Queensland Roar have dominated a 10-man Sydney outfit to progress to the A-League preliminary final with a 2-0 win at Suncorp Stadium.

The Roar scored an early goal through Brazilian striker Reinaldo before the visitors lost Robbie Middleby in the 20th minute, from which point the Queenslanders dominated possession before a late Sasa Ognenovski penalty sealed the win.

Their first away loss of the season sees Sydney FC eliminated from the A-League finals, while the Roar will meet the loser of the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners tie, to be completed on Sunday.

Reinaldo sent the record crowd of 36,221 into raptures with a piece of class in the 13th minute, beating two defenders before staying composed to slot the ball into the back of the Sydney net.

The scoring movement began with a long clearance from Roar skipper Craig Moore, which found the unmarked Brazilian after he had put a deft move on Sydney's Ufuk Talay to find space.

The 23-year-old then sidestepped Olyroos captain Mark Milligan before slotting his shot past Sydney 'keeper Clint Bolton with the composure of a seasoned professional.

Things got worse for the visitors just seven minutes later when midfielder Middleby was shown a red card for a challenge on Roar midfielder Matt McKay 35 metres out from goal.

McKay and Middleby were both attacking a through ball from Roar midfielder Massimo Murdocca when the two clashed, sending McKay crashing to the ground.

Referee Mark Shield showed no hesitation in pulling out the red card, despite the howls of protest from Sydney's senior players.

The home side dominated from that point on, with 20 shots on goal compared to Sydney's three.

Substitute striker Simon Lynch looked to have sewn up the tie in the 78th minute when he finished off a smooth counter attack, only for the Scotsman to be ruled offside by the referee's assistant.

Two minutes later Lynch had another opportunity to send his team to the grand final qualifier, only for Bolton to produce a magnificent diving save.

But in the 83rd minute the missed chances were forgotten when defender Ognenovski slotted home a penalty to put the game beyond doubt.

The penalty came after youngster Tahj Minniecon made a searching run into the box, only to be pushed off the ball by Sydney skipper Tony Popovic.

Shield pointed to the spot, before showing Popovic a yellow card for his remonstrations.

Ognenovski made no mistake with the shot, and saluted the ecstatic crowd as he hugged his jubilant team-mates.

After the match, Popovic expressed his frustration with the match-winning penalty.

"These things happen, a goal and a guy sent off and then it's an under-sixes penalty," he told Fox Sports.

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