Brisbane Roar will look to the reigning A-League Men champions for proof their season can be salvaged after a 3-2 loss to Adelaide United marked their fourth defeat from as many games.
Last-placed Brisbane threatened to ambush the unbeaten Reds during a sparkling 2-1 first half at Unite Round in Sydney on Saturday afternoon.
But Brisbane watched as Adelaide erased their lead 38 seconds after the restart, before Archie Goodwin's first goal of the season gave his side an ultimately decisive lead with half an hour left.
"First half I thought we played quite well, to be honest, I thought we were the better team," Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich said after the match.
"Then second half we came out of the blocks slowly, Adelaide made some changes and started playing very direct and we just didn't deal with it."
Brisbane are the only side yet to register a competition point this season, and one of only two without a win.
But Zadkovich said recent history proved the Roar still had time to make something of their season.
"You look at (reigning champions) the Mariners last year, they were none from four and we all know how that played out for them," he said.
"We've played four really good teams. They're all very good sides, if I'm honest, and we've fallen just short in a couple of those games.
"Today, there's a lot of positives to take from that first half, and there's some obvious areas that we need to be better."
The Reds, meanwhile, will finish the weekend ensconced in the top six regardless of results on the final day of the second Unite Round.
"We were a little bit lethargic and a little bit sloppy in the first half," said coach Carl Veart.
"The second half was much better."
On loan from Belgian side Gent, Keegan Jelacic had the opening goal as reward for the Roar's hot start, the 22-year-old striking from long range after a raid down the left wing.
Stefan Mauk wiped out the Roar's first lead of the season after Austin Ayoubi picked Hosine Bility's pocket coming out of trouble, but a spot kick helped the Roar go into the sheds on top.
Adelaide's Bart Vriends was ruled to have pulled Thomas Waddingham down in the box, sparking a melee between the sides that left Mauk and Kato Caletti to be cautioned by the referee.
Jay O'Shea made no mistake from the penalty spot, but it was Adelaide that came out of the gates faster in the second half after a rev-up from Veart.
"It was just (saying) that we didn't come here for a holiday. We came here to win and the boys had to lift their intensity and lift their intent in that second half," Veart said.
"From the first whistle to the last whistle, they did that."
The Reds went on to equalise through former Nottingham Forest forward Zach Clough, who poked the ball past goalkeeper Macklin Freke as spectators were still taking their seats after the half-time interval.
After Mauk sent a long ball into the final third just after the hour mark, Dylan Pierias found an unmarked Goodwin in support for the Reds to score what proved the match-winner.
In the first half of his first game against his former club, Brisbane's Ben Warland was shown a yellow card for an alarming "coathanger" tackle on Mauk.
