Brisbane Roar beat Perth Glory 1-0 in Surf City Cup

An experimental Brisbane Roar side has impressed against Perth Glory in the Surf City Cup.

Jai Ingham scored the Roar’s goal. Picture Paul Smith

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Update: Brisbane coach Robbie Fowler has some pleasant selection headaches after a second-string Roar outfit beat A-League heavyweights Perth Glory 1-0 in the pre-season Surf City Cup at Carrara on Friday night.

Fielding a completely different 11 to the team that started in Brisbane’s FFA Cup penalty shootout loss to Central Coast Mariners on Wednesday night, the Roar produced a gutsy performance at the Croatian Sports Centre.

Former Melbourne Victory winger Jai Ingham scored the game’s only goal.

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Jai Ingham scored the Roar’s goal. Picture Paul Smith

Picked out at the far post by Dauntae Mariner, Ingham steadied before firing the ball home past Glory substitute goalkeeper Tando Velaphi in the 61st minute.

Ingham and midfielder Jacob Pepper, who both came off the bench against the Mariners, provided experience in the Roar’s starting side, which also included fellow A-League squad members George Mells, Aaron Reardon and Max Crocombe, the club’s second-choice gloveman.

The rest of Brisbane’s team was made up of scholarship holder Izaack Powell and a host of the club’s youth team squad that plays in the NPL Queensland competition.

In contrast, the Glory started with a near full-strength side that included star acquisition Bruno Fornaroli, Spanish pair Diego Castro and Juande, former Socceroos midfielder Neil Kilkenny, South Korean import Kim Soo-beom, and ex-Roar trio Ivan Franjic, Liam Reddy and Nick D’Agostino.

“The lads have put in an unbelievable shift against a team who finished top of the league last year,” Fowler said.

“We worked so hard, we worked so well together … the goal was a massive bonus.”

Roar coach Robbie Fowler. Picture: AAP

Fowler praised the attitude of Ingham, Mells, Pepper and Crocombe.

“The message was to go out there and give me (selection) headaches, give me problems,” the Roar coach said.

“Sometimes it’s difficult for senior lads to go out there and perform to the level that you want because you’re playing with lads you’re not training with day in, day out,” he said.

“You want them to go out there and lead by example, do what we’re striving to get in terms of the way we want to play, and they went out there and I think they were brilliant.”

Glory coach Tony Popovic made six changes at the start of the second-half, with substitute Chris Harold having a chance to give the West Australians the lead in the 57th minute, only to be denied by Crocombe.

Ingham scored four minutes later, and try as they might, the Glory could not find an equaliser.

Harold had a chance in the 70th minute but his long-distance strike was well held by the outstretched Crocombe.

The Brisbane gloveman shone again in the 80th minute, making a double save to deny Harold and Gabriel Popovic.

Coach Tony Popovic said there were a “lot of good things” to take away from the game despite the Glory’s loss.

“It’s pre-season and we’re working on things. We saw some good signs, we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” the Glory mentor said.

The Roar back up on Sunday when they meet the Newcastle Jets in the second game of the pre-season tournament.

The Jets and the Glory meet in the final game of the tournament on Tuesday night.