Brisbane Roar sneak past Mariners through Lewis Miller own goal

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:17 am

Brisbane moved into the top-six and held on to their 17-match undefeated A-League record against Central Coast with a tense 1-0 win in Gosford.

It took 86 minutes for the deadlock to break on Saturday when the Roar's Corey Brown saw his strike go in via a wicked deflection off Mariners defender Lewis Miller.

It was a cruel end for the Mariners, who have not beaten the Roar since April 2014.

"That [losing record] had nothing to do with the result today," Mariners coach Alen Stajcic said postmatch. "That result was decided on one or two key moments that could have went either way. They took theirs and made their own luck with theirs, we didn't capitalise on ours."

The victory propelled Robbie Fowler's men into the playoff frame on the back of a five-week undefeated run -- a stunning reversal of form after a tough start to the season.

Brisbane Roar celebrate after Lewis Miller's own goal.
Ashley Feder/Getty Images

However, it didn't come easy in humid conditions, and Fowler admits the steamy weather caused havoc, with the temperature near 30C at full-time.

"I think we need to be kinder to players, and I don't think any manager, me or Alen, could be unhappy with the shift the boys put in," he said. "I think Central Coast will win lots of points this year, teams will come here and the way they're set up, they'll find it tough. Melbourne found it tough here.

"It is what it is. For us to come here and get the three points was brilliant."

It was a much-improved start from the Mariners from last week's 3-0 loss to Western United in which they conceded all three goals inside the first 20 minutes. But they could not maintain pressure through the entire 90 minutes in front of a crowd of 4,539 at Central Coast Stadium.

As has been the case for most of the campaign, the Mariners had their chances but simply could not find the polish to finish them off. A Daniel De Silva looked on target but it hit a post and and the follow-up shot from Tommy Oar was blocked. The home side finished had 10 shots blocked for the match, twice as many as the Roar.

Brisbane next take on ladder-leaders Sydney FC at Jubilee Stadium to kick off round 17, while the Mariners face Western Sydney on Sunday week in Gosford.