Brisbane Roar striker Sergio van Dijk netted a double as his side recorded a vital away win over Adelaide United. The home side begun brightly in the round 14 clash but were pegged back by a determined Roar outfit along with a little bit of bad luck.
Adelaide United: 0 Brisbane Roar: 2 (Sergio van Dijk (p) '35, '51) Venue: Hindmarsh Stadium Crowd: 11,209
The opening of the match was a cagey affair with both sides just trying to work each other out and little or no chances being created.
That continued until the 25th minute when Red skipper Travis Dodd took it upon himself and made a forceful run through midfield before playing through Cristiano but the Brazilian's shot was thwarted by an advancing Griffin McMaster.
The Roar gloveman was then called up twice more in quick succession - once from a well-directed Alemao side-footer and then was required to make a double save when Reds defender Robert Cornthwaite's downward header wasn't cleared properly and needed to be parried over the crossbar.
Just after the half-hour mark, controversy struck when Roar striker Reinaldo took on Scott Jamieson in the area but the Reds left-back was adjudged to have obstructed the big Brazilian and referee Craig Zetta pointed straight to penalty spot.
Dutchman Sergio van Dijk stepped up to the plate and put his left-footed spot-kick into the back of the net, sending Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic the wrong way much to the dismay of the Hindmarsh Stadium crowd.
After the break, the Roar doubled their advantage when van Dijk finished off a well-constructed move with a blistering finish from inside the area that gave Galekovic no chance.
Somehow the Reds found themselves 2-0 down after dominating patches of the first half but new Roar coach Ange Postecoglou didn't have a care in the world at this particular stage in the game.
The visitors then should have been 3-0 up when youngster Mitch Nichols slammed his shot into the crossbar but the video evidence showed that the ball deflected down on an angle and was actually over the line but the linesman was not in place to make a call.
The Reds finally had some luck go their way with a little more than 20 minutes left when Roar defender Luke De Vere was penalised for handling the ball in the area.
Lloyd Owusu was the man for Adelaide, replacing usual penalty taker Travis Dodd, but the big Englishman had his spot-kick saved by McMaster before it ricocheted back off the post but the Roar cleared it to safety, ending the Reds short spell of luck.
The Reds tried in vain to get themselves back into the contest but Brisbane were able to hold sway and record a vital win that prematurely moves them out of the bottom two places.
