The Brisbane Roar took out a 2-1 win over the Australian Institute of Sport in Sunday’s round-21 fixture of the National Youth League at the AIS Athletic Track in Canberra.
With both teams sitting at the bottom of the ladder the match saw both sides play for pride as well as much needed competition points.
The home side was tackling hard in the opening minutes but a couple of offside calls left most of the possession with Brisbane which was looking for its third win in a row after a streak of losses mid-season.
An early attempt at goal from AIS- Aaron Peterson had Brisbane spooked, but keeper Matthew Acton-s low save kept the ball out of the back of the net after what should have been an easy goal for Canberra.
Midfield play from the Roar was strong early in the first half leading to some genuine opportunities in front of goal. Brisbane-s Timothy Smits was particularly impressive, keeping play punchy and the AIS on their toes.
Brisbane-s Anthony Schiavo made a solid attempt in the 19th minute after an uninterrupted surge down the field by Roar midfielders, but the difficult angle from left field saw the ball deflect off the side bar only inches away from goal.
The visitors continued to dominate in the mid stages of the first half allowing only a few brief glimpses of possession for the AIS. AIS captain Nikola Stanojevic took advantage of a loose ball in the 26th minute, making a solo run up the field only to be met by the solid Brisbane defence.
AIS keeper Aaron Lennox did well to deflect a flood of attempts by Brisbane late in the second half and in the 32nd minute the home side broke the deadlock when Mustafa Amini sent the ball low into goal after a well placed header from Patrick Dixon.
With the one goal advantage the AIS played out the end of the first half with a spring in their step, keeping possession and delivering some lively attack in front of goal.
Both sides were looking to find some rhythm early in the second half. Despite some solid pressure from the AIS, the 54th minute saw Brisbane level the scores to one apiece after Timothy Smits got hold of a loose ball and tapped it calmly into goal after a flurry inside the box.
Brisbane-s goal seemed to take a little shine off what had been a solid attacking game from the AIS. The visitors kept the ball predominately in their half and set up a number of genuine opportunities at goal. The most promising attempt to take the lead came in the 67th minute when Brisbane-s Smits featured again, driving the ball high and to the left sending Canberra keeper Acton to make an impressive diving save.
Scores remained locked into the 80th minute and the determination to score was evident from both sides. With minutes left on the clock the pressure to score continued to build and it was Brisbane who seemed to have most of the energy, out-running and out-tackling the AIS to keep the ball in its half and pressurising AIS- defenders.
In what could have been its last chance to take the lead the AIS failed to capitalise on a corner kick in the 89th minute with the ball deflecting off a Brisbane player and into its possession. This ended the home side-s chance of levelling the scores with Brisbane pushing the ball effortlessly up the field and captain Matthew Mundy sending the side-s second goal into the net, sealing the win for the Brisbane Roar.
Brisbane Roar 2 (Smits 54- Mundy 89-)
AIS 1 (Amini 32-)
At AIS Athletic Track
