A winning debut at home for Brisbane Roar coach Robbie Fowler wasn’t to be on Friday night as his side went down 1-0 to Melbourne Victory.
Victory took the match 1-0 after frustrating a Roar attack that dominated possession but were unable to convert their chances.
The win extends the Victory’s winning streak at Suncorp Stadium to four matches, since round 24 of the 2016-17 A-League season.
The match began at an intense tempo, with both teams creating chances within the first two minutes of the opening whistle, with Nabbout narrowly missing on the counter.
The Roar enjoyed the bulk of the early possession and chances in the first 15 minutes, creating plenty of early pressure but were unable to get past a strong Victory defence headed by Thomas Deng and James Donachie.
Deng and Storm Roux both earned yellow cards for their efforts to keep the Roar at bay, as the Roar relied on balls in from the wide options of Connor O’Toole and Jake McGing.
The game opened up in the 18th minute, with the Victory denied a goal through VAR after the referee waved play-on despite the raised flag of the assistant.
Less than a minute later Nabbout struck the deciding blow for the Victory, muscling past Macaulay Gillesphey to slot the ball low past the Roar keeper.
The goal seemed to rattle the Roar defence, with the Victory exploiting the space left behind as the Roar pushed forward for an equaliser.
Lacking options through the middle, the Roar relied on balls from O’Toole and Jake McGing out on the wing but they were easily handled by the Victory defence.
In the 34th minute, Nabbout pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Kenjok Athiu.
The loss of their most influential player and goalscorer allowed the Roar back into the match, with Roy O’Donovan almost scoring in the 43rd minute.
In the second half, the Roar increased the pressure on the Victory defence but were unable to convert numerous chances into goals.
The Roar were impressive tactically but were let down by heavy touches and slow play in the midfield, forcing them to continue to rely on crosses from the wide players.
Their best chance in the game in the 65th minute, as O’Donovan missed a glaring chance directly in front of goal with his shot flying over the crossbar.
A dramatic final 10 minutes provided plenty of drama for the Suncorp crowd of 12,859, with a penalty shout for handball turned down by VAR.
The game provided encouraging signs for Fowler’s men, but the Roar will need to be creative in the final third to get the goals they sorely need.
Brisbane Roar: 0
Melbourne Victory: 1 (Nabbout 19’)
Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 12,859
Referee: Kurt Ams
Assistant Referees: David Walsh, Andrew Lindsay
Fourth Official: Alex King
Brisbane Roar: Maxime Crocombe (GK), Scott Neville, Thomas Aldred, Macaulay Gillesphey, Roy O’Donovan, Bradden Inman, Aiden O’Neill, Stefan Mauk, Jake McGing (sub 85’), Connor O’Toole (sub 90’), James O’Shea, Aaron Holloway, Dylan Wenzel Halls, Jai Ingham
Unused subs: Jamie Young (GK), Jacob Pepper, Aaron Reardon, Rahmat Akbari
Melbourne Victory: Lawrence Thomas (GK), Storm Roux, James Donachie, Leigh Broxham, Andrew Nabbout (sub 34’), Nils Ola Toivonen, Thomas Deng, Elvis Kamsoba, Migjen Basha (sub 90’+), Adama Traore, Kristijan Dobras (sub 60’, Kenjok Athiu, Jakob Poulsen, Benjamin Carrigan
Unused subs: Matthew Sutton (GK), Corey Brown, Joshua Hope
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