A double from Brisbane striker Josh McVey has seen the Roar register their first victory for the 2009/10 National Youth League season, a 3-1 triumph over Perth Glory at Goodwin Park.
A frenetic opening 13 minutes saw both sides concede before the game started to settle and McVey came to the fore.
The 18-year-old made the most of some wobbly defensive work from Perth to grab the lead in the 43rd minute, before sealing the result in the 68th with a searing strike that Glory keeper Alex Pearson could do little about.
McVey – free in the box with Pearson out of the equation – then had a golden chance to snatch a hat-trick in the final play of the game, but he failed to connect with the loose ball.
The Roar had a handy chance to open the scoring in the sixth minute when McVey’s cheeky chip flew a tad too high before Pearson was forced to collect the ball from the back of his net after an own goal.
Pearson was looking to defuse a threatening Luke Bratten cross but instead watched in horror as the ball deflected into the net after crashing into Glory defender Steve Hesketh.
Perth, who also had a couple of handy opportunities in the opening stages – most notably when David Price found space in the box , collected the ball and steadied but was unable to pull the trigger – needed just four minutes to find the equaliser.
Roar keeper Matt Acton managed to produce a spectacular save when he blocked a firm striker from Andrija Jukic, but Ludovic Voi was quick to pounce on the crumbs and level the scores.
The chances continued to come thick and fast in what was a free-flowing contest.
Hesketh almost made it two own goals when another unintentional deflection saw the visitors make a frantic clearance off the goal line, before Bratten and Jordan Farina went tantalisingly close.
The deadlock was finally broken when a defensive mix-up saw McVey grab the lead in the most straightforward fashion.
Hesketh continued his forgettable day when a sloppy pass from Scott Bulloch allowed McVey to dispossess the central defender without trouble, canter into the box and fire calmly with only the keeper to beat.
The visitors started the second half in excellent touch.
Bulloch fired wide in the 56th minute and soon after Acton produced a wonderful save to deny Million Butshiire, before the Congolsese-born striker tested Acton again in the 67th minute.
The Glory continued to search desperately but their momentum was significantly haltered when Stefan Vrbesic found McVey with a pinpoint cross and the margin was extended to two goals.
The Roar had a bevy of chances to further extend their lead at the death, the best of which came to McVey, but it was not to be.
National Youth League
Brisbane Roar 3 (own goal [Hesketh] 9, McVey 43, 68)
Perth Glory 1 (Ludovic Boi 13)
