Brisbane Roar stun A-League premiers Melbourne City for finals place

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:06 am

Brisbane Roar punished newly crowned A-League premiers Melbourne City 3-0 to all but secure a finals place on Tuesday.

A double from the penalty spot by stand-in captain Jay O'Shea either side of a strike from impressive youngster Alex Parsons was enough for the Roar to secure a vital three points at Moreton Daily Stadium.

The win lifts Brisbane up to fourth in the league with three games to play, five points clear of seventh-placed Perth Glory in the race to the finals.

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Perhaps understandably after securing the Premiers' Plate at the weekend against Central Coast, City were lacking in energy throughout, in what will be top scorer Jamie Maclaren's last appearance of a stellar campaign.

The forward was unable to add to his tally of 25 goals for the season and will miss Saturday's game with Newcastle due to his wedding before linking up with the Socceroos squad in the Middle East for four World Cup qualifiers in June.

Midfielder Connor Metcalfe and defender Curtis Good will also be on international duties during the finals after their call-ups but there's no such worries for the Roar, who kept another clean sheet to extend their impressive defensive record.

Warren Moon's team took an early lead when midfielder O'Shea made no mistake from the spot in the sixth minute after Parsons was felled in the box by Daniel Georgievski on the Macedonian's first start for City.

Jay O'Shea catapulted Brisbane Roar to victory.
Scott Barbour/Getty Images

The Roar doubled their advantage late in the first half when 21-year-old Parsons was played clear by Jesse Daley and slammed home a finish at Matthew Sutton's near post in what was the City goalkeeper's first appearance of the season.

It capped a sensational 24 hours for Parsons after it was confirmed he'd signed a new deal with the Roar on Monday.

The Roar cemented the win in the second half when Daley was tripped by Alec Mills inside the area and O'Shea stepped up to slot home the penalty and complete his first double in his 50th A-League appearance.

Brisbane face Western Sydney on Sunday and will be hopeful English central defensive pair Tom Aldred and Macaulay Gillesphey can make the trip to Bankwest Stadium after both missed Tuesday's win.