Brisbane Roar will be counting their lucky stars after claiming a win in the dying seconds against a Melbourne Victory team who squandered chance after chance.
It looked as if Melbourne had claimed a huge win against all the odds after a late goal to Besart Berisha, until late goals from Matt McKay and Thomas Broich turned the game on its head and gave the Roar another famous late win at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane Roar
Jamie Young – 7: Made a few wonderful saves, and had the confidence to tell his defneders when he was not happy.
Corey Brown – 7: Made a fee surging runs forward in the second half, all the while entertaining the crowd with his duel against Barbarouses.
James Donachie – 7: Was tasked with marking Besart Berisha out of the game, no easy task. Did well overall but the Albanian is a beast to play against. Should have done better for the Victory goal.
Jade North – 7.5: Dropped deeper than Donachie as he looked to sweep behind the defence. Made a few key tackles and effective runs forward.
Jack Hingert – 7: Had a horrible head clash in the second half but did well to continue and played a key role in keeping Ben Khalfallah quiet.
Corona – 6: Had one of the worst first halves of his A-League career. Could no keep the ball, could not pass the ball and looked overrun by the energetic and effective Melbourne midfield. His inability to execute the game plan had a huge effect on the Roar.
Matt McKay – 8: An early yellow card took the edge of McKay’s game as he could not fly into the tackles as he normally does. But his energy made up for anything lost throughout the game, not to mention a wonderful equaliser.
Dimitri Petratos – 7.5: Was lacking the final pass, much like th Petratos of past seasons. Much of this was due to the Victory’s high pressing but grew into the game throughout the second half to have a huge impact on the final result.
Thomas Broich – 8: Was in and out fo the game, but that mattered for nothing when he came up with the winning header in injury time. He has a knack of scoring important goals recently.
Jamie Maclaren – 6.5: Rarely got a touch of the ball in the first half and was often stranded up front as Broich and Oar were forced to drop deep and help the defenders.
Tommy Oar – 5: Was largely ineffectual throughout the game. Often held onto the ball for a touch too long. Showed his lack of match fitness and was substituted after 55 minutes.
Substitutes
Henrique – 7.5: Gave the Roar some much needed energy in the second half.
Melbourne Victory
Lawrence Thomas – 6.5: Did not have a lot to deal with, but was very safe whenever the ball came in his general direction until the final few minutes when he failed to deal with the corner.
Daniel Georgevski – 6: Kept Oar quiet enough to make Aloisi substitute him but struggled when Hingert joined the attack.
Matthieu Delpierre – 7: Overpowered Maclaren in every situation. Was absolutely dominant in the air and created an effective pairing with the smaller statured Broxham.
Leigh Broxham – 6: Had a very strong first half but struggled at time in the second as Maclaren looked to target the Victory veteran, lost some momentum for Victory when he went into midfield.
Jason Geria – 5: Was doing well containing Broich until he got sent off at an absolutely pivotal point in the game.
Oliver Bozanic – 7.5: Started the game like a house on fire. Typified the high pressing and hard working game plan deployed by the Victory. Looked at home back next to Valeri and struggled when he was substituted.
Guilherme Finkler – 6: Could not get on the ball enough throughout the game as he tried to complement the high working central midfielders. Had the key to unlock Brisbane but couldn’t find the lock.
Carl Valeri – 7: His return to the team created a sense of calm around the squad. Every player appreciated the presence of the captain, not to mention his high work rate but could not last the 90 minutes.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 6.5: Could not convert a simple opportunity as it came back to hurt the Victory later. Was kept quiet by Hingert.
Besart Berisha – 7: Was booed form the outset by every Brisbane Roar fan. Every tackle he received with greeted with a roar, but that his what this man thrives off. Turned in what many people thought would be the winner.
Kosta Barbarouses – 6: Switched wings on many occasions with Ben Khalfallah as he looked to make more of an impact. Put cross after cross into the box, but just could not find the right range.
Substitutes
Nick Ansell – 5: Came on for Valeri and looked to be a bit lost. Always difficult to come straight into central defence.
Scottt Galloway – N/A: Came on for Ben Khalfallah with five minutes remaining.
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