Brisbane Roar and coach John Aloisi have ended years of AAMI Park torment, downing Melbourne Victory 2-1 to re-ignite their A-League finals campaign.
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Massimo Maccarone and Brett Holman scored first-half goals in the Roar's most composed performance of their stuttering season, lifting them inside the top six.
James Troisi's 30-metre stunner with seven minutes remaining was a response to his benching by coach Kevin Muscat but came too late to salvage a result for Victory.
Fielding the oldest side in Australian domestic history - with an average age above 33 - the Roar out-smarted the home side.
Aloisi's side yielded all the possession but had control of the contest from the seventh minute when Maccarone turned in the box and shot past Lawrence Thomas.
Victory will rue missed tackles - from Kosta Barbarouses on ex-teammate Fahid Ben Khalfallah and James Donachie on the goalscorer - before the Italian's lethal finish.
On 28 minutes, Donachie was again at fault, allowing Maccarone the space to lay off for Holman to stroke home a free-flowing move that delighted the away fans.
Boos rang out at half-time from Victory fans, with Muscat throwing on Troisi and fresh talent Kenny Athiu and Josh Hope to try a new approach.
Troisi's long range arrow set the stage for a final Victory flurry but Brisbane withstood their efforts to end two of the A-League's longest droughts.
The three-time champions were without a win at AAMI Park in four years, while Aloisi hadn't won at the venue in five years.
His run of 16 winless games as coach was made worse by the fact that for half those fixtures, he was Melbourne Heart manager.
"I can't remember the last time I won here. It's been a while," he said.
"I asked some of our players the last time they won here and they can't even remember. It was good to get one.
"It does help that you start to get your best players back in. We've missed Jade North for a long period and Brett Holman ... they showed tonight what they're capable of doing."
Victory's loss leaves plenty of questions - beginning with coach Kevin Muscat's tenure.
He is uncontracted at season's end with no guarantee of finals football after three straight losses that has the powerhouse club in fifth.
Victory looked without confidence in the first half without departed marquee Mark Milligan and face a quick turnaround before their Asian Champions League campaign begins on Tuesday.
"The first half, if we're brutally honest, it's nowhere near good enough," Muscat said.
"We've got to take responsibility for our actions."
Australian Associated Press
