Henrique scored on his return to first-team football as Brisbane Roar moved to the top of the A-League table with a 1-0 win over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
The hosts controlled the first half and dominated possession, as Perth seeked to soak up the pressure and hit Brisbane on the break. Despite their dominance, the Roar were unable to find an opening goal before half time.
Perth improved after the break, and slowly worked their way back into the contest, but they were undone by a poor Ante Covic clearance. Brisbane pounced, and a lovely flick from debutant Javier Hervas allowed Henrique to slip past Perth’s defence and slide the ball past Covic to seal all three points and more importantly, move Brisbane to the top of the league.
We need to talk about Perth’s depth
One of the big question marks going into the season surrounded Perth’s squad depth. Whilst many believed they had a solid starting eleven, there were concerns from fans over the lack of quality back up players. Missing four starters today in the form of Dino Djulbic, Chris Harold, Gyorgy Sandor (injury) and Josh Risdon (international duty), Kenny Lowe was forced to delve deep into his personnel for the clash. The likes of Hagi Gligor and Marc Warren had disappointing games, whilst Lowe was forced to start Aryn Williams (just two weeks after signing for the club) and 17-year-old striker Jamal Reiners (another recent signing) was thrown on late in the desperate hope of salvaging a point. Whilst none of these players should directly be held responsible for the loss, it doesn’t bode well for Perth’s season that their depth is already being tested and exploited.
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