A last minute screamer from Luke Brattan has secured the Hyundai A-League Premiers’ Plate for Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
A last minute screamer from Luke Brattan has secured the Hyundai A-League Premiers- Plate for Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
The trademark strike from the diminutive midfielder handed Brisbane a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory and ultimately the club-s second Premiers- Plate for a first-placed finish on the league ladder.
The result also means the Roar will compete in Asia-s premier competition, the AFC Champions League, in 2015.
After an entertaining match of end-to-end football with a plethora of chances for both sides, Brattan-s strike proved the difference as the Victory almost made the home side wait another week to claim the coveted trophy with some resolute defending in both halves.
Liam Miller came close to breaking the deadlock early for Brisbane but shot straight at Victory goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas in the 13th minute before Henrique narrowly missed at the far post when played in by Thomas Broich.
At the other end, Diogo Ferreira denied former Roar player Kosta Barbarouses a clear chance with some smart defending and Brisbane shotstopper Michael Theo pulled off a reactive save to deny James Troisi in front of goal.
Just after the hour mark, a through ball from Miller found Henrique only to be denied by another Thomas save while Ferreira chipped in with his own chance after showing off some tricky footwork in the 78th minute.
Milestone man Matt McKay went close on two occasions in his 150th Hyundai A-League match for the club but it was his fellow midfielder Brattan who sent the 17,965-strong crowd into delirium in second half stoppage time.
Brisbane still has three regular Hyundai A-League season matches left to play, which includes two at Suncorp Stadium – Melbourne Heart (Friday, 28 March) and reigning Champions Central Coast Mariners (Saturday, 12 April).
Brisbane Roar 1 (Luke BRATTAN (90+2-)
Melbourne Victory 0
Saturday, 22 March 2014
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 6.45pm local time
Referee: Peter Green
Crowd: 17, 965
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEO, 2. Matthew SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 10. HENRIQUE (16. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO 76-), 11. Liam MILLER (8. Steven LUSTICA 85-), 14. Diogo FERRIERA, 17. Matt McKAY, 18. Luke BRATTAN, 19. Jack HINGERT, 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Dimitri PETRATOS
Substitutes not used: 20. Matthew ACTON (gk), 27. Devante CLUT, 28. Brandon BORRELLO
Yellow cards: Luke BRATTAN 69-
Red cards: Nil
Melbourne Victory: 5. Mark MILLIGAN (c), 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7. Guilherme FINKLER, 9. Kosta BARBAROUSES (22. Jesse MAKAROUNAS 80-), 14. James TROISI (10. Archie THOMPSON 62-), 17. James JEGGO, 20. Lawrence THOMAS (gk), 21. Tomas ROGIC, 23. Adrian LEIJER, 24. Scott GALLOWAY, 25. Jason GERIA
Substitutes not used: 1. Nathan COE (gk), 16. Rashid MAHAZI, 31. Dylan MURNANE
Yellow cards: Leigh BROXHAM 38-, James JEGGO 89-
Red cards: Nil
