Brisbane Roar surged into fourth spot on the Isuzu UTE A-League Men table with a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
Nikola Mileusnic’s 80th minute strike was the difference in an evenly-matched contest in the Hunter, tapped home on the rebound after Jets keeper Jack Duncan saved his initial attempt: a bicycle kick off a headed pass across goal by Riku Danzaki.
Roar keeper Jordan Holmes ensured his side clung onto all three points with a magnificent save at the death, denying Jaushua Sotirio with a leaping, fingertip save deep into second-half stoppage time, pushing the ball away from the back of the net and off the post.
Brisbane’s first win on the road launched Warren Moon’s side from 10th spot on the table into fourth after the first game of Round 8.
KEEPUP followed along live to bring you all the action from McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night.
How under-the-radar Roar can use January window to become an A-League Men ‘dark horse’
Former A-Leagues striker Daniel McBreen believes Brisbane Roar are one key signing away from becoming a ‘big dark horse’ in the 2022-23 Isuzu UTE A-League Men season.
Warren Moon’s side surged from 10th to fourth on the table with a 1-0 win over Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night – and they’ve got there despite scoring the equal-least amount of goals (six) of any side to date.
Star off-season recruit Charlie Austin has played his last game for Brisbane; his contract with the club was mutually terminated to facilitate his move back to the UK for family reasons.
The experienced striker’s departure opens up a gap in Moon’s squad which McBreen would like to see filled by a proven goalscorer in the January transfer window, to give the Queenslanders the extra dimension they need to continue their surprise ascent up the table.
“They make it really hard to break them down, they don’t concede many goals,” McBreen said on the Paramount+ post-game show.
Charlie Austin is leaving now… (but) if they find a proven goalscorer in the January transfer window, they could be one of the biggest underdogs to come from nowhere for a long time.
“No one has rated them at all because they can’t score goals. If they can find that, all of a sudden they’re sitting in fourth at the moment, so a big dark horse maybe.”
Roar winger Carlo Armiento was a bright spark in the Hunter on Friday night; his incremental return to the peak of his powers continues after an ACL injury suffered whilst at Perth Glory in 2021.
Armiento echoed McBreen’s post-match sentiment: those not taking note of Brisbane’s early-season form may have their heads turned should they continue to show defensive solidity – with the equal-least goals conceded (five) of any team to date – and increase their own scoring output.
“We’re doing all the right things, staying compact,” Armiento told Paramount+ post-match.
“I think people forget: we’ve only lost one game. We’ve picked up a couple of draws here and there, but now we take three points away form home, I think it makes up for it. We have a game in hand as well, so I think we’re on the right track.”
