A strong second-half performance has helped Brisbane Roar to a 3-1 victory over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
A strong second-half performance has helped Brisbane Roar to a 3-1 victory over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
Brisbane dominated possession and had the lion-s share of chances on goal in the opening stanza and couldn-t capitalise before the break but made amends in the second half with goals from Ivan Franjic, Liam Miller and Thomas Broich.
The result is Brisbane’s first win in three matches and condemns Perth to last place on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Glory winger Sidnei Sciola Moraes gave the home side two scares inside the first five minutes, first shooting into the side netting after cutting inside Franjic before evading the offside trap, only to be denied by a stretching Michael Theo.
At the other end, Dimitri Petratos was lively for Brisbane with a first-time strike that forced a diving save from Perth gloveman Danny Vukovic and hitting a free kick just off target before the half-time break.
Early in the second half, Socceroo Matt McKay called Vukovic into action again with a left-footed effort from outside the box before Franjic broke the deadlock in the 57th minute.
Broich delivered an inch perfect free-kick to the far post and the Roar-s other Socceroo stretched to head the ball home from close range.
Brisbane had their second in the 80th minute in one of the weirder goals the 10,896-fans at Suncorp Stadium will see – Miller and striker Besart Berisha combining to make the most of Brendan O-Neill-s defensive error.
The duo almost wasted the golden chance in front of goal but the Irishman eventually buried the ball to give his side a two goal buffer.
Broich extended the Roar-s lead five minutes from full time with a stunning strike from outside the area before Shane Smeltz scored a consolation goal for the Glory in injury time.
Mike Mulvey-s men are back at Suncorp Stadium to face Adelaide United, who jumped to third on the Hyundai A-League ladder with a win over Wellington last night, next Sunday, 9 March.
Brisbane Roar 3 (Ivan FRANJIC 57-, Liam MILLER 80-, Thomas BROICH 85-)
Perth Glory 1 (Shane SMELTZ 90+1-)
Friday, 28 February 2013
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 7pm local time
Referee: Ben Williams
Crowd: 10,896
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEO (gk), 2. Matthew SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 7. Besart BERISHA, 11. Liam MILLER 13. Jade NORTH, 17. Matthew McKAY (8. Steven LUSTICA 82-), 18. Luke BRATTAN, 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Dimiti PETRATOS (10. HENRIQUE 88-)
Substitutes not used: 15. James DONACHIE, 16 Jean Carlos SOLORZANO, 20. Matthew ACTON
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Perth Glory: 1. Daniel VUKOVIC (gk), 2. Jack CLISBY, 3. Brandon O-NEILL, 5. Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 8. Nebojsa MARINKOVIC (14. Steven McGARRY 60-), 9. Shane SMELTZ, 16. SIDNEI Sciola MORAES, 17. Chris HAROLD (20. Daniel DE SILVA 75-), 19. Joshua RISDON, 36. William GALLAS
Substitutes not used: 10. Jamie MACLAREN, 18. Jack DUNCAN (gk), 28. Davydas SERNAS
Yellow Cards: Nebojsa MARINKOVIC 5-, Rostyn GRIFFITHS 46-
Red Cards: Nil