Red cards a plenty as Rochedale secures victory.

Rochedale Rovers secured a comprehensive 5-1 win against a fiesty Brisbane City side in what was a controversial match that featured three red cards and the ejection of the Brisbane City coach.

Brisbane City will look back at this rescheduled Round One fixture as an opportunity lost with the home side well in the hunt at half time trailing by only one goal.

A tight opening to the match saw City and Rocehdale look to attack down the middle of the field, however staunch defending from both sides meant the game evolved into a tough midfield battle with neither side creating any quality oppurtunites.

After 20 minutes of play the deadlock was finally broken when Rochedale Rovers winger Reuben Way clinically dispatched his shot into the top right corner of the net after being played in with an acurate ball from Steve Unsworth to give the away side a 1-0 lead.

Brisbane City looked to strike back quickly and did so in the 26th minute through a set piece. Midfielder Bo Hyung gave the Rochedale keeper no hope, hitting the top right corner from 30 out to level the scores at 1-1.

Both sides were desperate to take a lead into the half time break and it was Rochedale who took the initiative in the 39th minute through star play Tim Smits.

A deadly accurate long ball from Unsworth found Smits on the edge of the box before the winger turned his defender and skillfully flicked the ball into the back of the net to give his side a 2-1 lead.

Only seconds later it went from bad to worse for Brisbane City when referee David Wiebe sent Brisbane City captain Craig Collins from the field, brandishing a red card when the City skipper questioned the Rochedale goal.

The final moments of the first half were all Rochedale as the away side dominated possesion and were unlucky not to improve on their score going into half time leading 2-1.

The match nearly suffered a premature end only minutes into the second half when Wiebe threatened to abandon the game after Brisbane City coach Bobby Hamilton ignored match officals instructions to leave the technical area.

The match resumed five minutes later with Brisbane City’s gaffer escorted away by ground officials; Rochedales dominance not wavering after the short break, going close to adding a third goal to their total just seconds after the restart.

With the away side controlling the majority of possesion, Brisbane City was forced to rely on quick counter attacks if they were to have any chance of equalizing, however the Rochedale defence managed to recover on a number of occasions to leave their opponents clutching at straws.

Although proving too much in defence for Brisbane city, Rochedale could not capitlise on their extended time on the ball, missing a number of clear cut chances and leaving city with a feint hope of taking atleast a point away from the match.

However in a twist of irony it was Brisbane City who killed off any chance they had at equalising when a mix up in the box resulted in an own goal off the foot of City defender Luke Farinazzo with Rochedale finding themselves 3-1 ahead with 20 minutes to play.

Referee Wiebe continued to have a strong impact on the match when he sent off Callum Hare and Si Jeong for dangerous tackles in the 70th and 75th minute to leave the home side with only eight players on the field.
Rovers captilised on the three man advantage almost immdietley when Greg Cheshire raced through the tired City defence to take a 4-1 lead in the 85th minute

Rochedale put a final nail in the coffin for Brisbane City when Way added a second goal to his tally in the final stages of the match, tapping home at the far post to give the away side a comprehensive 5-1 victory at full time.

The win see’s Rochedale cement their position at number two on the table nine points shy of competition leaders Wolves FC, while Brisbane City are left languishing in the relegation zone in 12th position desperate to regain some form over the coming weeks.