Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers have shared the points following an absorbing 1-1 draw at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
A cracking second-half strike from Roar defender Corey Brown was cancelled out by some set-piece brilliance from Wanderers skipper Dimas in a match not helped by a patchy Suncorp surface.
Strikers Jamie Maclaren and Brendon Santalab both had good chances to snatch victory for their respective sides but fired their efforts just wide of the post.
There was to be some late drama however with the Wanderers reduced to ten men in added time after Santalab was shown a straight red card for making contact with an opponent’s face.
The result extends Brisbane’s unbeaten run to ten matches and sees them move up to second, while the Wanderers climb to fifth on the ladder ahead of the rest of Round 12’s Summer Football action.
GOALS
1-0 Brisbane Roar: Corey Brown, 52’
An inviting cross from Thomas Broich was met by a charging run from the left back, who rifled a first time shot into the near top corner giving keeper Jerrad Tyson no chance.
1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers, Dimas, 69’
Brendon Santalab earned his side a free-kick on the edge of the box with the Wanderers skipper stepping up, bending the dead ball over the wall and into the top corner.
OPTA DATA
- A tense opening half failed to produce a shot on target.
- The opener was Corey Brown’s second goal for Brisbane from 63 appearances.
- The Wanderers’ equaliser was the first time the Roar have conceded from a set-piece this season.
RED CARD
Santalab was given his marching orders in the 91st minute after getting in a tangle with Jade North and making contact with the defender’s face with his arm. The Wanderers striker had already received a caution for a similar incident.
CROWD
13,110 @ Suncorp Stadium – taking Roar past the two-million mark for regular season home games at the venue in their history.
Re-live the match on Twitter
@ALeague, @brisbaneroar, @wswanderersfc, #BRIvWSW
