Hyundai Queensland State Youth League – Grand Final
Sunshine Coast Fire v Queensland Academy of Sport
Saturday, September 11, 2010 – Perry Park, Albion
Kane Frampton – Staff Reporter
The Sunshine Coast Fire Under-19s have stood tall on the big stage, coming from behind to down the Queensland Academy of Sport 2-1 and claim the club’s first Youth Championship.
Goals to Kaine Frew and Cohen Bell late in the first half gave the Fire the lead, with the boys clinging on to the narrowest of margins to lift the trophy.
Given that the bulk of the QAS senior side is young enough to play for the Under-19s, QAS had a strong squad to choose from for the Grand Final, whereas the Fire were to be without the services of captain Josh Taylor and Ryan Delahunty on senior team duties.
James Cooper, Rob McNicol, Matthew Bevan and Joe McMahon were played in defence, and the usual wingers in Luke Lewis and James Verdin were selected. Rhys Roberts partnered Nick Roth in the centre of midfield, while it was Kaine Frew and Cohen Bell up forward.
As the match kicked off in the rapidly setting sun at Perry Park, visibility was a problem and each side was not afraid to get stuck in early. Both sides were guilty of losing possession early before beginning to hit their stride.
After a largely uneventful opening 15 minutes, the Fire had one of their best chances of the match, as Roth accelerated down the centre and into the penalty area before sliding a neat pass to Bell, who drove a shot at QAS keeper Matthew Stein.
Bell was again involved moments later, when an accurate early ball from Verdin allowed Bell a shot on goal, but he was forced wide under pressure.
The Sunshine Coast began to look more dangerous in attack, successfully exploiting the flanks to expose the QAS defence. But with the Fire looking the more likely to open the scoring, QAS nicked a goal at the other end.
After gaining possession on the right wing, QAS played a ball in behind the defence. Kwame Yeboah broke the offside trap, took possession and moved in on goal one-on-one. Yeboah’s shot beat Sam Nickolls but rebounded off the post, and Josh Riis was on hand to tuck home the rebound.
As was the case against the Brisbane Strikers a fortnight ago, the Fire found themselves chasing the match and needing a goal to stay in the contest. In the ensuing minutes, the Sunshine Coast had a raft of chances to square the ledger.
A long ball from Roberts fell for Verdin, who forced a save out of Stein from the edge of the penalty area. Soon after, Frew did well to get on the end of a cross from Lewis, but angled his header wide of goal.
On 36 minutes, the Fire had their deserved equaliser. Frew was released one-on-one with a good through-ball, and slid a shot past Stein who had run out to block. As the ball trickled toward the goalline, Stein chased it and hacked it away, but the linesman adjudged that it had crossed the line and awarded the goal.
With parity restored, the Fire could have been forgiven for closing out the minutes before half-time, but instead looked for a second goal. After several patient build-ups couldn’t break the QAS defence, the Fire went 2-1 ahead in the last play before half-time.
Lewis dribbled along the right touchline before wrong-footing his marker and cutting inside the penalty area, sliding a pass to Bell who made no mistake at the near post. It proved to be an excellent time to score, as the Fire went into the sheds at half-time full of confidence.
After the break, QAS came out full of running and created some chances. Brandon Borrello broke well down the right, before Nickolls snatched the ball away from him. Ben Liftin had a shot on goal from distance, but Nickolls was again up for the challenge.
As the second half wore on, Jonathan Rose and Brad Wallace were brought on for Rob McNicol and James Cooper as the Fire looked to protect their lead.
With the Sunshine Coast maintaining possession well, QAS were struggling to get enough time on the ball to create genuine chances, and mistakes were creeping into their game. A miscued clearance from Stein was gathered by Bell, who shot wide. On 65 minutes, Frew found space and tried his hand from distance, but didn’t trouble the keeper.
With full-time getting ever closer, Rose had a shot deflected away for a corner. Verdin swung the ball in and McMahon blasted a volley over the bar.
As the game entered injury time, QAS looked to be out of options and unlikely to find a way past the Fire defence, which had been sturdy and disciplined all second half. Verdin had one last opportunity to grab a third for the Fire after a quick-break down the left, but lashed his effort wide.
The final whistle went, and the Fire celebrated a hugely successful finals campaign which had seen them knock off the Brisbane Strikers and QAS, both of whom had won when the sides last met.
As the presentations commenced, coach Andy Watson confessed to being the proudest person on the ground, and paid tribute to his players and assistant coach Gareth Roberts, as acting captain Matthew Bevan lifted the trophy to the delight of fans.
After a solid season, the Fire had come through when it mattered and became the first team to win the Under-19 Hyundai Queensland State Youth League.
Final Score: Sunshine Coast FC – 2 (Frew, 36, Bell, 45)
Queensland Academy of Sport – 1 (Riis, 27)
