Brisbane Roar turned in a sparkling performance, highlighted by a dominant first half, collecting a third win on the trot and soaring to top of the table after defeating Adelaide United 3-1 last night at Dolphin Stadium.
Dylan Wenzel-Halls continued his run of form, scoring a goal in both halves whilst Jay O’Shea also found the net with a stunning long range strike on the cusp of halftime.
Nathan Konstandopoulos pulled one back for the visitors in the 82nd minute but it was nothing more than a consolation on a night when Brisbane controlled proceedings.
Great performances throughout the side were the order of the day with Jay O’Shea once again proving he is amongst the top echelon of A-League players with an all action display on the left side of the midfield.
Young fullback Kai Trewin made his starting debut and showed he wouldn’t be overawed by the step up, proving vital in Head Coach Warren Moon’s three-man backline formation.
After the match, Moon was unable to conceal his satisfaction.
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“Very happy. Overall good performance. Obviously the first half was some good stuff. We got the lead, got the reward we deserved,” Moon said.
“[On the second half] All credit to Adelaide. They adjusted at half-time and it took us a little while to adapt but we saw it out professionally in terms of chances created.”
“I’ve said from day one that we will be tactically flexible. We looked at how they set up and thought we could contain them playing that way. It doesn’t mean we’ll always set up that way but it worked for us tonight.”
The Roar carved opportunities at will throughout the contest and could have had the contest well out of the Reds’ reach with the Head Coach pleased at yet another creative and productive attacking display.
“We scored three and won the game. Probably the negative as a coach is when you’re not creating chances, that would be more of a worry. Even the game we lost we were creating chances. If we do that we always give ourselves a chance to win.”
All eyes will now be on Sunday’s Central Coast Mariners vs Wellington Phoenix game with a win for the away side meaning the Roar would remain at the top of the league at the end of Matchweek 6.
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Next Saturday sees another home A-League game at Dolphin Stadium when Melbourne Victory make the trip north with the Roar eyeing a second win over the Victorians.
GOALS
Brisbane Roar – Wenzel-Halls 37’ – 1-0
Riku Danzaki clips a crisp pass for Jack Hingert who keeps the ball in play with a terrific cross finished with an even better near post header from Wenzel-Halls.
Brisbane Roar – O’Shea 45′ – 2-0
Rahmat Akbari pushes down the left, passes the ball to McDonald who lays it off for Jay O’Shea to score a 25 yard screamer across the face of the goalkeeper.
Brisbane Roar – Wenzel-Halls 78’ – 3-0
Wenzel-Halls breaks free on the left wing, cuts onto his right foot and slams the ball straight between the legs of the goalkeeper from the edge of the area.
Adelaide United – Konstandopoulos 82’ – 3-1
Konstandopoulos finds acres of space outside the area with the defence standing off him then strokes the ball home off the post from long range.
MATCH DETAILS
A-League 2020/21 Matchweek 4: Brisbane Roar vs Adelaide United
Dolphin Stadium, Redcliffe
Saturday 31 January
Brisbane Roar 3 (Wenzel-Halls 37’, 78’, O’Shea 45’)
Adelaide United 1 (Konstandopoulos 82’)
Half-time: 2-0
