A-League 2015/16: Brisbane Roar 1-4 Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium

ADELAIDE United won its third straight match to continue its surge up the A-League table, defeating leaders Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.

Bruce Ochieng of United celebrates a goal with his team mates during the round 16 A-League match between Brisbane Road and Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. (AAP Image/Glenn Hunt) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

OLYROOS pair Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Borrello can’t come back soon enough for a Brisbane Roar side that produced another listless attacking display in their crushing 4-1 loss to Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.

Adelaide striker Bruce Djite ended his A-League goal drought of 11 months with a crucial brace as the resurgent Reds secured a hat-trick of wins.

In stretching their unbeaten run to eight matches, the Reds also handed the Roar their first home defeat of the season.

Having again struggled for potency in attack without Maclaren and Borrello, the Roar could lose top spot as early as tonight when second-placed Western Sydney Wanderers take on cellar dwellers Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.

And it’s not just in attack where the Roar are struggling. They have now conceded eight goals in their past two matches, having been beaten 4-0 by Melbourne Victory a week earlier.

Pablo Sanchez celebrates Adelaide’s first goal.

“We know that we have to cut out mistakes and errors … we’ve got no excuses,” said Aloisi, who was adamant the Roar would bounce back next Saturday against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.

“I’ve got no doubt my players will come back. We’re we’ve come from is amazing.

“I’ve got no problems with my players overcoming this hurdle. It’s two games.

“This team here has got a lot of character ... we’ve got winners in this side.”

However, there’s no doubt the Roar haven’t looked the same in attack without Maclaren and Borrello, who have missed Brisbane’s past three matches because of Olyroos commitments at the AFC under-23 championships in Qatar.

In those three games, the Roar have scored just once and that came from a dubious penalty converted by Henrique on Friday night.

Both Maclaren and Borrello will be back for the Roar’s game in Sydney next weekend.

“Of course you want all your best players available,” Aloisi said.

“But again no excuse, because I think the players out there tonight were still good enough to and get a result.”

Brisbane’s gap at the top is slowly slipping.

Those players included Javier Hervas, who perhaps surprisingly kept his spot after his forgettable display against Melbourne Victory, and goalkeeper Michael Theo, who was recalled at the expense of Jamie Young.

But neither Hervas or Theo had an impact as the Reds hit back in style from their 3-0 loss to the Roar at the same venue in round four.

A Corey Brown own goal put visitors ahead in the 19th minute, before the Roar equalised with Henrique’s penalty five minutes after half-time.

The Reds were soon back in front, with Djite scoring twice - one from the penalty spot and the other after taking advantage of a great pass from Tarek Elrich – to break a drought that dated back to February 21 last year.

Marcelo Carrusca provided the icing on the cake for the Reds with a cracking stoppage-time goal.

But the Reds’ joy was tempered by a potentially season-ending knee injury suffered by striker Eli Babalj just minutes after entering the contest as a substitute for Djite.

As happy as he was with his side’s win, Adelaide United coach Guillermo Amor says he would swap the victory for Babalj’s knee injury to not be as serious as feared.

“If it would be possible to change the result to have Eli healthy, I would change it,” Amor said.

“We’ll wait to check in Adelaide (today).”

Originally published as A-League 2015/16: Brisbane Roar 1-4 Adelaide United at Suncorp Stadium