Dutch striker Sergio van Dijk banged in a double to lift Brisbane to a 2-0 triumph in its Hyundai A-League derby clash against North Queensland at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
A bumper crowd of 11,530 – the second-biggest in Brisbane for the season – showed their support for the FFA’s midweek football experiment, and van Dijk did not disappoint, nabbing a brace in the opening half.
The majority of those in attendance, with the exception of national coach Pim Verbeek, came to see Robbie Fowler’s maiden appearance in Brisbane, but it was the dazzling link-up play of the Roar that had the crowd on their feet.
Fowler was largely kept quiet while the likes of Brazilian flyer Henrique and talented 18-year-old Tommy Oar took centre stage with their sweet service for van Dijk.
The Liverpool legend found space in the box in the 16th minute, but his best chance for the night went awry when a cheeky chip was snaffled by Roar goalkeeper Griffin McMaster.
From that point on the visitors took control.
The opening goal came in the 20th minute when Henrique made the most of a speculative long ball from defender Luke DeVere.
Henrique, who looked lively from the onset, blitzed down the sideline and fired in a terrific cross which saw van Dijk bundle the ball into the back of the net.
The 27-year-old beat Fury defender Matthew Smith to the drop of the ball, but North Queensland coach Ian Ferguson was more concerned with the fact referee Matthew Gillett allowed play to go on after David Williams had gone down with a hamstring injury.
Williams was soon subbed by Ferguson and Daniel McBreen had a handy chance for the visitors in the 26th minute, but it was van Dijk who next went close, only for Rostyn Griffiths to make a deft deflection.
However the Dutchman grabbed his 10th goal for the season in the 42nd minute, with Oar the man to play originator on that occasion when a slick ball saw Matt McKay set up van Dijk.
Roar coach Ange Postecoglou was pleased by his side’s intent and believed the men in orange had given the home crowd a preview of what is possible with the ‘future of Brisbane Roar’.
“We played well and deserved the victory … we looked lively right from the start , we took the game to the opposition and I thought we were always threatening and pretty solid at the back,” Postecoglou said.
Ferguson was frustrated by his side’s inconsistency after it failed to reproduce the sort of performance that was rewarded with a 1-0 win over Perth last weekend.
“It was difficult … another chance lost to try and get into that top six, I’m bitterly disappointed,” he said.
Oar was dominant in his return from an ankle injury, putting in a quality performance that is sure to result in more media speculation that he could make a surprise Qantas Socceroos debut in Australia’s Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait next month.
The winger provided plenty of highlights before eventually being subbed from the ground by Postecoglou in the 79th minute.
Two pieces of individual brilliance were particularly remarkable.
The first came in the 56th minute when he danced around Griffiths, who was forced to cop a yellow card after grabbing Oar’s shirt on the cusp of the box.
The second was an absolute showstopper in the 69th when he unleashed a curling 25-yard wonder strike from the sideline that Fury goalkeeper Justin Pasfield only just made a fingertip save to.
Mitch Nichols, who entered the fray at the expense of McKay in the 64th minute, had a golden chance to seal the result in the 76th minute when he slipped through to be one-on-one with Pasfield.
Pasfield charged off his line, but Nichols was unable to pull the trigger and the open goal went begging.
It mattered little, while substitute Dyron Daal created a handful chances for the Fury, the Roar held firm.
The Roar have climbed to seventh on the table and will break into the top six with a win over Central Coast on the weekend.
Brisbane Roar 2 (van Dijk 20′ 42′)
North Queensland Fury 0
Crowd: 11, 530 at Suncorp Stadium
