A brace to Ben Halloran against his former club has helped Adelaide United record a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar in a Friday thriller at Coopers Stadium.
In a match that saw the woodwork hit three times, two red cards and some breath-taking football, Halloran’s double either side of the break proved the difference for Marco Kurz’s troops.
Brisbane – who lost key attackers Adam Taggart and Eric Bautheac to injury on the night – finished the stronger and got back into the contest through former Red Henrique.
In a crazy finish both sides were reduced to 10 men as Reds defender Taylor Regan and then Roar substitute Stefan Mauk both saw red for unsavoury incidents.
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It was a breath-taking first half with the woodwork hit on three different occasions as both sides went on the attack from the outset.
Taggart was first to be denied by the frame of the goal, while Ken Ilso and Taylor Regan both saw headers rebound off the woodwork.
And after Taggart went off injured before the break, the home side got the breakthrough two minutes before the interval through Halloran.
A superb driving run from skipper Isaias released Craig Goodwin down the left and his low cross was perfect for the former Roar flyer to finish past a helpless Jamie Young.
Within four minutes of the restart and Halloran had his second, again in the right place at the right time to finish off from Ryan Kitto’s cutback.
But despite also losing Bautheac to injury, Roar still managed to mount a fightback through Henrique midway through the second-half.
Youngster Dylan Wenzel-Halls sprung the offside trap down the right and kept his composure to put the ball on a plate for ‘The Slippery Fish’ to score in his 150th appearance for the Roar.
Regan picked up a second booking 12 minutes from time for a clash with Mauk, before the Roar playmaker was dismissed himself in stoppage-time in a frantic end to a scintillating match.
See all the goals and re-live all the action and talking points in our LIVE BLOG below.
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