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Early in the game Perth was able to keep the ball in attacking territory by pressing up high on the Brisbane defence and making it difficult for the Roar to pass it out from the back as they like.
By the 10th minute mark though, Brisbane settled and were working the ball up the pitch nicely. Liam Miller was shown yellow by referee Jared Gillett for a challenge on Erik Paartalu while on the break, further exciting the orange-clad crowd.
Perth fans would have had their heart in their throat 15 minutes in when star striker Shane Smeltz went down after a stray elbow from Roar captain Matt Smith. Medical staff were on the field of play for at least five minute while Smeltz, who remained flat on his stomach throughout, was given a most attractive head bandage to stop his upper lip from gushing crimson.
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| Smeltz receiving medical attention |
After Besart Berisha fluffed a genuine chance in front of goal, left back Ivan Franjic went painfully close in the 40th minute finding what seemed like acres of space on the edge of the box to put a shot on goal. Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic was up to the task, though it was clear the Roar were starting cracks to find in the Perth defence.
Going into the break 0-0 Glory coach Ian Ferguson must have been proud. But in the 51st minute, the lively Scotsmen would have been ecstatic when his side got the lead.
A strong movement forward from Perth got the visitors into position when Billy Mehmet spread it wide to Travis Dodd in the box. His cross was blocked, but his ensuing second attempt was lazily handled by Franjic in close quarters, leaving Michael Theoklitos only able to watch as the ball trickled into the net, sending an eerie hush across Lang Park.
Brisbane remained hungry after conceding, launching a full-pronged attack on Perth. Postecoglou made the bold decision to sub off last season’s miracle man Erik Paartalu, closely followed by Murdocca and Henrique.
The injection of Luke Brattan, James Meyer and Nick Fitzgerald did up the tempo for the Roar, but finding that elusive equaliser was becoming increasingly difficult as the 90 minute mark approached.
Ferguson must have felt the win was imminent, hedging his bets by subbing off Shane Smeltz still a good ten minutes from fulltime. Soon left with just ten men on the pitch after Heffernan received his second yellow of the night, the decision would prove to be a giant risk four minutes later.
Who else but mega-poacher Besart Berisha to bring the Roar back into the game in the 84th minute on the end of a perfectly lobbed cross from German whiz, Thomas Broich. The noise that followed from the 50,334 in attendance was near deafening; an audible sigh of relief.
Then the game-winner. Albanian drew anger from Glory fans in four minutes of injury time to get an unbelievable penalty after losing his feet in the area. Referee Jared Gillett controversially pointed to the spot despite raucous protests from Perth players where replays showed the striker simply fell over with his feet in a tangle.
Still, Berisha converted and the goal counted, sending orange masses into a frenzy and making Brisbane Roar Hyundai A-League champions for the second consecutive season.
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| Berisha scoring the much-discussed penalty |