Brisbane Roar continued their unbeaten run with a 3-2 win over Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
In a game that delivered plenty of excitement, the Roar were dominant everywhere but the scoreboard, with Costa Rican Jean Carlos Solorzano the hero, claiming a brace after being elevated to start up front.
The Glory finished the game with only nine men after Scott Neville and Josh Mitchell were both given their marching orders late in the game for crude tackles as the last line of defence.
Brisbane overcame a sluggish start to play some of their finest football , defying their exhausting schedule, outworking and outplaying the visitors across the park.
The Glory had only the smallest slice of the possession, and their goals came against the run of play with a 67th minute penalty to substitute Robbie Fowler and long-range thunderbolt from Adrian Pellegrino in the 83rd.
Remaining undefeated at home this season, the Roar had stars across the paddock, with Thomas Broich typically brilliant and Massimo Murdocca at his best in his 100th game for the club.
The football was poor early from both sides. The Roar weren’t playing with their usual patience and the long balls were being picked off by a Glory side who were unable to initiate any offense of their own.
The Glory stuck with their highly-fancied opposition though the opening exchanges, but the visitors were forced to contend with an early setback when Naum Sekulovski limped off in the 13th minute, replaced by Steven McGarry.
Brisbane’s vaunted passing game began to click at around the half hour mark, and Ivan Franjic and Thomas Broich were able to find space to threaten.
Brisbane’s breakthrough goal in the 41st minute came from a typical Roar interchange of passing. Massimo Murdocca hit Thomas Broich’s feet, and he played to Kosta Barbarouses, who sent the through ball in for Jean Carlos Solorzano who scored his fourth goal of the season.
After the break Brisbane looked certain to have their second in the 50th minute.
Showing magical control, Broich dribbled through the area and then passed back to an open Matt McKay, but Tando Velaphi was on fire in goal, blocking the shot and then coming up with an even better save to deny Murdocca’s follow-up.
Brisbane didn’t have to wait long to see their lead double as Matt Smith headed home a pin-point corner from Broich in the 58th minute.
The Roar looked sure to run away with the contest, but it was Perth who were the next to score, when late substitute Robbie Fowler stepped up and slotted a penalty, after Luke DeVere took a shot on the upper-arm.
Minutes later Brisbane had a penalty of their own. Solorzano was streaking forward on yet another brilliant run, and as he went past Scott Neville the Glory defender took him down with a crude foul from behind.
Without regular penalty taker Reinaldo on the field, Solorzano stepped up, making no mistake to score his second of the game and fifth of the season.
Down to 10 men and with Brisbane turning up the heat, Glory defied the momentum for the second time in the match, with substitute Adrian Pellegrino firing home an absolute cracker into the top right corner from close to 30 meters out.
The action kept coming right to the end, and in injury time the Glory lost their second man, after Josh Mitchell practically begged the ref to send him off after deliberately taking Reinaldo down on the edge of the area.
Brisbane Roar:3 ( Solorzano 41, 76, Smith 58)
Perth Glory: 2 (Fowler 66, Pellegrino 83)
Crowd: 6836 at Suncorp Stadium