Berisha at the double as Roar close in on Premiership

Brisbane Roar claimed a 2-1 win over fellow entertainers Adelaide United to virtually seal the Premiers Plate at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.

Brisbane Roar claimed a 2-1 win over fellow entertainers Adelaide United to virtually seal the Premiers Plate at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.

A Besart Berisha brace allowed Mike Mulvey’s side to open up a 10-point lead at the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder with five rounds remaining before the finals series.

Jeronimo Neumann scored a brilliant consolation goal at the death to make it 11 matches in a row that Adelaide have found the net. 

Aside from the Albanian’s superbly taken goals, the talking point of the match came just before half -ime when Thomas Broich’s spectacular long-range shot bounced off the crossbar and over the line, only to be incorrectly adjudged to have remained in the field of play.

In contrast to the usual pattern at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane conceded the majority of possession in the early going to their opponents, but nonetheless they found the opening goal through their Albanian marksman after 21 minutes.

Petratos cut in from the right flank and send a perfectly weighted ball across the face of goal with his left foot, which Matt McKay played back across goal with a single touch for Berisha to tap in.

At the time of the goal, Brisbane had only seen 36% of the ball, but opening the scoring enabled them to wrest some control back.

The influential Cirio remained a threat for the Reds, however, and he made space for himself on the edge of the Roar area through his movement and neat combinations with teammates, only to have his low shot saved by Michael Theo.

The Spaniard was gifted another chance when Liam Miller gave away possession, but his effort flew high.

Broich, who had a poor opening half, trotted forward and tried his audacious shot from well out, which was wrongly disallowed by referee Shaun Evans.

Berisha could have bagged a second before the half-time whistle, but he dallied after being put through on goal and wasted a fine chance.

He made amends seven minutes after the break when he cracked in his sensational second goal, his 10th of the season, from distance following some snappy interplay between Broich and McKay.

Cirio danced through the Brisbane defence from the left and crossed for Osama Malik, who dived full length only to head it well over, in what was Adelaide’s first clear chance from inside the area.

Neumann drifted inside and curled in a delightful effort to halve the advantage, though there were only seconds remaining in the game.

Brisbane Roar 2 (Berisha 22, 52)
Adelaide United 1 (Neumann 90+2)
Crowd: 12,514 @Suncorp Stadium