Brisbane Roar have moved into second in the National Youth League after an impressive 5-1 win over Melbourne Victory at Kingston Heath on Sunday afternoon.
Brisbane Roar have moved into second in the National Youth League after an impressive 5-1 win over Melbourne Victory at Kingston Heath on Sunday afternoon.
Victory went ahead early when James Jeggo capitalised on an error from goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, but Roar hit back in a stunning eight-minute period in the first half.
A deflected Victory own goal through the unfortunate Adam Nakic saw them level, before Lachlan Jackson and Tomislav Cirjak netted in the first-half.
Captain Chris Bush ensured Victory had no way back into the game shortly after the break as Roar, like their senior counterparts, controlled possession for most of the encounter, while George Lambadaridis struck a superb late free-kick to put the icing on the cake.
Worryingly for Roar, midfielder Luke Brattan, who played the last 20 minutes in the senior clash on Saturday night, came off with an injury late on.
Both teams pressed high up the park early in the contest, and it was Victory who were rewarded for their pressure on nine minutes as Redmayne's error led to the opener.
The Hyundai A-League backup was alert to pick off a lovely through ball from Hernan Espindola, but he hit his poor clearance into striker Damir Lokvancic.
Jeggo, standing 25 yards from goal, produced a delicate first-time chip over a stranded Redmayne to put Victory ahead.
But Roar finally made their dominance of possession pay and were ahead with three goals in eight minutes.
An own goal following a goalmouth scramble saw them level midway through the first half, before an unmarked Jackson powered in a header from a Kenneth Dougall corner to put Roar ahead.
Roar's stunning spell continued and they added another on 33 minutes as Cirjak tapped in a Nicholas Fitzgerald cut-back after a well-worked move.
They needed just two minutes in the second half to extend their advantage as Bush struck a Dougall corner sweetly past Rani Dowisha from 18 yards.
Victory continued to struggle defending set-pieces as Roar had several chances, while Redmayne and Dowisha were both forced into good stops in the second half.
After Brattan was forced off following a rash challenge, Lambadaridis stepped up to curl a brilliant 25-yard free-kick into the top corner to leave Victory winless after two outings.
Melbourne Victory 1 (Jeggo 9) Brisbane Roar 5 (og26, Jackson 28, Cirjak 33, Bush 47, Lambadaridis 84)