Wanderers prevail to continue Roar misery in ALM

Western Sydney have kept their A-League Men finals hopes alive with a crucial 1-0 away win over Brisbane Roar.

Friday night’s win at Suncorp Stadium through a goal to Bozhidar Kraev took the Wanderers to 21 points and just one point outside the top six.

Brisbane lost their ninth home game in a row to sit last on five points in another underwhelming display.

Western Sydney took the lead in the eighth minute after a corner by Juan Mata that an unmarked Kraev headed home.

The 1-0 advantage remained until halftime, with Roar goalkeeper Macklin Freke keeping his side in it with several key saves.

Brisbane were unable to make the most of their opportunities. Captain Jay O’Shea shot wide when he had a clear chance.

Striker Henry Hoare had the best chance when his shot appeared set for goal before a classic block by defender Alex Bonetig.

The home side had the most shots on target, 5-4, but Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas was supreme in keeping his side’s second clean sheet of the season as the second half became a stalemate.

Wanderers coach Alen Stajcic said his side fought hard for the win.

“The grind was there,” he said.

“I probably thought we lost a bit of our fluency in attack to be fair. I thought combined with Macarthur and Sydney we were probably the best attacking teams up until the last week.

“We have traded in a bit of that attacking fluency for defensive resilience.”