A stoppage-time goal from Brisbane Roar substitute Rocky Visconte sealed a dramatic 2-1 win over Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday, but the home side certainly played their part in what was a fine advertisement for the A-League.
A stoppage-time goal from Brisbane Roar substitute Rocky Visconte sealed a dramatic 2-1 win over Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday, but the home side certainly played their part in what was a fine advertisement for the A-League.
Reinaldo-s second-minute opener for the visitors had been cancelled out almost immediately by Scott Neville and both sides then produced a fine display of attacking football before Visconte-s last-gasp intervention ensured that the points would be heading to Queensland in the most thrilling circumstances.
“It-s disappointing to lose it late; it was a tremendous effort and a great game that swung from end to end,” Dave Mitchell said.
“We are down and dejected but we will pick ourselves up and be as strong as ever,” Scott Neville said.
With Jamie Coyne unavailable through suspension after seeing red at Adelaide last week, Scott Neville came straight back into the starting eleven following his return from international duty, while Adriano Pellegrino also enjoyed a recall, slotting into central midfield in place of Steve McGarry who dropped down to the bench.
The Glory faithful have been treated to plenty of early action this season and yet again many barely had time to find their seats before the goalscoring got under way. In fact only 2 minutes had lapsed when Thomas Broich embarked on a mazy run that saw him slice his way into the box and pull back an inviting square ball that the arriving Reinaldo needed no second invitation to lash into the roof of the net from close range.
Stunned into silence by the visitors- early opener, the home fans soon discovered their voices as Mitchell-s men restored parity within just four minutes. Robbie Fowler-s deep inswinging corner picked out Mile Sterjovski at the far post, he nodded across goal and Neville was on hand to power an unstoppable header past the despairing Michael Theoklitos.
The breathtaking start to the game then continued as within sixty seconds the hosts came agonisingly close to taking the lead. Fowler-s delightful chipped through ball sent Michael Baird racing clear on goal, but Theoklitos held his ground, made himself big and managed to smother the former Roar striker-s shot at point-blank range.
Another deep pass led to an opening for Glory two minutes later, with Baird out-muscling Luke DeVere to latch onto Tando Velaphi-s punt forward only to sky his shot into The Shed.
With the visitors continuing to enjoy the lion-s share of both possession and territory, however, it was almost inevitable that they should look the more dangerous for the rest of the first period. Another sweeping move from Ange Postecoglou-s side on 26 minutes culminated in Velaphi going full length to tip a low drive from Erik Paartalu around the post and four minutes later DeVere rose well to meet a McKay free-kick, but his header landed on the roof of Velaphi-s net.
In the meantime Jamie Harnwell had been forced to limp from the fray with what looked like a recurrence of his calf injury and that meant a senior bow for Ryan Pearson as he slotted in at right-back and Neville moved into the middle.
In the shadows of half-time Glory did create a couple of half-chances, with Murdocca clearing a Sterjovski header off the line and Baird coming within centimetres of converting a fine cross rifled in from the right flank by the overlapping Pearson.
Half-time
Perth Glory 1-1 Brisbane Roar
If the fans thought that the pace of the game might slacken off after the break they were swiftly proved wrong as within the first ten minutes Theoklitos was forced into action to claim a looping header from Fowler and at the other end, Kosta Barbarouses found the side-netting after showing great pace to beat two defenders and force his way into the box.
In a bid to loosen Roar-s midfield stranglehold, Mitchell opted to throw McGarry into the fray just before the hour mark, with Sekulovski the man to make way and the Scot-s combative approach in the engine room certainly seemed to some extra drive for the home side.
Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, had been doing a bit of bench-clearing himself, introducing both Mitch Nichols and Rocky Visconte and the former made an immediate impact, troubling the Glory defence with his attacking runs from deep and forcing a magnificent one-handed save from Velaphi with ten minutes left on the clock.
Almost four minutes into stoppage time Visconte raced clear and despite Howarth-s desperate attempts to clear, the substitute managed to clip the ball past the advancing Velaphi and into the bottom corner of the net.
It was a heartbreaking end for Glory who had more than played their part in an enthralling contest and in particular a real shame for Jamie Harnwell, who was honoured for his achievement in breaking Bobby Despotovski-s club appearance record with a presentation immediately after the final whistle.
Hyundai A-League Week 9
Perth Glory 1-2 Brisbane Roar
nib Stadium, Sunday, 3 October
Referee: Ben Williams
Attendance: 9758
Perth Glory: 1. Tando Velaphi, 4. Andy Todd, 5. Jamie Harnwell (25. Ryan Pearson 28-), 7. Jacob Burns (C), 9.Robbie Fowler (11. Branko Jelic 69-), 10. Michael Baird, 12.Scott Neville, 16. Adriano Pellegrino, 17. Todd Howarth, 19. Naum Sekulovski (14. Steven McGarry 53-), Mile Sterjovski
Substitutes not used:20. Aleks Vrteski (gk)
Scorers: Neville 6-
Yellow cards: Burns 72-
Red cards: Nil
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2. Matt Smith, 3. Luke Devere, 4. Shane Stefanutto, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Kosta Barbarouses (14. Rocky Vicsconte 78-), 8. Massimo Murdocca (17. Mitch Nichols 62-), 11. Reinaldo, 15. Matt McKay (c), 22. Thomas Broich, 23. Milan Susak
Substitutes not used: 12. Matt Mundy, 20. Andrew Redmayne (gk)
Scorers: Reinaldo 2-, Visconte 90 (+4)-
Yellow cards: Nichols 67-, Paartalu 82-
Red cards: Nil
