Under 15 Girls – Sunshine Coast FC (2) v Redlands United FC (1)
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Under 18 Boys – SWQ Thunder (4) v Sunshine Coast FC (1)
Fire travelled away to Toowoomba to take on the top of the table SWQ Thunder, a big ask as Fire had lost the last six games straight and were languishing second from bottom.
From the 7pm kick off Fire were determined to compete with the physical Thunder, who were looking to close Fire down quickly and were aggressive and had the air of confidence a winning culture generates.
The early exchanges were back and forth with little constructive play. Thunder relied on releasing their quick front runners with balls from either midfield or defence and the Fire defence, marshalled by James Beckman, were working hard to cover the numerous through balls.
In the 10th minute Thunder won a free kick on the edge of the Fire box. Josh Wall saved a certain goal as he pulled off a fine save diving to his right and got an outstretched hand to the ball to push it over the bar for a corner.
Fire replied a minute later when Bailey Wearn put a good cross over from the left to find Abe Reeves but his header could not beat the Thunder keeper.
In the 15th minute Fire had the most promising move of the game in a fine passing display that began on the right as the ball was recycled from Taj Suffolk across the Fire defence to Liam Burns and Wearn played the ball forward to Jez Lofthouse wide on the left. Lofthouse slipped in behind the Thunder defence in a drive to the backline and cut the ball back to find Terone Wattegedara, but his goal bound touch was not hard enough to force the ball across the goal line from a tangle of bodies.
Kimba Kibombo for Thunder had looked dangerous coming forward and in the 19th minute appeared to be well covered by three Fire defenders who had the opportunity to clear the ball as Kibombo was dispossessed on the edge of the box. Kibombo recovered quickly and pounced on the loose ball. His low shot beat Wall diving to his right to make it 1-0 to Thunder.
After going behind to what would have to be described as a soft goal, Fire lost any momentum they had been building in an all too familiar situation. Their pass completion was poor and they struggled to compete with Thunder.
Despite this Fire fought their way back into the game and created a number of chances that if taken would have turned the game on its head. Headers to Wattegedara and Beckman went unrewarded. In the 43rd minute a free kick from Ollie Blackmore saw Beckman get another header which ended in a goal mouth scramble and an attempted bicycle kick from Wattegedara was skied and came down dangerously for Thunder before they clawed the ball away to safety.
A scrappy start to the second half saw neither team play with any cohesion. Beckman was busy in central defence and Blackmore was working hard in midfield. Cam Nairn and Kobe Fuller were brought on up front to try to build some combinations and find a way through the solid no frills Thunder defence.
In the 60th minute Fire returned to bad habits and switched off when they failed to deal with a ball played through wide on the right and with little resistance by Fire to the subsequent cross Jackson Courtney had a simple tap in for Thunder to make it 2-0.
And again in the 67th minute Fire appeared to switch off when a short passing combination at the top of the Fire box saw David Kuanza clear in behind the Fire defence to score Thunder’s third goal.
It was a difficult road back for Fire but they showed enough fight to create a number of chances which could have ended in goals. In the 70th minute Lofthouse played Reeve in behind the Thunder defence but a sliding tackle saved a certain goal. Fire had repeat corners as they built pressure. In the 75th minute Lofthouse hit the post with a firm header from a free kick from Mitch Bridge on the right.
Any chance of a comeback by the Fire was all but extinguished in the 78th minute, however, when a miscalculated backpass left Wall stranded for an own goal and handed the Thunder their fourth unanswered goal.
Still looking for that consolation goal, Fire kept attacking and were almost rewarded in the 90th minute when Lofthouse made an individual run down the left beating several defenders before he ran out of space at the near post as the covering defence closed in on him.
Finally in the third minute of extra time from one of the many free kicks Fire were winning from a determined Thunder defence, Blackmore found Reeve on the right who crossed into the box. Nairn was on hand on the right side of the box to claim the loose ball and played a short pass to Fuller who drilled the ball into the net in an emphatic strike to give Fire the goal they deserved and a final score of 4-1.
Player of Match: James Beckman
