Everything that could go wrong in the first half just about did for Brisbane in a 1-1 draw with Perth Glory at Redcliffe.
They lost both strikers - Chris Long and Nick D'Agostino - to injury. Youstin Salas scored an own goal but it appeared to be a hand ball by Perth midfielder Nick Pennington in the leadup.
The Roar were also filthy Giovanni DeAbreu wasn't given a second yellow card after his cynical block on Michael Ruhs just before the break.
Both sides needed a win to keep their finals hopes alive and now they must find a sequence of wins with Brisbane in eighth on 23 points and Perth two points further back in 10th.
Roar coach Michael Valkanis said his side "will go on a run" and was adamant his men could push for finals.
Long scored his fourth goal of the season in the 16th minute with a wicked free kick that he nailed from 25m out.
Captain Jay O'Shea, returning from a three-game injury layoff, rolled it two metres to bamboozle the Perth wall and English import Long did the rest, planting it in the right corner.
The Roar's advantage was soon nullified with a disastrous own goal by Salas after his stray foot knocked it past goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis after a cross into the box by the classy Luca Tevere. VAR had a look at a potential hand ball by Pennington but the goal stood.
"It looked like he was playing volleyball. I'm sure we will get told how they made that decision," Valkanis said.
Long was having a great game but limped off in the 28th minute with a left ankle ligament injury. Ruhs came on to take his place.
O'Shea delivered a perfect cross that Socceroos forward D'Agostino headed onto the crossbar.
Deep in stoppage time in the first half D'Agostino writhed in agony, clutching a knee, and did not return after the break.
"That is probably the biggest concern at the moment," Valkanis said.
"The positive was that we got Jay O'Shea back and Henry Hore will be back in the next week but we could possibly lose two top strikers. We will assess them and know a lot more tomorrow. We have to keep pushing and being positive."
Justin Vidic replaced D'Agostino as the Roar started the second half with a new forward line.
Ruhs spurned a great chance with a wide shot after a perfectly weighted pass by Sam Klein, who had himself fluffed a header when a goal was begging to be taken in the first half.
Perth brought Socceroos forward Adam Taggart off the bench to try and find the winner. Glory goalie Matt Sutton denied a Marius Lode header with a great save in stoppage time.
"We always want to win but that was a gutsy point here. It is the type of character we want to see every game," Glory coach Adam Griffiths said.
The 2026 year has been poor to the Roar with seven losses, two draws and a solitary 2-1 win over Perth away back on January 16.
Perth have also had a lean run with now just one win from their past seven .
