Ange Postecoglou's final A-League game in charge of Melbourne Victory has ended in a 1-0 win over his former club Brisbane Roar.
It was a frantic start to the match, with Victory coming close to scoring from a counter-attack. Mitch Nichols managed to find space on the left and slid a cross into the path of Kosta Barbarouses, whose shot was snuffed out by the goalkeeper.
Both sides showed threat in attack during the early stages of the match, but it was Victory who came close once again, with Nichols having two chances in quick succession. The forward found himself in the box with space, but his shot was too weak to trouble the keeper, and seconds later he failed to time a header following a floating cross into the area.
Victory dominated the final 20 minutes, but Roar were able to keep out their opponents before the half-time whistle while also having a few sniffs at goal themselves.
At the start of the second half, Roar tried to find the breakthrough with Liam Miller, who glided into the corner of the box, but failed to get through Victory's defence. Swiftly down the other end, Nichols had another chance to give his side the lead.
After finding space in the box, Nichols latched on to a pass and tried to slide the ball into the back of the net with a swoop from his right foot, but there wasn't enough power on the effort to trouble the keeper.
Victory finally broke the deadlock through James Troisi, who carried the ball through the box to the line, and somehow managed to thread the ball past the keeper into the back of the net from a tight angle at the near post.
The home side piled on the pressure after taking the lead, but some vital saves from Michael Theo helped keep Roar in contention with around 20 minutes left to play in the match.
Despite Victory's early dominance, Roar began to control the game in the closing stages of the encounter, but they failed to do enough to force an equaliser.
Danielle Joynson
