Brisbane Roar moved into the box seat for an A-League finals berth after defeating the Western Sydney Wanderers 1-0 on Sunday.

In-form youngster Brandon Borrello scored in the 53rd minute for his second goal in five days, helping the A-League title-holders leapfrog Melbourne City into sixth on the ladder.

After his decisive strike in Brisbane’s win over Urawa Red Diamonds in its AFC Champions League clash on Wednesday night, the 19-year-old was played in by Jerome Polenz, who was playing against his former club for the first time.

Borrello crept into the box, turned Wanderers defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley inside out and then neatly tucked his shot into the bottom corner, rousing the 12,095-strong crowd at Lang Park.

He should have had a second goal in the 66th minute but his cheeky attempt to chip Western Sydney goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was a fraction too high, grazing the top of the crossbar.

The win puts the Roar on 25 points and with a game in hand over seventh-placed Melbourne City, who suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Central Coast Mariners earlier on Sunday.

They will fancy their chances of winning the battle for sixth with City after their fifth win in seven games since the Asian Cup break.

Both teams were coming off midweek Champions League commitments, and it showed in a dour and disjointed first half with few clear-cut chances.

The Wanderers made eight changes to the side that fell 3-2 to Guangzhou Evergrande on Wednesday night, among them the surprising choice of Bouzanis for his second A-League game ahead of veteran Ante Covic.

The match came to life in the second half as Brisbane started to make better use of their firm grasp on possession and exposed Western Sydney’s defensive frailties.

Mark Bridge was substituted at half-time for Japanese playmaker Yojiro Takahagi as Wanderers coach Tony Popovic searched for a way to bring his side back into the contest.

They nearly had a late equaliser through another substitute, Tomi Juric, who thumped a furious shot into the underside of the crossbar with just seconds remaining.

Round 20 results:
Newcastle Jets 0-1 Sydney FC
Wellington Phoenix 2-0 Adelaide Unted
Melbourne Victory 1-1 Perth Glory
Central Coast Mariners 1-0 Melbourne City
Brisbane Roar 1-0 Western Sydney Wanderers

Source: AAP