Eric Bautheac stunner hands Brisbane Roar win over Adelaide United

A magnificent free kick from Eric Bautheac handed Brisbane Roar a vital 1-0 A-League victory over Adelaide United.

Needing to win to keep their faint finals hopes alive, Frenchman Bautheac delivered the decisive goal for Brisbane on Saturday night just before halftime.

It was ideal range for the 30-year-old left-footer after Adelaide defender Ryan Strain brought down Fahid Ben Khalfallah mere centimetres outside the penalty area.

Bautheac stepped up and curled his shot beautifully over the wall, past a diving Paul Izzo.

It was only his second A-League goal but perhaps the clearest example yet of the class possessed by the former Ligue 1 midfielder.

"That's definitely what he can do," coach John Aloisi said. "We see it in training all the time. He hits free kicks like we've never seen. They always seem to go in the top corner."

It was also the Roar's first clean sheet in 11 matches, but they had to weather a late storm from the Reds to deny them an equaliser.

"Sometimes, you have to grind out a result," Aloisi said. "Towards the end, we did."

A meagre 8,237 fans braved an oppressively humid night at Suncorp Stadium, but were rewarded with the Roar's fourth win in their last six outings and only their third win at home this season.

While Brisbane remain in seventh position, the result keeps the pressure on sixth-placed Western Sydney, who hold a slender one-point advantage ahead of their home clash on Sunday with Wellington.

Fifth-placed Adelaide are winless in their past three and at risk of sliding further down the ladder if coach Marco Kurz can't halt their recent form slump.

It was the third week in a row the Reds had conceded a free-kick goal.

Kurz had no complaints about the result.

"The first half was not good enough," he said. "We gave Brisbane too much space. After we win the ball, we lose it immediately. It was too easy."

Brisbane were comfortably the better side but should have been up 2-0 before Bautheac's stunner, with Massimo Maccarone missing two golden chances from point-blank range nine minutes apart.

The veteran Italian striker had the goal at his mercy on both occasions after terrific crosses from teammates but couldn't find the finish.

The win might have come at a cost for the Roar, however, with centre-back Jade North succumbing to a calf problem.