Five moments from Brisbane Roar v Adelaide United in Round 1 of the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 Season
1. Broich’s Miraculous Goal
The contest’s opening goal came in far from deniable circumstances for our men. Thomas Broich whipped a free kick into the box which somehow parted the Red’s sea, finding its way through seemingly endless sets of legs and into the back of the net. United’s misfortune was later experienced by Brisbane when Roar right-back sent a sensational Cirio cross into his own net.
2. Bruce the magnificent
Bruce Djite appeared to be a threat to Brisbane’s defence, his equalising breakthrough at the 33 minute mark coming in the form of an irresistible strike from 20 metres out. Djite later came painfully close to making it two goals for himself and three for the Reds, with an athletic header sent into the bar during the second half. Djite was eventually rewarded with a rest, Josep Gombau replacing one Bruce with another by sending Bruce Kamau into the game, which shall from now on be known as the ‘Bruce Deuce’, according to various colourful folks on twitter.
3. Fluid midfield
Cirio, Jeggo and Goodwin worked beautifully together for much of the evening, and the midfield did a great job finding Cirio and Goodwin out wide. Once the ball reached the wings, Cirio in particular made a habit of sending in brilliant crosses, always putting pressure on the Roar defence and giving his strikers plenty of chances to convert.
4. Fighting words
There was a testy atmosphere surrounding much of the contest. Craig Goodwin took exception to some choice words from one or two agitated Roar players, and Matt Mackay was warned by the referees to mind his manners, eventually being sent off in the 72nd minute for dissent.
5. Holding on late
Brisbane refused to go down without a fight, and fired a series of rockets at United’s defence in the final 10 minutes. The Red’s defensive line blocked successive Roar rockets before Dimitri Petratos bent a free kick over Galekovic’s crossbar at the 83 minute mark. With the Brisbane crowd reaching fever pitch and United desperate to come away with 3 points, Henrique ran into a seemingly open goal before being foiled by Elrich at the last moment.
