Brisbane, Perth advance in A-League playoffs

Posted April 23, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

SYDNEY (AP) - Sydney FC will play Perth and Melbourne Victory will play Brisbane in next weekend's semifinals of Australian football's A-League after Perth and Brisbane advanced via contrasting elimination finals.

Perth had its first playoff win in five years Sunday when it beat Melbourne City 2-0 to earn a showdown next Saturday with Sydney while Brisbane clawed its way through the first round of playoffs with a 6-5 win on penalties Friday over Western Sydney Wanderers.

Diego Castro scored in the 16th minute and Joel Chianese in the 30th to propel Perth to a 2-0 halftime lead that they held in the face of Melbourne's resurgence in the second half. Perth had beaten Melbourne City 5-4 a week earlier in the final round of the regular season and kept a clean sheet for the first time in its last six games.

Brisbane and Western Sydney were locked 1-1 at fulltime before Brisbane won a penalty shootout that kept alive its 10-match unbeaten streak in playoff matches at home.

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