Western Sydney Wanderers ended their drought against Brisbane Roar thanks to a 1-0 victory at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
All eyes were on Roar veteran Scott Neville in his 300th and final Isuzu UTE A-League game – just the 11th player in the competition’s 20-year history to reach the 300-game mark, but the visiting Wanderers spoiled the party.
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Bozhidar Kraev’s eighth-minute header was the difference as Western Sydney defeated Brisbane for the first time since May 2021, snapping a nine-game drought across all competitions.
OH NO! Western Sydney Wanderers dealt Juan Mata blow
With the win, Western Sydney bounced back from consecutive defeats to close within a point of the top six, while Brisbane remain rooted to the foot of the standings following a ninth consecutive home loss.
After the game, Wanderers head coach Alen Stajcic was asked about the club’s transfer plans having already signed Socceroo  Alex Gersbach, Jarrod Carluccio and Mohamed Al-Taay
“We’re still looking to fill one or two holes. We will see how we go,” he told Paramount+. “We want to land the right player, we don’t want to be desperate and just bring anyone in.
“We want to bring in the right people and characters. We’re looking to build a foundation for the next two or three years, not just for the next two or three matches.
“That’s important to me and the club. We have a chore group of young players we want to build the team around. We want to make sure we add the right personnel to that mix.”
The Wanderers made a dream start to the Round 17 fixtures thanks to Kraev, who got on the end of Juan Mata’s corner before the Spanish superstar succumbed to an apparent hamstring injury three minutes later.
Brisbane did create a couple of opportunities in the first half as they threatened to equalise – captain Jay O’Shea nearly found the back of the net approaching the half-hour mark, while some last-ditch defending from Alex Bonetig prevented Henry Hore from getting his goal-bound effort on target.
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There was a nervy moment when Roar goalkeeper Macklin Freke spilled a Oscar Priestman shot but he managed to stop it from crossing the line. It was at the time when Brisbane were living dangerously defensively, though the Wanderers were unable to make them pay.
Wanderers star Nicolas Milanovic wheeled away in celebration 18 minutes from the end after sweeping home Zac Sapsford’s cross. However, the Roar were given a lifeline after it was ruled out for offside.
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Brisbane’s Jacob Brazete came off the bench and made an impact, forcing Lawrence Thomas into a diving save in the 76th minute.
