Brisbane Roar has recorded consecutive pre-season wins after a comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Brisbane City.
Brisbane Roar has recorded consecutive pre-season wins after a comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Brisbane City.
To the delight of the Spencer Park crowd, the star trio of Besart Berisha, Michael Theo and Thomas Broich all made their first pre-season appearances for the Roar.
It wasn-t long before the visitors had opened their scoring account.
In the fourth minute, Liam Miller-s deflected shot from outside the box gave Brisbane City goalkeeper Matthew Stein little chance and the new Roar recruit his first goal in the orange colours.
Captain Matt Smith nearly doubled the lead moments later with a firmly struck volley that went a few yards high.
The Roar continued to hold possession and the dangerous duo of Berisha and Broich started to cause headaches for the City defence.
The last goal that Besart Berisha scored was in front of 80,000 fans while representing the Foxtel A-League All-Stars and less than two weeks later, the Albanian striker was at it again.
A classy finish tucked into the bottom left of the net gave his side a 2-0 advantage in the 18th minute.
After scoring in last week-s victory over Albany Creek Excelsior, Corey Brown gave the Roar a commanding 3-0 half-time lead when he curled through a rebounded shot.
Brisbane City had a few chances in the first term, of which the most promising was sparked by Antonio Murray.
A smart long ball saw the striker go one-on-one with Theo, who was forced to venture outside his box in order to defuse the attack.
There was a slightly different tone to the game in the second half, with fewer scoring opportunities being created by both sides.
City-s Antonio Murray had the home crowd applauding after a spectacular shot on target from outside the box but replacement Roar goalkeeper Matt Acton was up to the challenge as he parried the ball out of danger.
Roar replacement Patrick Theodore nearly added a fourth goal before full-time, but was denied by a sharp piece of goalkeeping from Matthew Stein.
After a clean sheet last week, the impressive Roar defence was again able to keep their opponents scoreless.
Broich also worked tirelessly during his typically classy 90 minute effort.
The Den and the rest of the Spencer Park crowd were in full voice throughout the evening and a 3-0 Roar victory was exactly what they were hoping to see.
