It was a tough weekend for Brisbane Roar fans, as both W-League and A-League teams crashed to defeat, in contrasting manners.
But one common thread could be identified in post-match analysis of the two games: Brisbane lacked a cutting edge up front.
Brisbane Roar's W-League campaign finally came to an end as Canberra always had their noses in front to win a wonderfully attacking grand final, 3-2.
While in the A-League, Newcastle United Jets have always been tricky customers in their visits to Suncorp Stadium, boasting a winning record at the venue. But in Brisbane, local fans were of the opinion that it was long-departed Jets striker Joel Griffiths who was the villain, and without him Newcastle should not pose too many problems.
Of course, pre-match speculation and post-match keyboard rattlings have zero impact on what happens on the pitch. And obviously the Jets hadn't read the script, because in the early exchanges the visitors were punching holes in a sluggish Roar defence.
Franny Jeffers and Jobe Wheelhouse were the main dangermen. Jeffers was the main target upfront, and his movement and clever runs were spreading the Roar defence. This allowed Jacob Pepper and Jobe Wheelhouse to get into shooting positions in the penalty box.
It was Wheelhouse who opened the scoring, ghosting into the box ahead of Matt Smith in the 23rd minute, and tucking his shot under Michael Theoklitos. But the goal was neither a surprise, nor was it undeserved.
Brisbane were missing striker Besart Berisha for this game, serving his one-match ban for his bare-chested antics after the final whistle of the previous home game, the last-minute come-from-behind win against Sydney.
And for the longest time, the Roar fans felt that a repeat of the previous game was a strong possibility. Sure, the Roar was a goal down, but didn't we have all the ball? And Thomas Broich is on the field, everything will be alright.
Well for the first time since he joined the club, Thomas Broich tasted defeat in a home game. It was also the team's first defeat with Broich on the field since September 2010.
Without Berisha for this match, Ange Postecoglu started Thomas Broich as the central striker. But in reality, he played as a 'false nine', going deep to receive the ball, and looking for the wide strikers to make runs into the box.
And in the first half, it looked like this may work. Henrique had a couple of opportunities, and Mitch Nichols also managed to get into some promising positions. But Newcastle's scrambling defence showed sufficient desperation and determination to not allow clear shots on goal.
After halftime Brisbane totally dominated possession, and eventually were totally camped in the Jets half. As several teams have shown this year, however, this does not mean that Brisbane can score in these situations.
Broich moved himself out to left side of attack, starting his runs on the touchline, and usually cutting infield to look for players making an angled run. The Newcastle penalty area was more crowded than a Hong Kong subway in peak hour, and not even the magic feet and swaying hips of Broich, or super-substitute James Meyer could find their way through.
Henrique had the best chance of the second half, but was wrongly ruled offside. Mitch Nichols managed to burst through, but scooped his shot over the bar.
In the end, the Jets were valiant in victory. Special mention should go to Tarek Elrich, who was fantastic at right back for the visitors. One clearing header from an Ivan Franjic cross was brilliant work as the ball seemed destined for Nick Fitzgerald to score.
Brisbane will lose Mitch Nichols to Olyroos duty soon. With James Meyer making a return from injury, and Nick Fitzgerald playing an energetic 90 minutes in this game, there will be more chances for some of the Roar's youngsters to contribute over the next month leading into the Asian Champions League.
Brisbane's form in front of goal would be a cause for concern for Ange Postecoglu. But the side dominated the game, as they always do at home. It's just that sometimes they don't turn that dominance into the stat that really matters.