Fury 1 v Brisbane 1: Williams hand ball robs Brisbane

With the caveats that it was the Fury and it was boiling hot Townsville, Brisbane played well last night and were unlucky not to win.

Matt Ham looked solid in goals and Luke DeVere had a man-of-the-match performance. DeVere was saving the Roar at one end and creating chances at the other (and scoring). He has more than filled Craig Moore's shoes. Ivan Franjic has consolidated something new and exciting to the right side of defence. And Michael Zullo had a better performance on the left. Pieter Collen is getting really tested with the weather conditions, but looks to have added the necessary skills and experience to the back line. Aside from the 5 minutes leading up to the goal, the Brisbane back line were dominant.

The Fury goal was an embarrassment for the A-League as David Williams clearly used his left arm to control and guide the ball down to his feet. In the post France v Ireland world this manoeuvre seems to be good if you can get away with it.

Steven Bryce looks the goods. While he was a little soft in his approach to an opportunity in the opening minutes and another in the middle of second, he created well for Brisbane and looks capable of opening up teams for Reinaldo and Van Dijk.