Sunshine Coast stretched their unbeaten run to three matches with a 0-0 draw against Brisbane Roar Youth at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Sunday.
Though neither will compete in the Finals Series, the two teams added to positive recent results with their third and fifth clean sheets respectively.
The draw means the hosts remain ninth with one round remaining while Young Roar will seek to improve on seventh with three fixtures still to play.
Fire’s Kenya Takahashi drew the first save from Denver Crickmore in the 10th minute while Jared Moore, on his return from a dislocated knee, headed wide from a Jacob Fulluck corner.
Despite beginning to make more openings of their own, Young Roar almost fell behind when Fulluck shot across the face shortly before the break.
The young striker should have buried his 11th of the season midway through the second half but was unable to convert the opener from close range.
Fire goalkeeper Kevin Downes next combined with the crossbar to keep out Stephen O’Neill’s free-kick and preserve the deadlock.
Young Roar came home strongly in the closing minutes and might have pinched all three points, only for Samuel Sibatuara’s stoppage-time strike to be ruled out for offside.
Both teams still have major parts to play in the premiership race with Fire to round out their season at home to rivals Brisbane Strikers on Sunday, while Young Roar make the short trip to Moreton Bay United on Wednesday night.
Speaking after the match, Fire coach Paul Arnison said he was pleased with the performance and felt it pointed to a competitive final match against Strikers.
“With the chances on the whole I thought we could have won the game but (I’m) more than happy to take a point in the end,” Arnison said.
Young Roar assistant coach Joel Smith believed the visitors could have created more in attack, but remained content.
“Overall there was more good than bad, more positives than negatives, and I was quite happy with the game in general,” Smith said.
Sunshine Coast FC 0
Brisbane Roar FC Youth 0
