ticked down to the end of regulation time, but neither could be separated as the match entered extra time.
As halftime of extra time approached, Sydney United’s Glen Trifiro put the ball in the back of the net to give the home team a 3-2 lead with 15 minutes to play. Â
Roar was not without their chances as they looked to draw it level in front of a passionate Sydney United crowd, but the scores remained the same. Â
FINAL SCORE
Sydney United 3 (Bilic 24’, Antelmi 71’, Trifiro 105’) – 2 Brisbane Roar (Danzaki 13’, Austin 63’ (Pen))
Sydney United Sports Centre
