Brisbane Roar thows away points in A-League draw

FOOTBALL: A bruised and battered Brisbane Roar twice surrendered the lead in having to settle for a 2-2 draw with Perth Glory at NIB Stadium on Saturday night.

Jamie Maclaren put the Roar ahead in the 31st minute when he outdid Glory defender Rhys Williams to score his 11th goal of the season.

The Glory was back on level terms seven minutes later via a deflected strike from Nebojsa Marinkovic.

But the goal should not have stood, with replays showing the ball was clearly out of play before it was crossed into Marinkovic's path by teammate Diego Castro.

However, the Roar players didn't drop their heads, again going ahead in the 40th-minute when teenager Dane Ingham made the most of his late inclusion by scoring his first A-League goal.

Ingham, 17, had originally been left out of Brisbane's match-day squad but was called into the starting team just minutes before kick-off when Roar midfielder Thomas Kristensen injured his hamstring in the warm-up.

And Ingham, who has been converted from a winger to a fullback by Roar coach John Aloisi, didn't let anybody down.

He became the fourth youngest player to score in an A-League match when he finished off a fine team move in the 40th minute with a low strike that beat outstretched former Brisbane goalkeeper Liam Reddy.

But the Roar again gave up their scoreboard advantage three minutes into the second half when Glory striker Adam Taggart netted from close range after some fine build-up work from Castro and Chris Harold.

The draw kept the Roar two points ahead of the Glory, however, Melbourne City has taken over third place from Brisbane on goal difference after its 5-1 thrashing of Wellington Phoenix.

Brisbane will be sweating on the fitness of Maclaren, defender Luke DeVere and skipper Matt McKay ahead of its AFC Champions League Group E match against Thai champion Muangthong United on Tuesday night at Suncorp Stadium.

Maclaren and DeVere were replaced in the second half last night, while McKay played almost the entire match with a heavily bandaged broken nose after copping a stray forearm from Harold.