Brisbane have clawed a 2-1 win over Wellington thanks to a late Jamie Maclaren goal in hot and humid conditions in the first ever A-League clash in Cairns.

In-form Roy Krishna put the Phoenix in front on the stroke of half-time, punishing the Roar for a litany of wasted chances in attack.

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But coach John Aloisi’s rejigged side found their groove in the second half, with substitute Steven Lustica and Maclaren providing the goals that secured the Roar’s first win in a month.

The result keeps Brisbane in touch with early A-League pacesetters Western Sydney and Melbourne Victory, while the Phoenix have now dropped to sixth on the ladder.

Unable to play at Suncorp Stadium because it is being returfed following two recent concerts, the Roar only pulled in a disappointing 5162 fans at Cazalys Stadium, although some supporters would have been deterred by the harsh mid-afternoon sun.

Players were given respite from testing conditions with a drinks break midway through the first half, with the pre-match wet bulb globe temperature reading at 28 – according to FFA’s heat policy, the threshold at which drinks break or a delayed kick-off should be considered.

The first breakthrough for Brisbane came in the 71st minute, not long after Aloisi emptied his bench with his third and final change.

Making up for a fluffed chance minutes earlier, Maclaren unleashed Jean Carlos Solorzano with an impressive through ball and the Costa Rican’s cutback found Lustica, who blasted home from close range.

Maclaren then netted the winner with four minutes to go, latching onto a long ball from the back and rounding goalkeeper Glen Moss, whose attempt at collecting the ball actually set the former Perth Glory frontman up with a fortuitous ricochet.

Brisbane should have taken the lead far earlier but seemed gun-shy and were often thwarted by excellent last-ditch Wellington defending.

They had the better of the first half but dropped their guard just before the break when Fijian flyer Krishna scored his fifth goal of the season.

Hovering at the corner of the penalty box, Krishna was afforded far too much space by Brisbane’s defenders.

Cutting onto his right, he danced around lax challenges from Jack Hingert and Dimi Petratos and fired off a low shot that found the bottom corner.

– AAP