Brisbane Roar have consolidated second place on the Hyundai A-League ladder after recording a convincing 3-0 away win over Perth Glory, courtesy of an early strike from Henrique and two goals in four minutes from leading goal scorer Besart Berisha.
Brisbane Roar have consolidated second place on the Hyundai A-League ladder after recording a convincing 3-0 away win over Perth Glory, courtesy of an early strike from Henrique and two goals in four minutes from leading goal scorer Besart Berisha.
In the team news, Nick Fitzgerald filled the vacancy left by Thomas Broich, who was left in Brisbane nursing a shoulder injury, while new dad Massimo Murdocca also featured in the starting eleven despite his late arrival in Perth following the birth of his daughter less than 24 hours earlier.
It took just over 20 minutes for the Roar to fashion their first real opportunity of the match but needed no second invitation when presented with a chance to take the lead.
Berisha threaded a well-timed through ball to strike partner Henrique with an equally deft touch from the Brazilian allowing him to skirt around the challenges of Glory custodian Danny Vukovic and defender Bas van den Brink and place the ball into the open net.
The home side created a number of half-chances – Billy Mehmet flashed a shot just wide while Dean Heffernan tried his luck from a long-range half-volley and Mile Sterjovski was equally lively – but Henrqiue-s name was the only one on the scoresheet as the two sides headed into the changing rooms.
Brisbane were on the back foot in the early stages of the second half as Perth enjoyed a pro-longed period of possession but a rapid change in momentum saw the match seemingly put out of reach for the Glory when Besart Berisha struck home a quick double around the hour mark.
This time, Henrique turned provider and even after collecting the ball with his back to goal, Berisha managed a swift turn on the spot to fire home before Nick Fitzgerald drew the Vukovic wide four minutes later, to set the Albanian striker up for an easy tap-in.
A 64th minute straight red card to Henrique following an altercation with Glory skipper Jacob Burns gave the home side the numerical advantage for the last half an hour of play and Brisbane were forced to reshuffle.
But, the disruption did no damage to the score line and Postecoglou-s men held on to record a vital win and now sit just three points behind league leaders Central Coast Mariners who play Melbourne Heart tomorrow.
Post-match, two-goal hero Berisha was beaming with pride at his side-s performance.
“It is not easy to come to Perth and win 3-0 but today we showed that we are back,” Berisha said.
“We really played strong and it was just amazing.
“It was probably one of the most important games of this year.
“It is not easy to come here for the win, we showed that last time but tonight we showed that we are good footballers and a good team.”
Perth Glory 0
Brisbane Roar 3 (HENRIQUE 21-, Besart BERISHA 58-, 62-)
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Venue: nib Stadium, Perth
Referee: Strebre Delovski
Perth Glory: 1. Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 3. Bas VAN DEN BRINK, 4. Billy MEHMET, 5. Steve PANTELIDIS, 7. Jacob BURNS (c), 8. Adam HUGHES, 13. Travis DODD, 14. Steven McGARRY (27. ANDREZINHO 63-), 19. Joshua RISDON (17. Todd HOWARTH 79-), 21. Mile STERJOVSKI (15. Tommy AMPLETT 85-), 35. Dean HEFFERNAN
Substitutes not used: 20. Neil YOUNG (gk)
Yellow cards: Dean HEFFERNAN 15-, Mile STERJOVSKI 60-, Steve PANTELIDIS 84-
Red cards: Nil
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH (c), 3. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Besart BERISHA, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA (11. Issey NAKAJIMA-FARRAN 75-), 10. 16. Mohamed ADNAN, 17. Mitch NICHOLS (19. Jack HINGERT 85-), 24. Nick FITZGERALD (21. James MEYER 69-)
Substitutes not used: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk)
Yellow cards: Nick FITZGERALD 56-
Red cards: HENRIQUE 64-
