Roar secure three points over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium

Roar made the most of a strong opening half at Suncorp Stadium, building a 2-0 half-time lead before the visitors pulled one back just before the hour mark. The hosts held firm from there to take the three points in front of their home fans.

First half

Brisbane Roar made the brighter start at Suncorp Stadium, with Milorad Stajić seeing an early effort miss to the right before Nam Tae-Hee’s shot from outside the box was saved by Matthew Sutton in the Perth Glory goal. Tyrese Francois then sent a left-footed attempt just wide following a Tom Aldred corner.

Noah Maieroni was shown a yellow card in the 24th minute, but the hosts kept their rhythm and continued to press forward.

Roar took the lead in the 28th minute. Justin Vidić found the back of the net with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box after Tate Russell set him up, putting the hosts 1-0 ahead.

Stajić headed over from a Nam Tae-Hee corner and Sabit Ngor tested Sutton before Roar doubled their advantage in the 42nd minute. Moments after Vidić’s header was blocked, Nam Tae-Hee fired a right-footed strike from outside the box into the top left corner for a 2-0 lead.

Joel King was booked on the stroke of half-time, but it was a strong first half from the Roar, who went into the break two goals to the good.

Second half

Perth Glory made a change at the break, with Jaiden Kucharski replacing Andriano Lebib. The visitors had the first sight of goal after the restart, though Tom Aldred blocked Stefan Colakovski’s effort and Tom Lawrence’s follow-up went wide. Tyrese Francois then tested Matthew Sutton from outside the box after Tate Russell set him up.

Roar came close to a third in the 59th minute when Justin Vidić hit the right post after Joel King set him up. Perth made a double change at the same stage, with Giovanni De Abreu and Matthew Ellis coming on.

Ellis made an immediate impact, firing into the bottom left corner a minute after coming on to make it 2-1 in the 60th minute. Vidić was shown a yellow card in the 63rd minute.

Michael Valkanis responded by bringing on Hosine Bility and Marko Ilic, and Ngor fired wide from an Ilic pass before Colakovski missed a big chance for the visitors. Nathan Amanatidis and Emmett Shaw then entered, Vidić went close from an Amanatidis assist, and Amanatidis was booked in the 77th minute before Jacob Nasso arrived for the final stretch.

Ilic had a chance in the 87th minute that Sutton saved, and Perth pushed late with Sebastian Kukucka and Jay O’Shea on the pitch. Kucharski fired high and wide before being booked in stoppage time, and the Roar stayed composed to see out the 2-1 win at the final whistle.

Full time

Brisbane Roar secured a massive three points at Suncorp Stadium, and the numbers back up a deserved win over Perth Glory. The hosts had 57.3 per cent possession and 14 shots to the visitors’ seven, with six of those on target against Perth’s one, which was the Ellis goal that made it 2-1. Roar completed 453 of 551 passes and won five corners to two, a fair reflection of a side that controlled the ball and kept pressing forward after Justin Vidić and Nam Tae-Hee had put the result in good shape.

Roar also hold the historical upper hand in this fixture, with 29 wins to Perth’s 18 and 12 draws from previous meetings. It is a welcome result for Michael Valkanis’ group, who saw out the win with composure and a solid effort from the Roar defence after the visitors had cut the lead in half.

Match details

Next match

Up next, Roar host Auckland FC at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, 30 October (7:00pm AEST KO), with sights set on more points against a side that also opened its season with a win.