The Wanderers had four changes with Steve Lustica, Brendon Santalab, Jack Clisby & Chris Herd coming in. The injury to Alvaro Cejudo and the Olyroos tournament forcing most of them.

For Brisbane, Corey Gameiro, Connor O’Toole & Mitchell Oxborrow were new faces from the win against Adelaide.

The first half saw the Wanderers uncharacteristically happy to absorb pressure from Brisbane’s gluttony of possession – and it worked. Not one, but two strikes meant Gombau’s side went into the break with their tails up.

When all was said and done, despite being down on troops, Brisbane Roar didn’t show enough fight and the Wanderers took advantage to comfortably beat their northern rivals 2-0. 

BRISBANE ROAR

Jamie Young – 7.5 – Pulled off good saves throughout the night, even though one fell to Riera for the first goal of the evening. His highlight came in added time, with a brilliant one-handed low save to his right from a Lachlan Scott stinger.

Jack Hingert – 6 - The combination with Skapetis was potent, and he had a few cracks at goal without embarrassing himself. When the Roar’s play broke down, so did any fluency on either side of the pitch.

Luke Devere – 7 - Tried hard as the rotation of central defenders continued, but he can’t do it all himself.

Jacob Pepper – 5 – His early clearance went straight to the feet of Riera, and he was isolated for both Wanderers goals. Fortunately for him, the injury to Kristensen meant he was pushed into midfield.

Connor O’Toole – 6 – Unusually, he pushed forward very rarely. Subbed in the 72nd minute with a bad head gash from a stray elbow.

Peter Skapetis – 6.5 - The overlapping runs to his right highlighted Brisbane’s progress in the first half, but he was lazy, and found himself offside too frequently.

Mitchell Oxborrow – 6 - Had an off night with his delivery, and the Wanderers’ tall-timber meant he was instructed not to send any corners into the middle. 

Thomas Kristensen – 5 - Warmed to the contest, and was pinging some beautiful balls forward before injury struck him. Subbed off on the 30th minute.

Fahid Ben Khalfallah – 7 - Had the first shot in anger for his side with a slightly off-target volley. Was one of few Roar players to fight throughout the contest, but his effort lacked result.

Massimo Maccarone – 6 - Sat behind Gameiro in a changed role, and worked well but it clearly took it out of him. His second-half was lackluster, and aside from almost conceding a penalty, had little effect.

Corey Gameiro – 7 - Beat the offside trap with exciting runs, and should have had a one-on-one chance before being incorrectly ruled offside. Would have had a wonderful goal on another night, but Vedran Janjetovic denied him with an incredible save.

Daniel Bowles – 6.5 - Got on earlier than expected following the injury to Thomas Kristensen, and partnered Devere in the centre of defence, but his lack of recent game time showed.

Daniel Leck – 6 – Brought on to spark Brisbane in the 57th minute, and showed some pace, but the ball just wouldn’t fall for him.

Corey Brown – 6 - Came on for Connor O’Toole in the 72nd minute and tried to make up for lost time. The Den chanted for him, but couldn’t turn his side’s fortunes.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Vedran Janjetovic – 8.5 - Great save from a Gameiro shot in the first half when his side was up 1-0. Had a very good night and dealt with anything Brisbane threw at him.

Raul Llorente – 7 - Found himself on the right and did well. Clearly favoured his left boot, but disguised it, and presented a challenge for Connor O’Toole.

Robbie Cornthwaite – 7 - Had two threats to deal with in Gameiro and Maccarone, but the formation meant he had time to weigh his options.

Michael Thwaite – 7 - Stood tall when called upon and along with Cornthwaite forced most of Brisbane’s chances wide and far.

Jack Clisby – 6 - Had a challenging first half with Skapetis and Hingert running him ragged, but an overall tidy performance in a rare start this season.

Chris Herd – 7.5 - Still building fitness after a few weeks out, but he bossed the midfield for the visitors with some strong challenges. Conceded plenty of fouls along the way, but set the tone and was subbed off once Josep Gombau felt their authority wasn’t going to be questioned.

Steve Lustica – 7 - Beautiful curling ball to give Santalab a free header, which led to the Wanderers first goal. He traded passes with Riera and Bridge all night and put in an impressive shift.

Kearyn Baccus – 6.5 - Floated around behind the front three and exhibited plenty of decisive lay offs.

Brendon Santalab – 7 - Lovely diving header to force a save from Jamie Young that subsequently fell to Riera. Harassed the Roar’s defence and created space for Riera and Bridge all night.

Mark Bridge – 7.5 - Moved to number one on the Wanderers’ all time goal-scoring list last week, and added to his tally to give his side a two goal advantage. Had a golden opportunity late on but Jamie Young was equal to it.

Oriol Riera – 7.5 - Very simple finish for the Spaniard’s sixth goal of the season. Had plenty of chances to double his tally for the night, but was either off-target or thwarted by the Roar goalkeeper. Got through a full 90 minutes for the second week in a row, showing promising signs for the Wanderers.

Lachlan Scott – 7 - Came on to replace the workhorse of the evening in Chris Herd, forcing a bit of a reshuffle, but showed some of his brightest moments in Wanderers’ colours, including putting a chance on a plate for Mark Bridge.