Jamie Maclaren is named man-of-the-match, and the standout performer says, “It was a great debut and to score two goals is a plus, but to walk away with three points is the most important thing.”

Roar coach John Aloisi says, “We found it a little bit difficult in the first half. In the second half we defended d a bit better. Not a lot of people believe in what we’re doing but this group of players are winers. The off season turmoil has made this squad even tighter than they have been in the past.”

90+3 min: Castelen nearly muscles his way through the Roar backline but Bowles is there to make the crucial tackle. And now Aloisi can make that change with Lustica replaced by Lambadaridis for the final seconds.

90+2 min: John Aloisi is trying to make a final change, to waste some valuable seconds, but he might not get the chance with the ball still in play.

90 min: Time is running out – just four minutes of additional time remaining for Wanderers to grab two goals and a point from this game. It’s not going to happen.

88 min: Here’s a chance for the hosts! But Piovaccari and Macdonald rise for the same ball from a corner and get in each other’s way. What a chance; it goes begging.

86 min: Andreu plays an aimless ball to no one in particular either a) proving that it’s not going to be Wanderers’ night or b) he’s a class above everyone else on the pitch, who simply aren’t on his elevated wavelength. Option a) wins.

84 min: Still Wanderers press for a way back into this one but increasingly they look like being frustrated. A goal now though would certainly set up a grandstand finish.

82 min: Castelen is put through here... he delays his shot slightly and that gives Brown time to get back and put him under pressure. When he does eventually pull the trigger his shot is deflected and Theo reacts brilliantly to keep it out!

80 min: Ten minutes remaining and it’s looking like the writing is on the wall for the Wanderers. And there’s the Poznan. Is that allowed this season? Seems to be quite a bit of jumping up and down... whatever, the majority of the 14,122 crowd don’t care and are taking part, and what a great sight it is.

78 min: Here is Clut and would you believe it, his moustache has disappeared! Incredible, it’s totally gone! I’m sure he was sporting one before. Anyway, the fresh-faced youngster replaces Jamie Maclaren, whose dreams of a hat-trick are over for the night.

77 min: Theo claims, commandingly so.

76 min: Jamieson’s effort from the resulting free-kick hits the wall, which does its job, and Wanderers have a corner.

75 min: Jade North goes into the book now, for stopping Castelen in his tracks, rather cynically. As deserved a yellow card as you’ll see, and he knows it.

74 min: Maclaren bullocks his way through the Wanderers backline once again now. He’s had a great game tonight. Ten out of 10 for effort and eight out of 10 for finishing in my book.

72 min: Theo gets up close and personal with a yellow card, brandished in his direction for what is perceived as time wasting.

71 min: Devante Clut is warming up and looking like he’s going to see some action tonight. The youngster is sporting a brilliant, bad teenage moustache tonight, and wouldn’t look out of place on a “Vote for Pedro” t-shirt.

70 min: Another sub: Hamill off, MacDonald on for Wanderers, who are basically playing with four up front now.

69 min: Another chance for Roar to settle this one on the break! But again, it’s wasted as this time Redmayne denies Borello who was played through one-on-one with the keeper.

67 min: Maclaren! Oh, that should have been three for him and four for Roar! The ball falls kindly to him but he catches it on the rise and can only blaze over the bar. So near to being game over... and the question has to be: will he live to regret that miss?

65 min: Maclaren appears desperate to grab a hat-trick tonight and with him in that kind of mood, the hosts need to stay aware at the back as they throw things forward. The Roar striker wins a corner after a quick counter here...

63 min: Andreu now has a pop at goal. It’s well struck but straight into the arms of Theo. Even so, the Wanderers are knocking on Brisbane’s door here. Thing is, the Roar are answering every time. If that makes any sense, which is really doesn’t. But you get the idea.

62 min: But Vidisic soon gets his first touch, as he opens up his body, Henry-like, to sidefoot an effort just past the post. A corner is given, even though it didn’t look like a Roar player got a touch on it.

61 min: As we wait for the corner to be taken, Dario Vidisic enters the fray, charged with the task of firing Wanderers back into this one. Theo claims the corner with aplomb and Vidisic doesn’t work instant wonders.

60 min: There’s just a bit of a lull in proceedings now as Wanderers play the ball around midfield a bit. It’s patient build-up play from the hosts and it nearly reaps benefits as Sotirio eventually centres towards Piovaccari, who is beaten in the air. But Wanderers have a corner...

56 min: Borello lands a header on top of the netting from another corner as Brisbane again threaten from a set piece.

54 min: Here comes the first change of the night, as Andreu comes on to take his A-League bow for Wanderers, in place of Dimas.

52 min: Phil Withall has been in touch with a travel update. “Still five minutes from home,” he writes. “Is it really 3-1 or are you just being kind?” Incredible as it may sound to a disillusioned Roar fan, I can confirm that this isn’t all an elaborate hoax for your benefit. The Roar are top of the league.

51 min: Piovaccari is all elbows are he challenges for a high ball with Corey Brown. Nothing overly untoward though.

50 min: I’ve just seen a :We are top of the league” tweet, presumably from a Brisbane fan. You just can’t argue with logic like that.

49 min: Maclaren is down on the ground following a blow to his knee, so Castelen sportingly puts the ball out of play. And as soon as he does so, Maclaren gets up and walks away. Such is modern day football.

48 min: Petratos, who I don’t recall having been mentioned to this point, gives away a silly, niggly free-kick, which is rather emblematic of the start to the second half – neither side has found their rhythm yet.

47 min: Neville becomes the first player to receive a slice of American cheese this season, for a crude challenge from behind on Broich.

OK, time to catch a breath and possibly even have a quick cup of tea (milk and one sugar, thanks) while mulling over those four goals that opened the A-League season with such a “bang”.

45 min: Two minutes of added time are shown by the electronic scoreboard and that means there’s plenty of time for Dimas to shake off the attentions of Corona with a neat turn and let off a shot on goal. It’s a regulation save for Theo though and it looks like we’ll head into the sheds with the Roar 3-1 up.

44 min: Piovaccari runs onto a Nichols through pass and unleashes a vicious strike on goal, but it hits the side netting and the those watching from a certain angle who saw the net bulge are quickly silenced.

43 min: There have been quite a few slips tonight, which is surprising given the quality of the surface and the lack of rain in Sydney over the past couple of days. Perhaps length of studs is an issue?

41 min: Castelen, who’s back on and moving freely by the way, beats his man again and whips over a teasing cross. Cleared this time by the Roar defence.

40 mins: Oh great chance for Wanderers to get one back but Topor-Stanley scoops over from close range, when all that was needed was a deft touch to outfox Theo, who had slipped in no-man’s land. But clearly centre-backs don’t know the meaning of a “deft touch”.

39 min: There’s steam coming off my keyboard now, but through the haze I can see that the Wanderers are appealing for a handball in the box. They’re not going to get anything for that though.

36 min: There’s some crazy bad defending going on out there tonight. From both teams.

35 min: The Wanderers hit back straight away! No, no they don’t. Nichols is pulled up for handball, rightly so, and the ‘goal’ won’t count.

33 min: Maclaren again does a fine job up front for the Roar and the visitors win another corner. Corona will take it again....

30 min: Half an hour into the new season and what a season it’s been so far! OK, hyperbole aside, it really has been an open and entertaining match thus far. The less said about the defending we’ve seen, the better, mind.

27 min: “Piovaccari!” screams the commentator Brenton Speed but the new Wanderers striker fluffs his lines a bit when presented with an opportunity to score with a scissors kick. He just doesn’t catch it right and the chance goes begging as blood pressure levels in the commentary box fall back to non-critical levels.

25 min: Oh dear, Castelen has a problem here. The Dutchman’s down and looks in some pain. He receives some assistance while on the ground but is able to hobble off under his own steam in the end.

24 min: The Wanderers almost hit back immediately as Sotirio languidly sends an effort just over the bar.

22 min: Jamieson now does his job at the back, getting a foot to a dangerous ball into the box. It’s a corner to Brisbane...

20 min: Okay, not enough has been said about the Wanderers fans so far (because the actual football has been noteworthy of attention). But anyway, the atmosphere is rocking and the RBB are in perpetual vocal animation. Fantastic stuff.

17 min: Just a quick word on the surface tonight – it looks tremendous. Not a blade of grass out of place, which should aid a slick passing game.

16 min: Ooh! Another chance for Maclaren, whose header skims off his forehead somewhat and glances wide of the mark. Brisbane finding their feet now.

14 min: Replays show that Nichols was well on-side, so no complaints there for the Roar. Although John Aloisi can have plenty about his defence, who switched off completely. And the TV commentator informs us that “the A-League is back with a bang!” Are you watching David Gallop? He called it.

11 min: That was a decent finish from Maclaren, it has to be said. Not easy to get the ball up over the keeper from that kind of position.

10 min: Well, after a bright start, a slip at the back has undone all that hard work and the Wanderers find themselves a goal down, against the run of play.

8 min: It’s at this point that I should really pretend that Brisbane have scored, for reader Phil Withall’s sake, but that would be mean and untrue. It’s 0-0 and it’s been the Wanderers who have started the brighter of the two teams.

6 min: Um, here’s a shot of some balls, lined up in a neat row before kick-off.

5 min: Empty seats behind the goal and in the corner, so far from a sell out at Pirtek tonight, which is perhaps understandable given it’s a schoolnight and all.

4 min: Jamieson! Ooh! The debutant full-back lets fly and brings a save out of Theo, a decent one at that.

3 min: Wanderers again threaten now as Castelen finds Sotirio with a pull back into the box. Sotirio can’t fashion enough space to get off a decent enough shot on target though.

2 min: An early chance for the Roar to put some pressure on the hosts here as Corona takes the first corner of the season. It’s not the best though and the ball is headed clear at the first man... and Wanderers break quickly with Sotirio, who jinks inside and has a pop on goal. Off target this time, but the crowd enjoyed that.

1 min: No! Wait, a false start. The referee wants the kick-off to be retaken for some reason. And after a brief delay, we are indeed under way.

The Fox Sports graphic has Corona as Carona – not sure if that’s actually how his name is spelt, but if so, that would be a shame for headline writers around Australia this season.

And here they come, the Wanderers in natty all-red tracky tops, Brisbane is their all-white away kit tonight.

Before we get under way, there will be a minute’s silence for Curtis Cheng, the police employee who was killed in Parramatta earlier this week. Needless to say, impeccably observed.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Phil though, who adds, “On a positive the fans forum with Aloisi and the football department on Tuesday proved to me that at least some progress is being made at the club. If only we could trust the owners and the FFA to hold true to their word I’d feel pretty positive about this season.”

The teams are in the tunnel and about to head out into “the cauldron that is Pirtek Stadium”.

And we have our first email of the evening! Good to have you on board, Phil Whithall. He writes in to tell us, “Commuting home, about to miss the start of the match, it’s starting to rain and I have a thirty minute walk ahead of me. Irrespective of what is actually happening could you do me a favour and just tell me that the Roar are winning. After all we’ve put up with recently...” Is this what Roar fans have become?

That is despite Western Sydney not having won a round one fixture in their (admittedly short) history, and them having won just one of their last seven A-League games against the Roar.

That gambling man who pops up on screen urging us to part with our hard-earned money in all sorts of excellent and fun ways before putting a disclaimer on his hard sell by encouraging us to line his company’s pockets in a “responsible” manner informs us that the Wanderers are favourites to win tonight’s match. So there you go.

Around 10 minutes to go before kick off and excitement is building. How fans are resisting the urge to wave the thousands of club-issued flags on each seat is beyond me. Fantastic restraint on the part of the Wanderers fans.

Pirtek/Parramatta Stadium is filling up nicely by the looks of things behind the Fox Sports gang who are currently out on the pitch - Adam Peacock, Mark Rudan and Mark Bosnich.

Ross Aloisi was “miked up”, Peacock tells us, during the Roar’s pre-match run around and as we cut to the footage of the session, we quickly learn that he was indeed – and that football cliches are indeed alive and well in the game. Excellent work RA.

Mike will be here shortly to bring you a blow-by-blow of tonight’s game, but before he gets into position, here’s a little something from David Squires to whet the appetite ahead of the big kick off: