Brisbane Roar have picked up yet another win with a narrow 1-0 result over Sydney FC in Sydney this evening. The Roar took their undefeated streak to 16 and were able to re-establish their seven point lead on second-placed Adelaide United thanks to a first-half goal from Kosta Barbarouses.
Brisbane notched up their first ever win at the Sydney Football Stadium to take their record to 12 wins, 8 draws and 1 loss from their 21 matches this term, placing them in a commanding position to take the Premier's Plate for the 2010/11 season.
A-League Week 18Sydney FC: 0 Brisbane Roar: 1 (Kosta Barbarouses 41')
Venue:Sydney Football Stadium, SydneyCrowd: approx. 6,000 Referee: Jarred Gillett Yellow cards:SYD - Shannon Cole 25', Hayden Foxe 90+1' BR - Matt Smith 48'
The Roar kicked off in a positive fashion, as they usually do, and were close to taking a lead in the13th minute when Erik Paartalu tried his luck from outside the area after receiving the ball from a set-piece. But Sydney keeper Ivan Necevski came up with a top notch block before turning it into a double save when Kosta Barbarouses followed up from a tight angle.
The Sky Blues seemed to be sitting back and waiting to see what the Roar could conjure and it was only getting them into the trouble as Thomas Broich forced another good save out of Necevski on 24 minutes.
A GOAL for Brisbane was definitely on the agenda and it finally came in the 41st minute when Mitch Nichols found Jean Carlos Solorzano with his back to goal. The Costa Rican played a magical flick-on for Barbarouses and the young Kiwi striker found space to hammer home from an angle in the last play of any consequence for the opening term.
Ten minutes into the second half, Sydney looked dangerous when substitute Dimitri Petratos found acres of space inside the area but his whistling shot was met by an acrobatic Michael Theoklitos who was able to parry the ball to safety, maintaining his side's advantage.
The home side were looking much better in the second term, mainly due to the fact that Alex Brosque was having plenty of influence, but clear cut chances were hard to come by.
Brisbane had basically shut up shop, bar a few half chances, until late in the match when substitute Rocky Visconte forced a top save from Necevski in the 84th minute before Broich's reactive flick from a corner was well-held by the Sky Blues gloveman.
Despite Sydney's attempts to push forward, they were unable to find the leveler they were searching for and had to settle for a 1-0 loss which sees them remain in ninth, four points out of the top six.
Starting Line-Ups
SYD Ivan Necevski (gk), Stephan Keller, Hayden Foxe, Hiro Moriyasu, Brendan Gan (Petratos 46'), Bruno Cazarine (Ryall 80'), Shannon Cole, Terry McFlynn, Terry Antonis (Brosque 46'), Mark Bridge, Sung-Hwan Byun
Subs - Liam Reddy (gk), Alex Brosque (46'), Dimitri Petratos (46'), Seb Ryall (80')
BR Michael Theoklitos (gk), Matt Smith, Luke DeVere, Ivan Franjic, Erik Paartalu, Kosta Barbarouses, Jean Carlos Solorzano (Visconte 84') Matt McKay, Mitch Nichols, Thomas Broich, Milan Susak
Subs - Andrew Redmayne (gk), Rocky Visconte (84'), Luke Brattan, James Meyer
