Roar in hat-trick thriller

Brisbane fight back late

A STIRRING second-half fightback has brought Brisbane their first A-League win under Robbie Fowler, defeating league leaders Melbourne City 4-3 in a thriller.

The Roar trailed 3-1 yesterday afternoon when Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren completed a hat-trick on his return from a hamstring injury, but Irishman Roy O’Donovan’s own hat-trick secured Brisbane’s first win of the campaign. The loss is City’s first of the season but they remain top of the league on 13 points.

A win seemed unlikely when Maclaren’s first-half double in front of a near-capacity crowd of 9387 at Redcliffe’s Dolphin Stadium gave City a 2-0 halftime lead.

Fowler switched the Roar to three at the back during the break and the tactical switch paid off, with O’Donovan ending a 320-minute goal drought early in the second half before twice scoring from penalties.

Aaron Amadi-Holloway scored the other goal for the Roar, the big Welsh striker bundling home from close range in the 60th minute for his first A-League strike.

The victory was sealed after VAR official Craig Zetter spotted a handball by Denis Genreau and referee Alex King awarded the decision in the 82nd minute after consulting the pitchside monitor.

In Sydney, two goals in seven minutes have given Sydney FC a 2-1 win over ALeague rivals Melbourne Victory.

Former Victory champion now Sydney star Kosta Barbarouses scored the winning goal last night’s tense encounter at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium and made good on his pre-game promise not to celebrate.

With the match tied at 1-1, Barbarouses scored against his former club in the 68th minute after Rhyan Grant’s shot bounced off the crossbar in heavy traffic. The 16,116-strong Sydney crowd went wild, but Barbarouses was stoic as he made good on his word not to react if he scored against his former team.