No new coach bounce for Cahn as Gomes, Sky Blues hand Roar fourth straight loss
Two first-half goals from Fabio Gomes have helped Sydney FC score a 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar, moving them into the top six of the A-League Men competition.
Gomes made it four goals from three games with two first-half goals, which set up Sydney’s third straight win, lifting them four places to sixth and a point ahead of Brisbane, who suffered a fourth successive loss.
The Brazilian got great support from in-form English import Joe Lolley and livewire youngster Jaiden Kucharski, who started in place of the injured Anthony Caceres.
The Roar, who were coming off an 8-1 mauling and had a third head coach in as many games, were swamped early, but showed plenty of fight and spirit either side of halftime.
Nikola Mileusnic gave Brisbane some hope in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time when he was released by a fine pass from Florin Berenguer and lashed an unstoppable shot into the net.
The second half at Suncorp Stadium was a much more even affair, with Brisbane enjoying some good spells, but neither side created much In the way of clear-cut chances.
Roar captain Tom Aldred had a good opportunity in the closing seconds but stabbed a close-range shot straight at Sydney goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne.
The match and tenure of new Roar coach Ben Cahn couldn’t have started any worse, with his side falling behind after just 52 seconds.
Brisbane trailed after Gomes’s far post header rewarded a delightful Kucharski cross.
(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
The Sky Blues might have been out of sight by halftime as they hit the woodwork twice and had five attempts in the first ten minutes.
Gomes struck again In the 41st minute, finding the net with a classy and audacious back-heeled flick following a good cross from Lolley.
Sydney coach Ufuk Talay replaced injury-prone Jack Rodwell at halftime and within three minutes of the second half also lost Robert Mak
Mileusnic’s strike infused Brisbane with greater belief but they couldn’t grab an equaliser against a Sydney side that didn’t regularly reproduce the dangerous transition game that troubled Roar in the first half.
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