Roar Draw To Finish Campaign

Kofi and Bes celebrate a well worked goal

Brisbane Roar finished their Asian Champions League campaign and their season in total by drawing with Beijing Guoan at Suncorp Stadium overight.  The match saw Brisbane dominate for large periods of the game and create a myriad of chances that they spurned and ultimately they were hit with a sucker punch to end with a 1-1 draw.

Rado Vidosic made a number of forced changes to his squad with Matt Smith, Shane Stefanutto and Henrique all unavailable through injury.  This meant Mohamad Adnan paired with Matt Jurman in the centre of defence while youth team fullback Corey Brown made his debut or the club.  Massimo Murdocca replaced Luke Brattan in midfield while Kofi Danning start on the right wing.  I'm no expert on the Beijing players but apparently with nothing to play for in this match they played a largely experimental side.

From the outset Brisbane were on the front foot and creating chances.  Both Berisha and Nichols headed wide from almost identical positions before a clinical play from Roar opened the scoring.  Nichols played Danning in behind the Beijing defence and the winger squared a precision ball for Berisha who finished clinically with his left foot despite pressure from the keeper.  The chances kept coming for Brisbane but they weren't being taken.  I really couldn't help but get a sense of an impending scenario of us being made to pay for our wastefulness.  Sure enough a midfield turnover of the ball saw Beijing attack an out of position Brown and their player ripped home a stinging long range shot that virtually unsavable.  From there on it was more of the same from Brisbane and we created chance after chance after chance but never could find the back of the net.  The best of the chances came in the second half when Berisha was denied by the base of the post.

So sadly we finished our ACL campaign winless with three draws and three losses.  We should though take plenty from our campaign.  We have seen that our brand of possession play can work in Asia and we won plaudits from our opponents throughout the campaign for our style of play.  Most notably the FC Tokyo fans applauded our boys off the pitch when we played over there.  But we need to capitalise on the chances we create as we wasted a lot of great goal scoring opportunities throughout the campaign.  Finally we have to cut down the mistakes as we got punished so many times when we made them.  It was also great to see youngsters like Nick Fitzgerald and Corey Brown step up and show that they could handle Asian football.

Watching us over the last two games it is interesting to see where we will be headed under the leadership of Rado Vidosic.  It certainly looks like we will be playing with more tactical freedom which is excellent to see as I believe that is the next logical step and one that Postecoglou should have made six months ago.  I'm not talking about major departures from our typica system but slight variations that can allow us to adapt to changing circumstances in games.  It also looks like our players are being given a bit more freedom to play within the system.

We may though lose Mitch Nichols in the off-season as he is off for a trial with Danish second tier club Randers.  They look set for promotion and see the midfielder as a key addition to their squad.  If he does go you would hope we get a nice wad of cash for him.  It also looks like we are set to sign one of the two Koreans who have been trialling with the club.  Mohamad Adnan is also close to making a call as to whether he will accept an extension to his contract.

I'd like to send a shout out to the guy who stopped me to say hello as I walked into the stadium.  I was pretty shocked to find someone who enjoys reading the shit that I've been churning out, so all the best mate.

On a final note I'll be taking a bit of a hiatus from Foggy @ Night over the next couple of months.  I'm heading to Spain for a five week holiday as of this weekend so I'll be a little busy with tapas and cervezas to be posting to this blog.

Hasta luego mis amigos!

Roar Retain Pulling Power

Halloran to wear orange next season

Any suggestion that Brisbane Roar would lose it's ability to attract and retain players with the departure of Ange Postecoglou has been quickly dispelled with the club today announcing it's first major off-season signing.  Gun Gold Coast United winger Ben Halloran was today unveiled as the reigning champion's new player having inked a three year deal with the club.

Halloran is regarded as one of the hottest young talents in the league and was a target of Postecoglou at Melbourne Victory.  But showing that there is much more to Brisbane Roar than just the coach, Halloran has decided to join Roar rather than head to Melbourne.  Ultimately the lure of playing in Asia, training in the best set up in the league and with some of the league's best players won over Halloran.

Official press release.

Rado's Time To Shine As Postecoglou Defects

It has been the A-League's worst kept secret but over the last couple of days events have occurred that have finally put to rest the future of Ange Postecoglou.  On Tuesday he resigned from his position as head coach of Brisbane Roar.  On Wednesday Rado Vidosic was named as his successor and today the inevitable news that Ange Postecoglou had signed with Melbourne Victory was announced.

Obviously it is a big blow for Brisbane but hopefully the club is well set up enough to continue on in the same direction.  With Vidosic at the helm we still have the same tactical nous that was a significant factor over the last two seasons.  In addition it was his scouting skills that identified star players like Thomas Broich and Besart Berisha.  He has already committed to continuing on with the same football philosophy and while he may tweak a few things he won't be making wholesale changes.  In addition Ken Stead, the key to the club's fitness and ability to so often run out games as the opposition wilted, is still at the club.  Top this off with the fact that the vast majority of the playing staff are still under contract and I don't see any reason to be reaching for the panic button.  The major concern is more about whether Rado can transition from loyal assistant to hard nosed head coach.  He is highly qualified having been assistant at the Roar from day one and he also holds his pro licence.  The players have immediately thrown their support behind him so it doesn't look like there should be major issues.

Victory are obviously hoping that Postecoglou can repeat his success at Brisbane with the fallen A-League giants.  The scene is set for him to be able to do it.  The majority of players are off contract and he can shape much of the squad as he wishes.  But he needs to be able to find the right players and backroom staff to support his approach.  As much as he has been lauded as the man who turned around Brisbane the efforts of Vidosic and Stead should not be underestimated.  He needs to have the right staff behind him to ensure the squad is not just recruited correctly but trained and conditioned.  The other big challenge he faces is that unlike at Brisbane he is not going to be springing any surprises.  Two seasons ago we caught everyone by surprise and the league has been playing catch up ever since.  Next season everyone knows exactly how Victory will play already because they have seen it for two years with Brisbane and we all know that he will not shy away from that approach.  Brisbane already know his approach inside out, and as has been seen in the second half of this season, many other teams have found away to combat the system and push Brisbane. Those same game plans will presumably serve them well against Victory now.

It's going to be very interesting to see how both these clubs go next season.

Roar Repeat As Champions

Brisbane Roar, champions yet again

Never let it be said that a trip to Suncorp Stadium to watch Brisbane Roar isn't without its drama.  Yesterday's A-League grand final once again proved that the game well and truly isn't over until the fat lady has sung.  Having won last season's grand final in a penalty shoot out after being two goals down with only minutes to go, the Roar once staged a miracle comeback with two late goals seeing stage another epic comeback.

Smeltz, bloodied and battered

It's tough to know where to start with this post because there is just so much to talk about, but we'll start with the simple facts.  The match itself wasn't a classic and the football itself was pretty ordinary.  Perth battled hard and made life tough for Roar all afternoon, but their game-plan was more one of victory by attrition than anything else.  However their plan did reap rewards and Brisbane, despite having the statistical advantage throughout the match, really struggled to impose their own game on the match.  A scoreless first half played out in front of fans with little the way of goal mouth action.  Mitch Nichols had the best of the first half chances when he fired a shot straight at Danny Vukovic, while Mohamad Adnan fired a header over the target after dropping his marker at a set piece.  The most dramatic moment of the first half was the early collision between Glory striker Shane Smeltz and Brisbane captain Matt Smith.  Smeltz came off the worst after his reckless challenge and received a stray elbow that left him lying bloodied on the pitch.  He battled on through the majority of the match with a bandage wrapped around his head before heading off for surgery to repair the facial wounds.

Berisha, two goal hero

As has so often been the case the Roar started the second half badly and within six minutes found themselves a goal down when a Travis Dodd cross was clumsily bundled into the goal by Roar defender Ivan Franjic.  As the half wore on it looked like the home side were just never going to find an equaliser yet alone a match winner and the likelihood of a second championship were drifting away with the passing minutes.  Changes were made with first Nick Fitzgerald and Luke Brattan coming in Erik Paartalu and Massimo Murdocca before James Meyer came in for Henrique.  But nothing seemed to be working for the home side.  Then Brisbane's two star players delivered a moment of quality that saw them back in the match.  Thomas Broich swung in a pinpoint cross from the left flank and Besart Berisha capitalised on poor marking and leapt high to head home the equaliser with aplomb.  Suddenly Brisbane were on the rise and the 50,000 strong crowd sensed another remarkable comeback.  In the first minute of injury time Perth, who had sailed all to close to the limits with the physicality all afternoon, transgressed yet again and Dean Heffernan earned his second yellow card to leave his side a man down.  Then with only second left on the clock Broich found Berisha on the edge of the box and the Albanian won his side a penalty which he calmly slotted home to earn  a grand final win.

As you can imagine a last second penalty certainly made for a dramatic ending and much debate has raged about whether it was a penalty or not.  Seeing it live my first instinct was penalty.  Seeing the replay on the big screen I changed my mind and thought no penalty as it looked like Berisha just fell over taking an airswing.  But watching the close up replays on Fox once I got home, and also taking into account the position of the referee, I am putting it into the 'it could go either way' category and giving the referee the benefit of the doubt for calling it as he saw it.  Though I'm pretty sure I would feel differently if we had been on the other side of the call.  What did emerge on the replays was that while Berisha did fall over taking an airswing he had earlier had his standing leg contacted by Liam Miller while he was mid-stride and almost planting it.  This pushed his foot into the ball, the ball moved and as Berisha adjusted he lost balance and had the airswing.  Sadly many fans, journalists and even Perth owner Tony Sage plumbed the depths of dignity with their behaviour post match and some of their comments and suggestions.  I'll leave it at that as their pathetic behaviour doesn't deserve any further comment.

Anyway that's it for Brisbane Roar this season.  They have now etched their names into history in two ways. First they broke the all codes record for going unbeaten and now they have become the first team in the A-League to successfully defend a title.  Congratulations to all involved at the club for their great efforts.

Brisbane will now focus on finishing their Asian Champions League campaign, one that sadly looks set to end at the group stage.  It's been a tough learning experience for the boys but we now have another campaign next season so hopefully we can take what we learn and do it better next time.  That may or may not be with Ange Postecoglou at the helm.  Debate continues over whether he will remain in Brisbane or defect to Melbourne Victory.  Possibly a decision will be made this week and to be honest it can't come soon enough.  I think it's caused way too many distractions over the last month and everyone is getting a little tired of the will he or won't he speculation.

A-League Set For Long Winter Of Discontent

Just a week remains in the A-League's seventh season before yet another long off-season begins.  But unlike most off-seasons where the talk is focussed on player movements and coaching changes the focus this time will be on the league's ongoing off-field issues.  These issues have taken yet another major twist with the recent walking out of Newcastle Jets owner Nathan Tinkler.

The FFA looked to have successfully negotiated the removal of the troublesome Gold Coast United owner Clive Palmer.  His ongoing Football Australia sideshow is little more than nuisance value.  The threat of legal action over the withdrawal of his licence is still hanging there but based on the first round it seems the FFA has its books in order and have Palmer where they want him.

As anticipated the FFA has pulled the plug on Gold Coast United, a move that at the end of the day they had no other option but to do.  Much can be made of the negative aspects of another failed club in Queensland but at the end of the day Palmer left a club that was a basket case and with virtually no support it was not a viable option to lump upon new investors.  Talk ensues that Football Queensland will help to back a Gold Coast team in the National Youth League and this would be an excellent move.  Hopefully too, a retrospective move to do this up in North Queensland will be considered as well.

The FFA's commitment to a ten team competition has seen them take the bold step of backing a new franchise in Western Sydney.  The FFA will fund and oversee the building of the team and hopes to sell it off to investors in a couple of years.  Its a risky move and you have to wonder just whether it would have been smarter to bring Canberra in given the strong base they have with their W-League team.  But western Sydney has long been considered the missing jewel in the league's crown so the FFA has rolled the dice and will gamble on getting the strong fan support from football's so-called heartland.

The FFA looked like they were on a bit of a roll after meeting with the club owners and announcing a new joint committee to give a stronger voice on decision making to the club's.  The committee will have three representatives of the FFA and three from the clubs.  It is a move lauded by the owners and as long as they are able to use it to set direction and make genuine change then it should be a great evolutionary step for the league and its operating model.

But any sense of progress was heavily rained upon by another act of gross stupidity from one of the league's billionaire owners.  On the day of the A-League awards Nathan Tinkler announced he was handing his licence back due to ongoing losses and a lack of faith in the FFA.  Immediately the media ran with reports of a league in crisis but the FFA immediately nailed Tinkler to the wall by announcing that he was not entitled to do so and that would hold him liable for the entirety of his contract which runs until 2020.

Tinkler seems to be sticking to his guns and has stated the issues that formed the basis of his decision.

• The ongoing significant financial losses that club owners face
• The $5,000,000 purchase fee for the Jets
• The ongoing saga over Jason Culina's contract

It's all well and good for Tinkler to feel aggrieved but at the end of the day he has sod all grounds to hand back his licence. With regard to the purchase price, how much does he think the Jets were worth?  Much is made by him and Clive Palmer about the differences in what they paid.  But Palmer merely acquired a licence to club that needed to be built from gound up.  Tinkler bought an existing club and that includes assets such as the playing squad.  The average value of A-League players in the international transfer market is around a quarter of a million dollars which in a squad of twenty or more pretty much makes up the price before even worrying about anything else that came with it.

As for the Culina situation, it was the club's decision to sign an injured and uninsurable player.  I'm not sure what they think their gripe here is.

At the end of the day Tinkler is behaving just like a cashed up bogan totally out of his depth, something that he is at the end of the day.  Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has lambasted Tinkler's actions as has Adelaide's Greg Griffin who cannot seen any basis for Tinkler to attempt to walk away from his contract.

The FFA has stood firm on Tinkler and have said they intend to pursue him legally for the full compensation. It's a strong and one that ultimately they must do.  Palmer and Tinkler have attempted to bully the league into doing things their way.  The FFA has stood by its convictions, made small and intelligent concessions and will hopefully see out this tumultuous period.

What is for sure is that the next six months are vital for the future of the league.  They must get West Sydney right.  Expansion has almost become a dirty word after the failures of North Queensland and Gold Coast.  If they stand up this new club correctly then it shows that the FFA has a genuine blue print for expansion and the failures have been due to exceptional factors.  Get it wrong and its a very different story.

It is certainly looking like much of the next six months could be spent in court fighting Tinkler and Palmer.  Both cases are must win for the FFA.  They have to put Palmer to sleep for good.  His so-called inquiry into the game has reportedly only attracted a handful of submissions so if the FFA can back their decision to remove him from the game with a successful journey through the courts then he really has no comeback.  The Tinkler case is different, its about keeping Newcastle funded and the club up and running.  The FFA should seek an immediate injunction against Tinkler to ensure he meets all the necessary final obligations required to keep the club running and put in place an interim board to run the club until new ownership can be found.  Regardless major damages should be sought and secured from Tinkler.

Its a long wait from after Sunday's grand final until the start of next season.  There is going to be an interesting series of events unfold that could see the local game's future hang on their outcomes.  Here's hoping that the FFA weather the storm and emerge on the other side with a stronger lead.

Glory Head To Brisbane After Mariner Upset

McGlinchey rues a costly miss

Perth Glory have grabbed a berth in their first A-League grand final after a penalty shootout against the Central Coast Mariners.  The Mariners were favourites to progress to the league's show piece event and their favouritism appeared justified when Adam Kwasnik gave them the lead 33 minutes into the game.  But the Mariners have garnered a bit of a habit of being a team unable to go on with the job over the years and when they conceded to Shane Smeltz just minutes later it appeared that once again they may be letting a glorious chance slip away from them.  Once again the Mariners found themselves complaining about an offside decision but at the end of the day the linesman was required to make a line ball decision in a split second and his decision to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking side should be commended.

The decision seemed to set the Mariners on edge and they snatched at numerous chances to put themselves back in line for a trip to Brisbane.  The worst of which was a penalty miss by the usually reliable Patrick Zwaanswijk just short of the hour mark.  That miss looked to be setting the tone for the remainder of the match with the Mariners failing to find a way to close out the match.  To the obvious delight of Brisbane Roar the match finished level and headed into an extra thirty minutes but again neither side was able to close it out and penalties ensued.

The shootout proceeded in regulation fashion with all the takers finding the back of the net.  But tragedy then hit the Mariners on their fourth attempt when Michel McGlinchey blazed wildly over the bar.  That miss left Jacob Burns to wrap the match up and he duly finished with aplomb to give the sandgropers a first taste of grand final action.

Roar Set Up Orange Sunday Version 2

Brattan salutes the faithful

Brisbane Roar have secured the right to host back to back grand finals after pulsating second leg semi final clash with Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.  The Roar raced out of the blocks and looked have the contest in the bag, but the Mariners staged a gallant come back and pushed Roar right to the end.

Having to back up from a grueling mid-week journey to Korea the Roar at least had the luxury of being able to field a full strength side.  Both Mohamad Adnan ane Henrique returned to the side after being rested for the mid-week clash.  Graham Arnold was also not tested by injury but still opted for a tactical change and a few different personnel after last weekend's unsuccessful trip to Brisbane.

Down two goals the last thing the Mariners needed to do was concede a goal to Brisbane, but unfortunately for them that is just what they did.  From an early free kick Thomas Broich found the back of the net to the protests of the Mariners who felt that Mitch Nichols should have been called offside.  It was a tricky one for the referee as he did make a run to where the ball was delivered but seemed to realise his error and ducked away from the ball allowing it make it's way to the keeper.  If the Mariners were incensed by that goal they were humbled shortly after when Nichols doubled Roar's lead after he and Henrique mesmerised their defence.  Two goals up and it seemed as though Roar were heading to the grand final in a canter.

Things can change quickly in a game of football though and suddenly the Mariners had staged a monumental comeback to give themselves a sniff of  victory.  First it was Patrick Zwaanswijk who pegged on back with a long range bomb after dispossessing Besart Berisha and then Adam Kwasnik capitalised on the Roar defence failing to get the ball out of the box and parity for this leg was restored.

If the Mariners were unhappy with the first Roar goal being allowed to stand they were further incensed when they made a claim for what would have been a tough hand ball call on Henrique.  But there were decisions that could have gone either way and Zwaanswijk was lucky to not see red after a blatant hand ball in midfield prevented Henrique from being played through on goal.  The Mariners pushed and pushed for extra goals and it was a case of they would either get them or get knocked out trying.  It turned out to be the latter when Berisha played in Henrique and the little winger nipped past Matt Ryan and slid the ball into an open goal.  In the end the match finished 5-2 on aggregate to Brisbane and the final will travel north for the second year in succession.

The FFA will certainly be happy with Brisbane's victory and no doubt will be hoping that a repeat of last season's 50,000 attendance can be produced.

Brisbane can now sit back and nurse their wounds, indeed Murdocca, Berisha and Hingert all seemed to pick up knocks.  They will get next weekend off as the Mariners now take on Perth Glory who last night put away the Wellington Phoenix in a pulsating extra time win.  Brisbane can then warm up for the grand final with a home ACL fixture against Ulsan Hyundai.  The Mariners now face a less than perfect schedule with a game against Perth next weekend before heading over to Korea to play Seongnam Ihlwa Chunma.  After that they will have to head back to Brisbane, provided of course that they successfully negotiate the preliminary final against Perth.

Hopefully we will see the Mariners qualify for a repeat of last year's grand final and we get an absolute sell out at Suncorp Stadium.

Desperately Seeking Postecoglou

Ange targetted again

Will he or won't he seems to have become the perennial post-season question in the A-League.  While the season may not yet be over it is for a number of teams, and that includes Melbourne Victory.  So with their season now in hiatus it seems their annual coveting of Brisbane Roar coach is now getting back into full swing.

On the weekend it was announced that Jim Magilton had pulled out of the race to be Victory's full time manager.  Days earlier it had seemed that Magilton had the role signed sealed and delivered, well at least that was what the media had us believing.  But then suddenly it seemed he was having to make up the numbers on a shortlist of candidates and Jim was on the first flight back to Europe.

So then all of a sudden it was former Chelsea player and West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola who was wending his way to Melbourne for talks with the Victory board.  Yep, this time it was truly a done deal and Zola was keen for the job because his daughter is living in Melbourne.  Well that was the story up until his representatives publicly stated that the story wasn't true and that Zola wasn't having talks with Victory.

But that was OK now becuase the true story was definitely emerging this time.  Yes now we hear that it's Roar coach Ange Postecoglou who is signed, sealed and delivered and will be Victory's new coach.  Apparently the lure of living in Melbourne and coaching Austrlia's biggest club was just too much to refuse.  And let's not even be dissuaded by the fact that Ange still has two years to run on his current Roar deal and that Roar's new owners are preparing to give him a new upgraded deal that sees him central to the Bakrie group's entire football strategy.

The big question now is whether there is any substance in this.  First of all there seems to be a lot of random rumours coming out about what is going on at Victory.  Both the Magilton and Zola stories were backed by journalists who claimed to have got the facts from reliable sources, but they fell over very quickly.  Now we're supposed to believe the story about Postecoglou is true.  To further throw water on the flames the Courier Mail has actually reported that Ange is about to sign a new extended deal at Brisbane that will see his role extended within the Bakrie Group of football teams.  This article also contained a series of quotes about this from Roar director Chris Fong.  Actual quotes are something that have been glaringly missing from the Postecoglou to Victory articles, as has journalists willing to put their names to the articles.

So is Ange leaving Brisbane?  At the end of the day, despite all the bluster from down south, I very much doubt it. We went through all this after last season and Ange said time and time again that he was here for the long term and had only just begun the job here.  On top of this we've already had a bunch of baseless stories about other managers.  I'm sure Victory will find their new manager soon, maybe he is already signed, but will it be Ange?  The baseless hype from down south says so, it's just a pity for them that all the signs from the man himself and his club are that it isn't going to happen.

Roar Seize Finals Advandtage

Henrique grabbed the opener

It's becoming a real rivalry between Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners and it is being built on the back on a succession of big finals matches over the last couple of years.  Today's clash at Suncorp Stadium just another in this epic series of matches and Brisbane ran out victors 2-0.

Both sides went into the match at full strength but Graham Arnold pulled a small tweak to his starting line up opting to go with a 4-3-2-1 formation that saw both Mustafa Amini and Tom  Rogic playing in behind Bernie Ibini-Isei.  But it seemed that sticking to a working plan was the order of the day and the Roar took the ascendency in the opening half immediately slipping into their familiar passing game.  They looked set to take an early lead when Henrique won a penalty after a challenge from Josh Rose, but the little Brazilian saw his shot saved by Matt Ryan.  It took the winger just a minute to atone however and from the ensuing corner he poked home a loose ball from right in front.  From there the Roar dominated the opening half and it was just a number of outstanding saves from Ryan in the Mariners' goal that kept the visitors in the game.  The second half saw the Roar placed under more pressure but they kept their lead intact.  Late on Erik Paartalu rattled the crossbar with a powerful strike that could have put the match beyond doubt.  As with Henrique earlier in the match he was granted a second chance shortly after and he received a lay off from Broich after the German had danced around a number of defenders in the Mariners' box.  This time he drove it into the back of the net to put the match beyond doubt.

So that gives Brisbane a distinct advantage heading into the second leg next weekend in Gosford.  The Mariners have now had their hand forced and they must now go out and chase the game to reel in the deficit.  Rather than sit back and play us on the counter they are going to have to chase the game from the outset as they now need three goals to win this outright.  The Roar won't back away from the game and will no doubt go looking for a vital away goal that will put the match even further out of the reach of the Mariners.  All in all it shapes up as a another epic encounter in this burgeoning rivalry.

Off Field Signs Good For Roar

Brisbane Roar may not have defended its premiership title, but a narrow second placed finish behind the Mariners is a sign that a period of extended success is a genuine possibility for the club.  But it's not just it's on-field performance that will have the club's owners smiling.  At the end of the regular season the signs are good that Brisbane's performance on the field may be finally starting to reflect off it.

News out of the club today has shown significant growth in three key metrics over the last season.  Attendances, memberships and corporate sales have all shown great improvement over recent seasons.  Last season the club posted a regular season average attendance of 9,279.  This season has seen that figure leap 42% to 13,157.  The early seasons of the A-League saw the Roar post higher averages but this is the first time since 2008-2009 that the club has averaged over 10,000 and its the fourth best season average so far.  Weather hasn't been the kindest to the Roar even with many home games carrying the threat of rain.  It's a great result, albeit one that we would have loved to have seen gone higher, but it is certainly a sign that things are moving in the right direction again.

In addition to crowd averages the Roar have also seen a huge increase in the number of memberships.  In all over seasons the number of memberships sold was ridiculously low, but apparently this season they have leapt by 262%.  The fact that we now still have just 4,459 members shows just how low those numbers once were.  I'm sure that an off-season target will be to show another huge leap in these numbers.  I'd love to see that number double ahead of next season.

In other good news it seems our corporate sales have markedly increased as well with the club announcing a 211% increase over the course of the season.

With strong ownership now at the healm its great to see the club recovering in some of the areas off the pitch where they had lost ground over recent seasons.  It is certainly a sign that perhaps now the corner has been turned and we can begin growing season after season.

Late Strike Nabs Derby Delight

Lambadaaridis celebrates his stunning winner

Brisbane Roar rounded out its 2011-2012 A-League campaign with late win over local rivals Gold Coast United.  In what was most likely the last ever instalment of the derby both sides had little but pride to play for.  Earlier in the day the Central Coast Mariners wrapped up the premiership with a win in Wellington leaving Roar unable to knock them off top spot, meanwhile the Gold Coast were already consigned to the bottom of the table after Adelaide United grabbed a point against Melbourne Heart on Friday night.

Faced with a dead rubber Ange Postecoglou took the opportunity to rest a number of key players and give some of his younger team members a run.  Youth team defender James Donachie was the bolter, making a start in the heart of the Roar defence while Andrew Redmayne, Luke Brattan, Jack Hingert and Kofi Danning also got starts.

Despite the reshuffled line up the Roar looked very much to be business as usual as they slipped into their familiar pattern of passing and movement.  But against a defence that was sitting back deep it was hard to prise GCU open and as has often been the tale, the Roar were hit on the counter attack.  Former Brisbane youth defender Daniel Bowles raced onto a long ball over the top and blasted a shot past Redmayne to give the home side a first half lead.  Brisbane brought Nick Fitzgerald in for Kofi Danning at the break and after a number of near misses the move worked its magic with the young winger grabbing a well taken goal to square the ledger.  Brisbane kept pushing for the win and Berisha should have found it when he bizarrely skied a shot from point blank range over the cross bar.  With the match seemingly destined for a draw despite the efforts of both sides it was second half substitute George Lambadaridis who grabbed the headlines with a sublime curling shot from outside the box that flew past Jerrad Tyson to send the three points back to Brisbane.

So ultimately Brisbane rounded out their season with a win and finish just two points short of Central Coast Mariners in their bid to defend their premiership title.  Ultimately they will look back to that that costly five game run mid-season where they sunk into a losing streak and think about what might have been.  Attention now turns to the semi-finals and Brisbane will host Central Coast Mariners next Saturday in the first leg to see who makes it into the grand final.

What was most satisfying out of tonight's game was the performance of our youngsters.  Both Lamabadaridis and Fitzgerald grabbed us vital goals and James Donachie was very good in his debut.  It's a good sign that what is coming out of our youth set up is more than good enough to transition into the senior team.