Scoring a goal with just 43 seconds on the clock was always going to be a hard act to follow.

But Melbourne Victory superstar Harry Kewell did his darnedest before Brisbane hung on for a gripping 3-2 A-League win after a memorable shootout with Roar marksman Besart Berisha.

Two-goal hero Berisha was celebrating his first before most of the 18,523-strong Suncorp Stadium crowd had taken their seats in a sign of the fireworks to come.

The Albanian struck after forcing his way past four Victory defenders to notch his 14th goal of the season – a new club record – with less than a minute on the clock.

Kewell then claimed his first of the night in the ninth minute after some slick lead-up work by Marco Rojas.

That sparked the Victory to life before hitman Berisha put the hosts back ahead in the 32nd minute.

A pin-point Tomas Broich pass found Henrique and the Brazilian livewire’s sublime cross ensured Berisha extended his record to 15.

Victory looked shellshocked and six minutes later it was 3-1 when Erik Paartalu was felled in the area and Henrique made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Kewell again lifted his team early in the second half, pouncing on an error in the 50th minute by Broich to produce a finish which gave keeper Michael Theoklitos no chance.

But second placed Roar held their nerve against the eighth-placed Victory to notch their third straight win and remain five points behind leader Central Coast.