Sunshine Coast Fire v Brisbane Roar
Pre-Season Friendly
One Mile Ovals, Gympie – Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Kane Frampton – Staff Reporter
It was a gallant effort by the Sunshine Coast Fire, but the Brisbane Roar proved too strong in Wednesday night’s friendly with a 3-1 victory in tough conditions.
It was a wet night at Gympie’s One Mile Ovals where the Fire and Roar met as part of the Roar’s preseason tour, and it proved to be a hard-fought contest.
The Fire held strong until late in the first half, when the Roar scored two quick goals through Kosta Barbarouses and Henrique to take the lead. Barbarouses scored his second to stretch the lead to three after the break, before the Fire pegged one back with a classy strike from Corey Towle.
From the start the Roar moved the ball around quickly, and it took time for the Fire to acclimatise to the pace of the game. Antony Hall was kept busy early as Brisbane flooded forward.
After three minutes, Henrique was one-on-one with Hall and tried to round him, but Hall did well to claw the ball away as Henrique shaped to shoot. Moments later, Mitch Nichols drove a shot inches wide of the upright.
The Fire’s defence was coping well with the early onslaught, as James Stinson timed a sliding challenge perfectly to deny Thomas Broich a shot on goal.
The Sunshine Coast were finding it difficult to mount a serious attack on Brisbane’s goal. Aaron Brazendale released Ryan Delahunty on the right wing, but Delahunty was called offside.
The first half wore on as Brisbane kept up their frenetic pace, and continued to create chances. Ivan Franjic hit a pinpoint pass to Mitch Nichols, who flashed a shot wide. In the next play, Henrique found space in the penalty area and looked for the corner of goal, but missed by inches. Next, a dipping long range shot by Thomas Broich was parried well by Hall.
The Roar’s frustration was becoming evident, and the Fire almost snatched a goal against the run of play when a free kick from Greig Henslee found Shaun Blackman, who connected sweetly with a header that was well blocked.
Thirty minutes came and went, and still the Fire held firm. Young players such as Alex Henderson, James Stinson and Ryan Delahunty were not overawed by the occasion, and stuck to their tasks admirably.
As the end of the first half approached, the heavens opened and the game was played in torrential rain, which would prove to change the complexion of the contest.
On 40 minutes, the deadlock was broken by Kosta Barbarouses who pounced on a rebound and struck from the edge of the area. Brisbane continued to press for a second and were rewarded on the stroke of halftime when Henrique shook off his marker and shot truly from close range.
Even in a half of football dominated by the Roar, the Fire were likely disappointed to be heading into the sheds two goals down, and came out after the break looking to create more chances.
Aston Bell made a number of changes for the second half, with Chris Bacon, Corey Towle and new signing Drew Laurence replacing Ryan Delahunty, Aaron Brazendale and Sam Knight. Laurence partnered Tyson Holmes in midfield, while Yuta Gonai moved to the right flank.
As the teams settled into a rhythm, the Fire began to manufacture some opportunities. Blackman got a shot away as two defenders converged on him, but Roar keeper Michael Theoklitos was untroubled.
After 54 minutes, a flowing move from defence to attack nearly yielded the Fire a goal, as Henslee dribbled out of defence and found Chris Bacon, who released Yuta Gonai down the right flank. Gonai moved into the penalty area and made Theoklitos work with a low shot. Minutes later, James Stinson cut in off the right flank and timed a through pass for Blackman, who poked his shot wide.
Soon after, substitute Jai Cross hit a curling pass behind the defence to Bacon, who hit a first touch shot over the bar.
The Roar were not posing the same attacking threat as they were in the first half, as their work rate dropped off slightly. On 66 minutes, Kosta Barbarouses had their third goal, when he spotted an opening and shot on goal from 20 yards out. Hall was left grasping at air as Barbarouses’ shot hit the back of the net inside the near post.
The scoreboard was doing the Fire no justice, and they were more than holding their own against a slick Brisbane Roar side. In the 70th minute, the Fire’s hard work paid off with a superb goal.
A cross from Stinson into the penalty area fell to Corey Towle on 18 yards. Towle moved onto his preferred left foot, and hit a curling shot past Theoklitos. The ball hit the inside of the far post and crossed the line to the delight of home fans.
The goal spurred the Fire on and they looked to find a second as the final whistle beckoned. Stinson shot wide following a corner, and Drew Laurence curled a shot wide of the near post.
Brisbane almost snatched a fourth goal in dying minutes, only to be denied by a strong reflex save by Hall.
The final whistle blew for a 3-1 victory to a classy Brisbane Roar side, but the Fire earned plenty of respect with a gallant and disciplined performance, particularly in the second half. It was the first time the Roar had conceded a goal in six preseason fixtures.
Aston Bell hailed the effort of his players against quality opposition in difficult circumstances.
“I’m delighted with how we performed tonight. It was always going to be a difficult task but to show that sort of character and prove that we are capable of stepping it up to the next level was a tremendous effort. I’m delighted with the way we defended all over the pitch, we carried out the instructions well and the Roar didn’t get a lot of chances against us in the second half.”
Bell is confident that he will see another positive performance against the FNQ Bulls on Sunday.
“We’ve set a benchmark for ourselves, I think tonight will give us some momentum going into Sunday. It’s a game we’re really looking forward to and I’m confident we will come away with the victory.”
Final Score: Sunshine Coast Fire – 1 (Towle, 70)
Brisbane Roar – 3 (Barbarouses, 40, 66, Henrique, 45)
