Brisbane Roar have seen off a Melbourne Victory challenge as both Besart Berisha and Harry Kewell scored braces at Suncorp Stadium.
Brisbane have claimed a 3-2 win over the Melbourne Victory in an end-to-end battle at Suncorp Stadium that featured doubles for Besart Berisha and Harry Kewell.
In a fan-friendly contest, a comfortable 3-1 half-time lead for the Roar was followed by a nervous final 40, when Kewell continued a standout performance, banging home his second clinical finish in the 50th.
Carlos Hernandez rattled the Roar’s crossbar with a volley from 25 yards out in the final quarter of play, but in the end Berisha’s brace and a penalty conversion from Henrique – all in a dominant first half – saw the hosts through to their third straight victory.
The result extends Brisbane’s hold on second-place to five points over the third-placed Phoenix, while the Victory remain outside the top six.
Massimo Murdocca became the most-capped Roar player, running on for his 132nd appearance, and it took Berisha just 43 seconds to join him in the club’s record books, moving past Sergio van Dijk for the most goals in a season with his 14th.
The Albanian international accepted a speared pass from Thomas Broich at the top of the area, and with some frantic scrambling and precision control, he forced through four Melbourne defenders, giving Ante Covic no chance with a firm strike from the penalty spot.
But the visitors weren’t deflated by the early deficit and after a pair of narrow misses, Kewell smashed home from the top of the area for a ninth minute equaliser, capitalising on a brilliant infield drive and lay-off from Marco Rojas.
Brisbane’s second goal was vintage end to end football. Matt Smith and Franjic worked it upfield and to Broich in the centre, he found Henrique with a through ball to the right flank, before the movement was completed with Berisha blasting home the cross.
The Roar put the game to bed in the 38th, with Henrique slotting home a penalty after Ubay Luzardo left out a leg and brought Paartalu crashing down.
Melbourne came out from half-time determined and Kewell nabbed his double in the 50th, latching onto a wayward cross from Broich, steaming past Mohamed Adnan and beating Theoklitos with a low left-footer across the face of goal.
With the margin sliced to one and the Roar still determined to attack, the chances kept coming for both sides.
Matthew Smith and Adnan had strong games in the centre of defence for the home side, while Murdocca earned man-of-the-match honours from the midfield and Berisha’s attacking instincts were on full display.
Kewell and Hernandez showed trademark class for the visitors but in the end it wasn’t emough for them to grab any points.
Brisbane Roar: Berisha 1, 32, Henrique 38
Melbourne Victory: Kewell 9, 50
Crowd: 18,523
