Brisbane Roar earn first win for Robbie Fowler in seven-goal thriller

A second-half fightback brought Robbie Fowler his first win as Brisbane Roar coach in a seven-goal thriller with Melbourne City.

Brisbane Roar striker Roy O'Donovan celebrates scoring against Melbourne City at Dolphin Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

A stirring second-half fightback brought Brisbane their first A-League win under coach Robbie Fowler, defeating league leaders Melbourne City 4-3 in a thriller.

The Roar trailed 3-1 on Sunday afternoon when Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren completed a hat-trick on his return from a hamstring injury, but Irishman Roy O’Donovan’s own hat-trick secured Brisbane’s first win of the campaign. The loss is City’s first of the season but they remain top of the league on 13 points.

A win seemed unlikely when Maclaren’s scored twice in front of a near-capacity crowd of 9387 at Redcliffe’s Dolphin Stadium to give City a 2-0 halftime lead.

Fowler rejigged the Roar to three at the back during the break and the tactical switch paid dividends, with O’Donovan ending a 320-minute goal drought early in the second half before then adding two more, both from the penalty spot.

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Aaron Amadi-Holloway scored the other for the Roar, the big Welsh striker bundling home from close range in the 60th minute for his first A-League goal.

The victory was sealed after VAR official Craig Zetter spotted a handball by Denis Genreau and referee Alex King awarded the home side the penalty in the 82nd minute after consulting the pitchside monitor.

The second-half dramatics seemed miles away when Maclaren opened the scoring against his old club in the sixth minute.

Roar captain Tom Aldred misjudged a drifted cross by Marcelo Cabrera and Maclaren pounced to slide the ball past Max Crocombe.

O’Donovan believed he had won a penalty midway through the half when he appeared to be tripped by City defender Harrison Delbridge, but King and the VAR officials disagreed, much to Fowler’s fury.

The coach would have been incandescent in the 29th minute when Maclaren somehow rose above Roar defender Daniel Bowles to head home his second. In response, Fowler made his first substitution in the 34th minute, taking off Jake McGing for Australian under-17 representative Jordan Courtney-Perkins, before making a second change at the break with Bowles making way for Jai Ingham.

The changes altered the game as O’Donovan ended the Roar’s goal drought in the 50th minute. Maclaren headed home a third almost from the restart but when Amadi-Holloway made it 3-2 moments later, the comeback was very much on.

O’Donovan coolly slotted his first penalty in the 63rd minute to level the scores, after Amadi-Holloway was tripped, before scoring his controversial winner following the VAR intervention against Genreau.

The Roar head to Wellington next week to face the winless Phoenix, while City face Western Sydney at Bankwest Stadium.

AAP