Holman signals Brisbane ready to roar in finals

Brisbane Roar ensured they will go into the finals full of confidence after an entertaining win against Wellington.

Brett Holman celebrates scoring in the seven-game thriller at Suncorp Stadium.

Brisbane Roar ensured they will go into the finals full of confidence after an entertaining come-from-behind win against Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium last night.

A double from former Socceroo Brett Holman and goals from Jamie McLaren and Brandon Borrello saw the Queenslanders come from 3-1 down at halftime to win in a seven-goal thriller that put them into third spot.

With no weight on their shoulders after being knocked out of finals contention last week, the Kiwis looked to be on course for an upset after first half goals to Roy Krishna, Gui Finkler and Michael McGlinchey.

But led by the evergreen Holman, the Roar, who have scored 12 second-half goals in their past six games, overran their rivals after the break, scoring three times.

For McLaren, his goal saw him become the third fastest to 50 in A-League history (89 games) behind Besart Berisha and Shane Smeltz, who achieved the feat in 79 games.

It also drew him level with Berisha on 19 goals as the A-League’s leading goalscorer this season.

And he should have gone ahead in that race but for butchering a penalty after he was brought down in the box with 10 minutes to go. McLaren appeared to rush the spot kick, which he hit directly at the goalkeeper.

A cracking first 45 minutes saw both sides prepared to attack relentlessly which provided wonderful entertainment for the crowd.

The Roar showed little effect from coach John Aloisi’s decision to make six changes to the side in the opening minutes, pushing forward and finding space against a side that was playing with just three at the back.

But it was the Kiwis who struck first on six minutes when Krishna ran on to a long ball over the top that caught the Brisbane defence flat-footed. He shrugged off one defender when guiding the ball past goalkeeper Michael Theo.

Both sides then had a series of chances that were thwarted either by superb goalkeeping from Theo and his Phoenix counterpart Lewis Italiano or desperate last-ditch defending with balls being cleared off the line.

The home side eventually restored parity in the 21st minute with a superb strike from Holman, who collected the ball 40 metres out, raced some metres then unleashed a powerful shot that gave Italiano no chance.

Not to be denied, Wellington struck twice in seven minutes before halftime.

First McGlinchey, who looked dangerous every time he touched the ball, got on the end of a Gui Finkler pass to slot the ball home in the 38th minute before the Kiwi international reciprocated by delivering a perfect cross for Finkler to turn into the net from close range just three minutes later.

Remarkably, the Roar found themselves back on level terms at 3-3 inside eight minutes of the second half.

Borrello made it 3-2 on 51 minutes when he guided a left-foot shot inside the left post from the edge of the box before McLaren took advantage of some great lead-up work from Thomas Broich and Tommy Oar to slam the ball home from close range.

Holman, who has been in a rich vein of form, was delighted with the victory but quick to deflect the attention away from himself.

“It’s always nice to score goals, but it is about the team performance,” Holman said. “We need to pick up in the second half and we did.

“It was a good effort and will give us plenty of confidence going into the finals next week. We are in a good space at the moment.”

Holman, 33, then sealed the win with a low rocket from the right edge of the box after Borrello squared the ball to him.

His double took his tally to five for the season in the A-League, three in his past two matches, while he has also been on the scorer’s sheet in the Asian Champions League.