THERE were mixed fortunes for the Brisbane Roar men and women this weekend, as both had positive results. The two teams played at Suncorp Stadium yesterday with their Indigenous Round Double Header that saw both the Isuzu UTE A-League and Liberty A-League squads on display.
Sunday’s matches saw Brisbane Roar put on an Indigenous Round for the first time in club history, with both the men and women taking the pitch wearing a special-edition, Indigenous jersey.
The Isuzu UTE A-League Men kicked off the double header in style with a 2-1 win over Perth Glory on Sunday afternoon.
This puts Roar within a point of top spot on the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s ladder.
A pair of second half strikes from Henry Hore and Jay O’Shea secured the points for Roar ahead of a blockbuster match up with league leaders Western Sydney Wanderers at Suncorp Stadium next Friday night.
After a goal-less first half, Roar found the breakthrough 56th minute through Hore, who slammed a first-time finish into the bottom corner from a tight angle after being played in by O’Shea.
The 24-year-old, who also scored a brace in Roar’s last match at Suncorp has now bettered his tally from last season after just five rounds with his third goal of the new campaign.
O’Shea doubled the Roar’s lead nine minutes later when his effort from the top of the box wrong footed Cameron Cook after the Irishman had his initial effort blocked by Aleksandar Susnjar.
Susnjar pulled a goal back for the visitors in second half stoppage time when he reacted quickest to nod home a finish after Aaron McEneff’s free kick came crashing back off the crossbar.
But it proved to be too little too late for the visitors as Roar held on for their third win from five matches in front of 9,769 spectators at Suncorp Stadium.
Jack Hingert came off the bench in the second half to make his return from a knee injury sustained against Macarthur in Round One although Roar supporters will be left concerned by a hamstring injury to Corey Brown that forced the fullback off after 13 minutes.
Roar’s Liberty A-League Women were up next with a clash against Adelaide United, which saw them share the points in a 1-1 draw.
Mariah Lee opened the scoring for Adelaide United in the 13th minute, finding her way around Jordan Silkowitz to find the back of the net of an open goal.
Brisbane responded in the 38th minute with Leah Scarpelli putting a ball over for her fellow American Mia Corbin to seal the equaliser.
The second half remained scoreless and will see Roar head into the international break with a point.
Next up, Brisbane travel down to the capital to take on Canberra United on Sunday 10 December at McKellar Park.
