It was back to business as usual for the Brisbane Roar Youth on Sunday, breezing past Adelaide United Youth 3-1 at Hindmarsh Stadium in the side’s first fixture in three weeks.
Showing no signs of rust, the Brisbane Youth side silenced a vocal Adelaide crowd by dominating the home side early and creating a number of early opportunities for striker James Meyer.
The early chances meant it didn-t take long for Meyer to get on the score sheet, the speedy front man racing through the Adelaide defence and rounding the ‘keeper to put the ball in the back of the net for a 1-0 Brisbane lead.
The strong start from the Roar continued with slick passing and movement around the park, creating chance after chance and leaving a disheveled Adelaide side struggling for answers.
On the 24 minute mark, Roar Youth captain Chris Bush made sure his side further capitalised on their early lead by hammering a stinging shot into the back of the net to take Brisbane two goals in front; a comfortable lead they would take into half time.
The second half saw Adelaide providing more resistance to a fired up Brisbane side, desperate to end their run of three losses; however the travelling Roar continued to stretch the home defense and created a number goal scoring opportunities.
While Brisbane had the bulk of the chances, it was Adelaide who reaped the rewards when right back Bradley Norton took advantage of some loose Brisbane defensive work and fired home from 30 yards out and in the process giving the home fans hope for a late comeback.
The Roar, however, had other plans and striker Matt Thurtell continued his reputation of scoring big goals at the death when he found space and finished from close range on the back of a Kenneth Dougall free kick in injury time to give Brisbane a 3-1 lead on the final whistle.
Brisbane Head coach John Sime spoke highly of his side-s performance stating that he was impressed with how they played after their long layoff.
“We played exceptionally well for the first 25 minutes and it was great for the boys to score two goals so early on,” Sime said.
“Although there was a few little signs of rust creeping in as the match wore on, I was still impressed with the performance of the side as a whole.”
Sime also mentioned that he felt his side-s desperation to get the win, and end a run of back to back losses, was one of their strong points in what was a tough match.
“While we never discussed losing the past few games, I know the boys were desperate to get the win and start the year on a good note,” Sime said.
“The boys worked really hard and showed plenty of character, hopefully they can continue to put together good performances for the rest of the season.”
