City Come Up Short Against Rovers
Words: Michael Flynn
Brisbane City suffered their first defeat of the pre-season campaign after falling 3-0 to Rochedale Rovers in the BLK Silver Boot on Wednesday.
In only their second pre-season hit-out City weren’t without chances, but ultimately proved unable to crack the defence of their Brisbane Premier League opponents.
Rovers opened the scoring inside the quarter hour when City goalkeeper Matt Stein parried an initial effort from Michael Baird, allowing Darryl Grant to pounce on the rebound.
Soon after City striker Antonio Murray was picked out by Nathan Bird’s cross, with only a telling save from Rovers gloveman Mario Aparicio denying the PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland 2013 Golden Boot winner.
Rovers carried their one goal advantage into half time but took only five minutes after the restart to net their second courtesy of a long-range strike from substitute Seiji Shizuno.
City fought to get back into the contest only for attempts from Alistair Pase and Murray to miss the target as the half wore on.
Baird ultimately sealed the result with ten minutes remaining by converting from the penalty spot.
Amongst the starters for City were former Redlands United player Jamie Saul as well as ex-Western Pride captain Will Jordan, however both are yet to be publicly confirmed as members of City’s 2015 squad.
City continue their pre-season preparations against Sunshine Coast Premier League outfit Kawana SC this Saturday on the Sunshine Coast.
Brisbane City FC 0
Rochedale Rovers FC 3 (Darryl GRANT 14’, Seiji SHIZUNO 50’, Michael BAIRD 80’p)
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.