Joey Champness, Alex Parsons and Masato Kudo all scored their first Brisbane Roar goals as Warren Moon’s men made it three wins on the bounce with a resounding 4-0 victory over Central Coast Mariners on Wednesday night.
Macaulay Gillesphey also found the net from a first-half set-piece in Gosford to set the Roar on their way to a fifth consecutive A-League game without defeat and record 19th in a row against the Mariners.
An on-song Champness doubled the margin with a ripping shot inside the near post not long after the interval, before substitutes Parsons and Kudo skillfully collected their maiden Brisbane goals in the 89th and 93rd minutes respectively.
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Mariners talisman Marco Urena had earlier been sent off for a studs-up challenge on Jay O’Shea, contributing to the Roar’s sense of comfort in the second half.
“I guess we did to the Mariners what they have done to other sides,” Head Coach Moon said after the game. “We sat a bit deeper to try to catch them on the break and obviously utilise the space in behind.
“The red card helped and we ran away with it at the end.”
The match summed up Moon’s approach to player development as local product Parsons remained typically humble when asked by Fox Sports to describe his goal, a classy left-footed finish that beat the outstretched Mark Birighitti.
“Dyl [Wenzel-Halls] fed me the ball [but I don’t] remember much of it because it was all a bit of an adrenaline rush,” the exciting youngster said. “I’m just happy to get a goal and to get the three points.”
“Credit to Warren and the older boys and what they do for us and how close we are as a group now,” Parsons added.
“We’ve come a long way since the start of the year and the dressing room is really tight at the moment.”
The relentless schedule ramps up this weekend when the Roar return home for back-to-back fixtures at Moreton Daily Stadium, firstly against Wellington Phoenix on Saturday afternoon and then against Western United on Wednesday night.
Saturday’s match forms part of a double-header involving the BRFC Legends, who face an NPL Queensland Legends side at 3:00pm. CLICK HERE for tickets.
GOALS
Brisbane Roar – Gillesphey 42′ – 0-1
Jack Clisby attempts to head clear an O’Shea cross but only succeeds in helping the ball on to Gillesphey, who finishes into the roof of the net.
Brisbane Roar – Champness 56′ – 0-2
O’Shea swings a long diagonal ball to Champness who jinks across onto his right foot and powers in an unstoppable shot home from outside of the area.
Brisbane Roar – Parsons 89′ – 0-3
Wenzel-Halls and Jesse Daley combine to win the ball in midfield and push it forward for Parsons, who cuts back onto his left foot after advancing into the area and curls a sublime finish across the keeper.
Brisbane Roar – Kudo 93′ – 0-4
Neville plays a one-two with Parsons before pulling the ball back from the byline towards the near post, where it’s met by Kudo for the striker’s first goal in orange.
MATCH DETAILS
A-League 2021 Matchweek 18: Central Coast Mariners vs Brisbane Roar
Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Wednesday 28th April
Central Coast Mariners 0
Brisbane Roar 4 (Gillesphey 19′ Champness 56′ Parsons 89′ Kudo 90’+3)
Half-time: 0-1
