Brisbane Roar 1–1 Adelaide United
By Ben Carey
Above: Brisbane Roar’s Mia Corbin celebrates her game equalising goal. Photo: Brisbane Roar.
Brisbane Roar played out a scrappy 1-1 draw with Adelaide United on Sunday evening in front of a healthy crowd at Suncorp stadium, the site of the now infamous Matildas penalty shootout against France at this year’s Women’s World Cup. It was a historic occasion, because it was the first time the Roar women had played at Suncorp in almost five years. The match was the second in a double header, with the men pulling off a tight win over Perth Glory beforehand. In other words, the men’s match warmed up the crowd nicely for the main event.
It was a scrappy first 10 minutes, neither side being particularly efficient with their possession of the ball. In the 13th minute, a clever forward flick from the newly re-signed Chelsea Dawbercaught the Brisbane Roar defence sleeping. The ball skipped past the Roar defenders and was picked up by US international,Mariah Lee, who outmanoeuvred the Roar’s keeper, Jordan Silkowitz, and tucked it in the back of the goals from a fairly tight angle.
Adelaide’s goal sucked the air out of the stadium for a moment, but the Brisbane Roar fans bounced back quickly. In the 38thminute, as Hollie Palmer was preparing to take a corner kick, there was a huge surge of enthusiasm from the home crowd. The majority of the stadium was chanting, clapping, or banging their seats to show their undying support for their team. It seemed to have worked. Palmer’s high, floating cross was headed away from the box, but Ayesha Norrie quickly passed out to US international Leah Scarpelli, who whipped in a wicked cross to find her countrywoman, Mia Corbin, in the box. Corbin’s finish was exquisite. Brisbane Roar now had the equaliser.
The Roar definitely had the better of the chances in the second half. They came out firing, creating a number of excellentopportunities, mostly through Sharn Freier, Norrie, and Corbin. However, the Adelaide keeper, Annalee Grove, was always equal to their efforts. Adelaide had their chances as well, butSilkowitz smothered their every attempt. The game wrapped up as a 1-1 draw after a lengthy stoppage time.
Brisbane Roar played a decent match, but they were often too slow, and their positioning was too disjointed to make a consistent impact on Adelaide’s defensive line. There were moments of individual brilliance, but rarely did it look like they were playing as one, cohesive team. The goal they did scorecame about from an excellent piece of teamwork: quickintentional passes, good positioning, and clinical finishing. If the newly appointed head coach, Alex Smith, can find a way to reproduce that over 90 minutes, he will have built a winning team. Scarpelli put in a great shift in the backline, defending well, and also bagging an assist. Further up the pitch, Corbin and Freier had a great day at the office too, both causing Grove a lot of headaches. Corbin’s energy and physicality and Freier’s speed and tricky footwork both made for some very entertaining build up play.
Adelaide United also played a reasonable game, but their passing accuracy was fairly low, and they also lacked clinical finishes in the final third. Grove played a fabulous game between the sticks, asserting her authority inside the box and shutting down a number of dangerous Roar attacks. Dawber played an exceptional first match back after spending the last eight months playing for IFK Norrköping in Sweden. Dawber create several big chances and bagged a crucial assist. Lee also had a great game, showing her speed and technical ability to score the goal that ensured that her team didn’t walk away empty handed.
Both teams will now have a two-week break during the international window. Adelaide United will next play Western United on Saturday, December 9. The next day, Brisbane Roar will face Canberra United.
BRISBANE ROAR (4-1-4-1): Silkowitz, Scarpelli, McCormick, McQueen, Thompson, Brodigan, Norrie, Palmer, Freier, Yallop, Corbin. Substitutes: Richards, Kirkup, Holgersen, Levin, Stephenson.
Scorers: Lee 13’
Teams: ADELAIDE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Grove, I. Hodgson, Tonkin, Waldus, E. Hodgson, Holmes, Sasaki, Dawber, Morgan, Jancevski, Lee. Substitutes: Condon, Holtz, Jenkins, Panagaris, Taylor.
Scorers: Corbin 38’.
Referee: Isabella Libri.
Attendance: 3278
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