A-League: Gold Coast 1 Brisbane Roar 0

Gold Coast are off the bottom of the A-League after an 88th-minute penalty gave them a 1-0 win over rivals Brisbane Roar at Skilled Park.

The match looked set to end in a goalless draw, but referee Kris Griffiths-Jones had no hesitation in pointing to the spot after a trip on lively youngster Ben Halloran by Roar winger Rocky Visconte.

United substitute and dead-ball specialist Daniel Severino stepped up and he made no mistake with the penalty, giving them their first triumph over their local rivals in two years.

It was no less than Gold Coast United deserved after a performance that was both disciplined in defence and enterprising in attack, with boom youngster Halloran awarded man-of-the-match honours.

The win lifts them into ninth place, one point ahead of Adelaide – but importantly they are now unbeaten in three games and have not conceded in the past 270 minutes of football, an equal club record streak.

In doing so, they consigned the third-placed Roar to a fifth consecutive defeat, which is now the worst run in Brisbane’s history, and they remain six points adrift of top club Central Coast, who have played a game fewer.

Few would have expected such a remarkable downturn in form given exactly one month ago the men in orange were the toast of Australian sport with their 36-match undefeated streak.