Ten-man Melbourne Heart survived a spirited fightback from Brisbane Roar to hang on for a 3-2 victory at AAMI Park on the weekend.
It is their first back to back win since February last year, signaling a new spurt in success for the team that has lost many opportunities to shine.
Heart almost blew a three-goal lead in the second-half after Brisbane looked down for the count, but now it stands in the top six, raring for another game to boost them up even more.
Heart, which had opening goalscorer David Williams sent off, raced to an early lead against the run of play with Williams calmly clipping the ball past on-rushing goalkeeper Michael Theo after being expertly released in the penalty box by Richard Garcia.
And the visitor was the victim of a dubious call in the 35th minute when Michael Marrone’s run and pass freed Josip Tadic who steered a low shot past Theo for Heart’s second.
Television replays showed Tadic – who gleefully celebrated only his second goal from open play this season – was clearly offside when the ball was played.But assistant referee Luke Brennan didn’t flag him.
The game looked out of reach for Roar eight minutes after the break when Socceroos left-back Aziz Behich broke down the wing and skipper Fred was left with time and space in the box to slide the ball into the net despite the best efforts of Theo for the home side’s third.
But the 64th minute dismissal of Williams after his studs-up challenge on Ivan Franjic opened the door for Roar, which pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute when Besart Berisha converted after Fred had bundled over Ben Halloran.
And the nerves were jangling for Heart when Berisha stroked home his second just minutes later after an exchange of passes with Thomas Broich.
Mitch Nichols squandered a last-gasp chance to equalise as John Aloisi’s side clung on for a second consecutive win for the first time this season.
Roar hasn’t had the best campaign outside of Brisbane, and languishes in seventh place.
Source: SBS