Danzaki, McDonald net doubles as Brisbane Roar thrash Melbourne Victory

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:09 am

Melbourne Victory coach Grant Brebner has slammed his team following an "unacceptable" 5-2 A-League loss to Brisbane on Saturday.

Victory were caught cold by the Roar at Dolphin Stadium, slipping to a 3-0 deficit within 20 minutes, as their third loss in five matches leaves them last on the competition ladder.

Teenage forward Luis Lawrie-Lattanzio's 19th-minute finish and a lovely free kick by Jake Brimmer on the stroke of half-time were the only highlights on a disappointing day for Victory.

The Roar opened the scoring in just the 10th minute with red-hot Dylan Wenzell-Halls claiming his fifth goal of the campaign. Ex-Socceroo Scott McDonald and Japanese import Riku Danzaki then both scored doubles to complete the comfortable win.

"To go three-nil down in under 20 minutes, it's unacceptable," Brebner said. "There was obviously moments where we could have defended better, there was individual mistakes but I think we got what we deserved in that first 20 minutes because we were off it."

Riku Danzaki celebrates one of his two goals.
Albert Perez/Getty Images

The loss leaves Victory with just one win from five games and while Brebner was refusing to push any panic buttons so early in the campaign, he concedes it's a situation that's untenable for such a storied club.

Imports Callum McManaman and Rudy Gestede are in contention to return for Wednesday's game at Western Sydney Wanderers, with Brebner promising changes after Saturday's humiliation.

"I don't like losing, but I can handle losing if there's a manner in which we go about it," he said. "Today, as I've said, I'm not making any excuses for it, it was unacceptable. And the players will know that.

"And the ones that are fortunate enough to play on Wednesday night will have to show us how much they want to keep the shirt, and the ones that aren't shouldn't have any complaints."

In stark contrast, the Roar's fourth straight win has them back on top of the league.

It's the first time since January 2016 Brisbane have recorded four consecutive league wins, heading into another home match against Macarthur FC on Tuesday.

After captain Tom Aldred and Irish midfielder Jay O'Shea both signed new long-term deals, coach Warren Moon acknowledged the impressive win was a good way to cap a big week for the club.

"I've got full belief in this squad that we're going to do well," Moon said. "It's still early days. Obviously we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves but it's a great start for the club.

"Great that we've re-signed both those players in the skipper and Jay. We're in a good place right now."