Brisbane Roar have scored a scrappy late winner to clinch the win over Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium tonight. The Roar were second best all night but came up with the goods late in the piece thanks to some quick thinking by defender Luke DeVere and striker Sergio van Dijk.
Brisbane Roar: 1 (Sergio van Dijk '88) Sydney FC: 0 Venue: Suncorp Stadium
The first quarter of an hour produced few shots on goal and the only saves needed to be made were by Roar goalkeeper Matt Ham who denied both Alex Brosque and John Aloisi after both players were sent forward by Sydney midfielder Steve Corica. The Sky Blues veteran was clearly the key for the visitors early in the piece, sending pinpoint passes to the strikers with little or no marking from the Roar midfield.
The Roar's best early chance came in the 21st minute when promising teenager Tommy Oar came with a run through the midfield and unleashed with a powerful 25-yard left-footer that skidded past Sydney gloveman Clint Bolton but could not beat the upright.
The quality of the match began to pick up as the first half went on but neither side could find a goal and the opening term ended scoreless.
Sydney looked the better of the teams in the second half and were inches away from an opener when Terry McFlynn made a deep run into the area before cutting back for Aloisi but the veteran striker couldn't finish off the good work under extreme duress from Roar right-back Ivan Franjic.
In the 71st minute, Corica and Aloisi almost crafted a magical goal ending in an Aloisi overhead shot but Ham was positioned well to keep the Roar in the match.
The Roar then came agonisingly close minutes later when Michael Zullo made a run from left-back, played in Oar whose shot was blocked then Zullo followed up with a wicked curling shot but Bolton was equal to the task and parried it out for a corner.
Against the run of play, the Roar hit the back of the net with just two minutes remaining after a corner was headed into the path of Luke DeVere who controlled the ball whilst off-balance and knocked it goalward where it deflected off Sergio van Dijk and in for the only goal of the night.
The win kept Brisbane's season alive and they are now three points out of the top six whilst Sydney went to third on the table, falling two points behind leaders Melbourne and Gold Coast.
