Western Sydney Wanderers beat Brisbane Roar to keep A-League finals hopes alive

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:06 am

Western Sydney Wanderers kept their A-League season alive with a 2-0 win over Brisbane Roar at Bankwest Stadium.

In a scrappy affair, the hosts bounced back from their midweek loss to Wellington to claim a victory, thanks to goals in either half from Bernie Ibini and Bruce Kamau.

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It leaves the Wanderers with a slim chance of securing finals football for the first time in four seasons, moving to eighth on the ladder on 34 points, two points behind sixth-placed Macarthur with just one game to play.

"The performance I thought was excellent, especially the first half. We were exceptional in every aspect of the game," Wanderers coach Carl Robinson said.

"Obviously we were only one goal ahead at halftime which was probably the disappointing thing of a very polished first half."

The hosts took the lead via a clever right-foot snapshot from outside the box by ex-Socceroo Ibini in the 28th minute, his accurate finish eluding a diving Jamie Young in the Roar goal.

Having put the ball in the back of the net in either half through Kamau and Keanu Baccus only to be denied by a linesman's flag, Kamau's 88th-minute strike sealed the win.

Bruce Kamau's late goal sealed the in for Western Sydney Wanderers.
Brett Costello/Getty Images

Defeat hurts Brisbane's hopes of a top-four finish and also means they need a positive result against Perth on Wednesday at Moreton Daily Stadium to make sure they secure their position in the finals race.

The Roar huffed and puffed throughout but couldn't find a way past Wanderers goalkeeper Daniel Margush, who made several good saves including notable efforts to deny Japanese youngster Riku Danzaki and substitute Cyrus Dehmie.

Danzaki had a great chance to equalise in the 86th minute after a cross from Kai Trewin, but he could only hit the ball back from where it came rather than turn it into the net from close range.

"We certainly got punished tonight," Roar coach Warren Moon said. "A couple of errors which cost us in the end but that's the way it goes. We have to dust ourselves off and prepare for our two home games which are big matches now."

Brisbane captain Tom Aldred is a doubt for Wednesday's clash with the Glory after limping off in the first half, with Moon saying the English defender will have to be assessed over the next two days before a decision on his availability is made.

Western Sydney travel to face fourth-placed Adelaide on Thursday knowing they have to win that game and hope other results go their way to make the finals.