WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUT A NEW TEAM IN A AREA WITH GRASSROOTS ALREADY FLOURISHING?
STUNNED Brisbane coach Rado Vidosic conceded the Roar were lucky to only lose 1-0 to Western Sydney Wanderers, who caused arguably the biggest boilover in A-League history tonight.
Without a goal, let alone a win, heading into the Suncorp Stadium contest against the team widely regarded as the best since the competition's inception in 2005, the Wanderers out-committed and out-enthused the sluggish and complacent Roar.
Journeyman striker Mark Bridge created history in the 19th minute when he scored the Wanderers' first A-League goal.
Having gone 288 minutes without scoring, the A-League newcomers finally found the back of the net when former Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC attacker Bridge got in front of Brisbane fullback Jack Hingert to head home a precise cross from Youssouf Hersi.
It was a well-deserved lead for the Wanderers, who dominated from the outset in bustling the Roar, who before the game were the shortest-priced favourites in A-League history, out of a contest played in front of 12,663 fans.
"They should have punished us with a few more goals,'' admitted Vidosic, who was at a loss to explain the Roar's woeful display.
"I don't know if it was a little bit of fatigue or complacency. We need to have a good look at the video and talk to the players and find out.''
Berisha
Source: The Courier-Mail
Vidosic was reluctant to find excuses, but said the Roar's recent schedule, which has included trips to Perth and Wellington, might have taken its toll, despite encouraging signs on the training paddock before the upset.
Wanderers coach Tony Popovic felt the historic victory was coming despite his side's failure to score in their opening three games of the season.
"The stats don't lie, we hadn't scored, but there was no lack of confidence in this group,'' the proud Popovic said.
"We haven't dwelled on the situation. We came here with a belief we could win the game if we played well, and in the end we did that.
"At no stage did we doubt ourselves before the match. It would have been an injustice really if we didn't come away with those three points.''
The visitors could not have come closer to scoring in just the fourth minute when key midfielder Aaron Mooy unleashd with a long-strike that amazingly hit both posts but failed to cross the goal-line.
Jerrad Tyson
Source: Getty Images
The out-of-sorts Roar had few chances during the contest but did enough to create two genuine opportunities in the first half, which Ben Halloran and Mitch Nichols failed to convert.
However, the Roar did little else as they slumped to their second defeat in four matches this season.
They have been joined on four points by the Wanderers, whose best result before the win was their first-round 0-0 draw with Central Coast Mariners.
Among the Wanderers' best last night was former Sydney FC youngster Joey Gibbs, whose only other A-League appearance was in the Sky Blues' grand final triumph in 2010.
Gibbs, who came into the side for the injured Dino Kresinger, and linked superbly with Japanse star Shinji Ono, who was excellent before coming off with 20 minutes left.
Roar Wanderers
0 FINAL SCORE 1
0 HALF TIME SCORE 1
10 SHOTS 16
4 SHOTS ON GOAL 8
7 FOULS 15
3 CORNERS 10
1 OFFSIDES 0
60 POSSESSION 40
Western Sydney Wanderers ---------------------------------------------------------------------->midgets...
