Melbourne City have temporarily gone top of the A-League after defeating 10-men Brisbane Roar 3-1 at AAMI Park.
After a tense opening, Dimitri Petratos stunned the home crowd with a goal of the season contender when he brought the ball down with his thigh 20 metres out from goal before hammering a left-foot volley past City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.
The home side responded straight away when Harry Novillo dribbled the ball into the box before appealing for a penalty after he collided with Thomas Broich. Referee Kris Griffiths-Jones ruled that Novillo had gone down too easily and booked the Frenchman for simulation.
However, City did win a penalty in the second-half when Bruno Fornaroli masterfully turned Jack Hingert on the edge of the box forcing the Brisbane defender to hold on to his jersey just a little too long. Hingert received a second yellow card, and subsequently, a red for the foul while Aaron Mooy stepped up and converted to make it 1-1.
Brisbane Roar sat back and attempted to maintain their position at the top of the table but City's attack eventually proved too much.
Anthony Caceres came off the bench in the 74th minute and just six minutes later gave City the lead with a clinical header after a brilliant Ivan Franjic cross.
Three minutes later City sealed all three points when Nick Fitzgerald scored his second goal in as many games, heading in after a Bruno Fornaroli free-kick had re-bounded off the cross-bar.
Hyun-a Yum has details.
