Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Brisbane Roar maintain top spot in Australian A-League

A-League leaders, Brisbane Roar defeated another title contender in their quest to win the A-League title, as they defeated Adelaide United 1-0 this Sunday.

The Roar now have a huge 11-point lead at the top of the table, but were made to work really for their latest win in an exciting match at the Hindmarsh Stadium. Brisbane Roar striker Jean Carlos Solorzano was once again the hero of the match, as he scored the only goal of the match to stretch his team's unbeaten record to 19 games.

Playing away from home, the Roar had three key players missing for the match. Captain Matt McKay missed out as he was on international duty for Australia, while Influential midfielder Thomas Broich suffered a groin injury. Defender Ivan Franjic was also unavailable after he pulled a hamstring two days before the clash. However those absentees weren’t missed too much, as Brisbane managed to maintain their match winning run. The visitors totally eclipsed an Adelaide side that has been trying it’s best to prove its worth as serious title challengers.

Three points were guaranteed for Brisbane in the 69th minute, when Solorzano calmly slotted a simple left footed shot past keeper Mark Birghitti. It was a fortunate goal though. The ball agonizingly ricocheted off Iain Fyfe’s foot and landed in Solorzano’s path, who scored his 11th of the season.

The home side had their chances to level the score after they went a goal down, but the Roar defence held on as Adelaide couldn’t find the finishing touch to their attacking moves. Adelaide United will now play Central Coast Mariners and Gold Coast United in their bid to maintain second spot in the league.

Brisbane Roar manager, Ange Postecoglou wasn’t really impressed with his sides’ victory, and admitted that his team hadn’t been as slick as they usually have been throughout the season. However, he added that his players did well to put pressure on the ball. On the other hand, Adelaide manager Rini Coolen was disappointed at the loss and moaned about his teams’ inability to make their first half dominance count.

The defeat was made even more painful for Adelaide by the news that they would be without midfielder Joe Keenan for the remainder of the season, after he broke his leg during the game. That will complicate matters further for Adelaide United, since Cassio and Marcos Flores are also out for at least a week after suffering hamstring injuries.

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