SYDNEY—A depleted Brisbane Roar put in a mighty effort under new coach Ange Postecoglou but could not stop Sydney FC returning to the top of the A-League with a heart-stopping 2-1 win on Sunday.
Despite missing experienced veterans Craig Moore, Charlie Miller and Danny Tiatto to injuries and suspension, the Roar gave everything they had on a wet afternoon at the Sydney Football Stadium.
But it was not enough to prevent their fourth straight loss and Sydney moving a point clear of Melbourne and two ahead of Gold Coast following United's shock 6-0 loss in Wellington.
After an evenly-contested first half, Sydney grabbed the game by the neck with second-half goals to striker Alex Brosque and Slovak midfielder Karol Kisel in front of just 8,456 fans.
But Brisbane pulled one back through young midfielder Isaka Cernak with 20 minutes to go and threw everything at Sydney in the tense final minutes.
"We were under pressure and my heart rate was over 200," Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka said.
"But we are happy ... It was important, another victory brings more confidence."
Postecoglou, coaching his first game since replacing sacked coach Frank Farina, took heart from his side's effort but was left to lament the fact they weren't able to take something from the game.
"It's great to be back coaching - I love that side of it," said the former Young Socceroos coach.
"But ultimately we lost the game of football which is never good.
"In terms of the effort put in by the players, no complaints.
"They set a standard today in terms of effort and organisation and discipline.
"It had everything but the result - ultimately that's what we're in the game of - so we can't be too happy with ourselves. But there were certain parts of our game that I was delighted with.
"We didn't win and we've got to turn that around pretty quickly."
Both teams had enjoyed their fair share of the chances until Brosque broke the deadlock with his second goal of the season in the 55th minute.
With marquee striker John Aloisi again starting from the bench, Sydney's attacking trio of Brosque, Mark Bridge and Steve Corica combined beautifully, with Bridge's cross headed on cleverly by veteran midfielder Corica.
Brosque then took a great first touch and steered a curling shot past Roar 'keeper Griffin McMaster.
Despite taking the lead, Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka made an attacking change by bringing on Aloisi a short time later and it paid dividends when Kisel scored his first A-League goal in the 69th minute.
Aloisi flicked on to Brosque, who sent a perfect through ball to Kisel, and the midfielder made no mistake from a tight angle.
Cernak gave the Roar hope when he brilliantly volleyed home from a Tommy Oar cross three minutes later.
But it proved to be the last goal of the game, despite the Roar pressuring Sydney's goal heavily right up until the final whistle, with Seb Ryall forced to make a crucial clearance in the final seconds.
A-League Results and Standings After Round 12
NEWCASTLE JETS 2 (Michael Bridges 8m, Labinot Haliti 14m) bt
CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 1 (Adam Kwasnik 19m) at EnergyAustralia Stadium. Crowd: 6,188. Referee: Strebre Delovski.
MELBOURNE VICTORY 3 (Mate Dugandzic 18m, 56m, Adrian Leijer 89m) bt
ADELAIDE UNITED 1 (Adam Hughes 64m) at Etihad Stadium. Crowd: 21,182. Referee: Ben Williams.
NORTH QUEENSLAND FURY 2 (Robbie Fowler 65m, Dyron Daal 71m) bt
PERTH GLORY 1 (Victor Sikora 25m) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Crowd: 6,332. Referee: Peter Green.
WELLINGTON PHOENIX 6 ( Daniel 28m, 53m, Tim Brown 48m, Chris Greenacre 54m, Paul Ifill 59m, Troy Hearfield 82m) bt
GOLD COAST UNITED 0 at Westpac Stadium. Crowd: 6,571. Referee: Peter O'Leary.
SYDNEY FC 2 (Alex Brosque 55m, Karol Kisel 69m) bt
BRISBANE ROAR 1 (Isaka Cernak 73m) at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 8,456. Referee: Matthew Breeze.
Ladder P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Sydney FC 12 7 1 4 16 10 6 22
2 Melbourne Victory 12 6 3 3 20 17 3 21
3 Gold Coast United 12 6 2 4 19 18 1 20
4 Perth Glory 12 5 2 5 17 15 2 17
5 Central Coast Mariners 12 4 4 4 13 8 5 16
6 Adelaide United 12 4 3 5 12 15 -3 15
7 *Wellington Phoenix 11 2 7 2 15 11 4 13
8 Brisbane Roar 12 3 3 6 15 20 -5 12
9 *Newcastle Jets 11 3 3 5 11 17 -6 12
10 North Queensland Fury 12 2 6 4 13 20 -7 12
*(denotes teams yet to play)
LEADING GOALSCORERS
10: Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast)
6: Serginho van Dijk (Brisbane), Robbie Fowler (North Queensland)
5: Archie Thompson (Melbourne), Carlos Hernandez (Melbourne)
4: Mark Bridge (Sydney), Matt Simon (Mariners), John Aloisi (Sydney), Branko Jelic (Perth), Victor Sikora (Perth)
