A goal in the final seconds of the game has salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Brisbane Roar against the Melbourne Victory.
It was end to end football in the first half with both sides not afraid to venture forward with Victory edging possession and number of shots.
Despite having less of the ball, it was the Roar however that looked more threatening with Lawrence Thomas twice coming out of his box to clear dangerous balls.
Corey Brown did find the back of the net for the Roar in the first half after a neat ball from Brett Holman only for the offside flag to deny the goal.
Holman was particularly dangerous for the hosts in the opening 45 getting himself into good positions only for his two shots to go wide.
The second-half lacked the intensity of the first with a flurry of yellow cards slowing down proceedings. Two of these were handed to Roar captain Matt McKay who was given his marching orders in the 66th minute.
Against ten men, the Victory pushed forward and eventually found the opening goal in the 83rd minute through Mitch Austin. The winger reacting quickest to a Ben Khalfallah cross to drill a low shot through Michael Theo.
With the game seemingly over, Brisbane then somehow managed to salvage a point in the fifth and final minute of injury time. A Tommy Oar free-kick was headed repeatedly in the Victory box before Luke De Vere somehow got a foot to the ball and looped it over a crowd of players and into the Victory net.
A fittingly dramatic way to open the A-league season with both sides likely disappointed to start their campaigns with just a point but the Victory particularly disheartened to concede so late against ten men.
Final Score:
Brisbane Roar 1
Melbourne Victory 1
The twelfth A-League season gets underway tonight with two potential heavyweights in the Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory going head to head. Join us on The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) for all of the action as the season kicks off at Suncorp Stadium.
After falling one game short of the grand final last season and one point short of the Premiers Plate, Brisbane Roar will be eager to go that one extra step to success this season. Despite off-field drama, John Aloisi has assembled quite a strong side that combines sheer experience with talented youngsters.
Bringing in Australian veteran Brett Holman, Danish midfielder Thomas Kristensen and defender Manuel Arana, all of whom are in their 30s, gives the Roar a solid foundation to build from.
With a youthful but skilful attacking trio in Jamie Maclaren, Tommy Oar and Brendon Borrello, all in their early 20s, they are sure to cause a number of defensive headaches.
One team they’ll be hoping to do just that to is the Victory, the side who denied the Roar the Premiers Plate last season as they held them to a nail-biting goalless draw in the final regular game of the season.
Although scraping into the finals last season after finishing sixth, it was an unremarkable season for the Victory.
After several high-profile departures including Kosta Barbarouses, Gui Finkler, Archie Thompson, Matthieu Delpierre (retired), Thomas Deng and Danny Vukovic, Kevin Muscat has had to recruit wisely to ensure Victory avoid another forgettable season.
The return of talented duo James Troisi and Marco Rojas was an ideal start for Muscat who also added James Donachie, Mitch Austin and Alan Baro to his off season recruits.
While missing out on Michael Essien was a blow for the side on and off the pitch, the seeds of a strong side have been sewn.
It may be the start of the season but there will still be a few missing faces from this clash. Roar will be without Dimitri Petratos who is out with an ankle injury while Connor O’Toole is on international duty.
For the Victory, Marco Rojas won’t be returning to the A-league arena just yet as he sits out through international duty while Rashid Mahazi is out through illness.
Prediction: Draw, 2-2.
In what’s shaping up to be an ideal clash to start the A-league season, join us on The Roar from 7:50pm (AEDT) to see whether the Brisbane Roar or Melbourne Victory can start it right.
Pablo
Guest
Ah give it a rest - it was't even a free kick. What kind of sanitised football do you want to see? If that was really a free kick and a yellow we'd be having penos everytime the ball was floated into a penalty area and defenders rose to head it clear.
Lionheart
Guest
'can't recall'? take a look at a replay.
hogdriller
Roar Rookie
If he pulled him back then why did Khalfallah fall down? ......and who cares what they been giving cards for in the EPL.
Holly
Guest
If you mean the incident at 94:42 in the leadup to Maclaren being fouled by Broxham when Georgevski drove the ball into Maclaren's hand while he (Maclaren) was on the ground then I can't see anyway that is a handball.
96er's
Guest
Sorry I can't recall what you are talking about, but that usually depends if the ref thinks the person penalised was going for the ball, or the man (underneath), or unfairly challenging for the ball (above). It is a non contact sport after all, but sorry I don't remember the instances but I believe you. I don't remember Khalfallah tugging Mackay's shirt, but the ref may have missed it as did I, refs will always get some things wrong, but on the balance he set a precedent and was consistent on it. I support Melb City so I am a neutral looking in, so I have no bias, I just thought the ref had a pretty good game is all.
Lionheart
Guest
consistent? no way. There were a number of inconsistent calls last night, in particular when jumping for the ball and one player being fouled but another let go. On watching the tv replay later I heard the call team say the foul was for a player being under another when he jumped, then a short while later they said another foul was for the player jumping over (above) another player. That aspect in particular looked inconsistent at the game, and on tv. On McKays second yellow, why didn't Khalfallah also get a yellow for shirt pulling? He pulled McKay's short too, and then he fell like a feather, not the first time I might add, and not the only one to have balance (standing up) issues either.
96er's
Guest
See below, but there are some good Asian refs, I agree.
96er's
Guest
This is a reply to both Lionheart and yourself:- To much of it goes on and is as disruptive (more so, because it teaches bad habits that get called out in the ACL or internationally) as a card, it's a professional foul because they didn't have the smarts and the know how to fairly stop the attacking player, so resort to cheating. Punish bad habits and cut it from our game and you will see better habits and smarter play instead. I do think you are right that they can be a bit whistle happy, there were a couple of times when play on could/should have been called and the booking done later. That is the one thing I thought he got wrong, otherwise he was consistent in his calling and the coaches and players should have been aware of it.
Lionheart
Guest
I agree Stevo, he looked great watching at the ground. He marked Broich's every step, which kept Thomas out of the game. Mind you, he marked him for two (was it three?) games in a row at the end of last season and last night was the first time Geria has come out on top. But as far as Socceroos go, how good were a number of those defenders last night. Donachie, Corey Brown, De Vere, they all have Socceroo potential I think.
j binnie
Guest
96er's - Have you ever posed the question to yourself as to why a referee has to brandish so many red or yellow cards in an effort to keep control where there are other referees who go about their business just having a quiet word in a players ear and thereby defusing the temper of a potential offender. There are a couple of referees in our system who officiate by the rule book with their hand never too far away from their pocket. Could it be the fact that they are being judged off field by one of their peers and have to be seen to be "rule book correct". If that is the case then there is a distinct possibility of ruining a game which in effect cannot be described as being "dirty" Cheers jb
Lionheart
Guest
Funny you say that. I think our refs are way too whistle happy and do our league a disservice. Watch the EPL where the games flow much more freely than the A League. I always have thought that Asian refs are the best in the world, certainly that is my experience.
96er's
Guest
Look at the rule book, an elbow to the back of the head and a shirt pull = yellow x 2
96er's
Guest
Not of the refereeing though, the ref did a good job last night and was consistent. I would rather our refs more like the Germans or the Spanish, rather than the English or the Scottish thankyou.
Cool and Cold
Guest
Frankly, Broich should retire. He has always been a good player. Fantastic contribution for years. However, time has come unlikely early. If he moves to the middle, the defense is a problem. If he moves to the bench, he may not do as good as Henrique. He is 35. Not many player can survive beyond that. If you google, the average of a soccer player is 35. All of us should face the reality, no more obsession.
Cool and Cold
Guest
Troisi should have been given a red card for a high tackle on Kristensen. The reason is being that it is at the mid of the field. Kristensen had no imminent scoring chance at all.
TK
Guest
I attended the game and thought overall it was a pretty even contest, though Roar created more scoring chances than Victory and should have been up at half time. I'm sure both teams have improvement in them and I would particularly like to see Tommy Oar start on the left flank and it might be time to push Broich into the middle of the park. Brisbane butchered some more attacking chances by continuing their habit of going sideways of backwards when opportunities for a quick ball forward would have resulted in more pressure on the defence. We also invited Victory to score in the period after McKay got sent off (nice work skipper) by retreating way back into our half. For the first hit out a draw against Victory who have been playing more regular competitive matches was probably a fair outcome - roar certainly didn't deserve to go home empty handed, but certainly had more chances to win it.
j binnie
Guest
After match interviews. Both coaches intimated to the watching public that their team had controlled the game and didn't deserve to lose. the extra points. My wife,an occasional viewer. asked the question,"Were they watching the same game as us???". Apart from the foul count the stats almost indicate that the game was actually pretty even. Makes one wonder what the"TV fan thinks of comments like that. jb ps.Thought John Kosmina gave a pretty accurate assessment of the game ,just as he did for the Socceroo game. jb.
steve
Guest
Clearly pulled him back, clear yellow card. they have been giving cards for this all season in the EPL so far. expect it to happen in the A League.. McKay should have known better already being on a yellow.
Bondy
Guest
I think these two teams will be featuring heavily come the finals .
Bfc
Guest
Late drama again...the Roar are the 'Kings of ET' @ Lang Park. Once again, Mckay's ill-discipline was costly...first 'yellow' was a poor decision by the Ref, and Khalfallah made the most of the minor shirt pull (fell over like he was shot...), but Mckay was reckless...Khalfallah was a fair way out, facing away from goal and going further away. A needless challenge...a captain needs to do better.