Under 12 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (7) v SWQ Thunder (1)
Fire started very well taking control of the game early and were 2 up within 6 minutes. Good controlled build ups and intensity without the ball.
The early pressure led to an early corner which was well delivered by Law and met be captain Lombardo, timing his run well to meet the ball and steer the ball home. (1v0)
The pressure continued with Thunder struggling to get out of their half. Williams to Debbage who cleverly held the ball up before finding Camm who had overlapped nicely. Camm then cut in before firing an unstoppable shot low into the corner. A well-constructed team goal. (2v0 , mins)
Fire then took their foot off the pedal and allowed Thunder more of the ball and Thunder started to play well. A mix up at the back led to their only goal. The ball finally ricocheting onto the onrunning Thunder striker. He finished well under GK Salih who was unlucky not to save it. (2v1, 13 mins)
The rest of the 1st half didn’t see Fire at their best as they struggled to get their rhythm back. Good intent and some good moves, but Fire gave up possession too easily and the Thunder defence resolute and GK making a number of good saves. Fire coach was happy to talk to the boys at HT to adjust the intensity and shooting approach.
The 2nd half was one-way traffic. Fire dominated and played some great football, and Thunder looked outclassed as the goals flowed.
Rzoska scored a deserved cracker, 19 yards out and intelligently hit low. (3v1, 33 mins)
Then came a quick fire hat-trick from Patterson.
Rzoska setting up the first with a neat run and through ball which Alex drove into the bottom corner. Alex made his own goal for his 2nd, robbing the defender before coolly finishing. His 3rd saw Emery skipping past defenders and was unlucky not to score himself…but Alex grabbed the rebound with a classic strikers finish high into the net.
(6v1, 36mins, 40 mins, 42 mins)
The pressure continued and Williams scored a well-earned goal, Law and Camm involved again, before the ball fell to the ever-busy Williams who floated a long-range effort over the keeper. (7v1, 51 mins)
It could have been more with a penalty miss for the Fire after Gaske had made one of his many piercing runs before being fouled in the box.
So the desire of the 2nd half together with more composure and more effective strikes saw the Fire run out well deserved winners.
Law had a great game on the wing today. Setting up a number of goals and looking dangerous.
Swindles delivered an accomplished defensive performance at RB. All the mids stepped up in the 2nd half. Of note was Williams who helped us control the game alongside Camm.
Once again, an impressive performance from the ever-improving Fire 12s. And well positioned as we look forward to playing the in-form Brisbane City next week.
Player of the Match – Matt Gaske. A very good game, and particularly influential first half. Good passing and interchanges mixed with effective running with the balls skills.
Under 13 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (6) v SWQ Thunder (5)
This match proved to be a tough, competitive game which turned out to be a top of the table clash between two unbeaten teams.
Poor defending and mistakes in the first half by the normally strong Fire defence resulted in SWQ Thunder scoring three ‘cheap’ goals
Poor clearance by the Fire defence resulted in the Thunder gaining possession and crossing into the box, which was handled by Cody Pyne. Luke Lister dispatched the penalty to score his first goal of the day.
The Fire quickly answered this early score from the Thunder when a left wing drive by Callum Pearce, then squared the ball to Luke Varga. Varga set up the ball on the edge of the box for Jack Beardsley, whose powerful shot flew by a stationery keeper in the 4th minute.
A short back pass by Eze Hawkins was intercepted by Lister, leaving the Thunder striker one on one with the keeper. His first shot was parried by the Fire keeper but he made no mistake with the rebound.
Thunder soon followed up with their third goal of the day. The ball was played into Lister’s feet on the edge of the box, who turned Brodie Boyce and fired hard into the corner of the goal.
Fire responded with two goals to keep the score within reach and set up an exciting second half of football. Harry Arnison released the ball from midfield into Jack Beardsley who turned and played a slide rule ball inside the last defender to Sam Aitkin. Aitkin’s first touch gave him the space to fire home for the third goal for the Fire, equalling the score in the 36th minute.
Fire gained the upper-hand before the end of the first half when a square ball across the edge of the box was met first time by Harry Arnison with his powerful shot flying past the keeper into the top right corner.
A side tackle in the 44th minute saw Harry Arnison get a yellow card.
The Fire came out in the second half with more energy and played with their characteristic high tempo strong passing game. The result was three goals and a 5-3 lead, which Thunder had no answer for. In the opening of the second half, Jack Beardsley drove into the box past two players, using his strength to hold off the last defender and fire across the keeper into the top left hand corner.
Thunder then made three substitutions, bringing back on their dynamic centre forward, who continued to be dangerous and score two more goals, either side of a sixth Fire goal, to add his first half hat-trick. A strong run in the 54th minute by Lister through the heart of the Fire defence was finished strongly by the Thunder striker for his fourth of the game.
A quick one-two with Jack Beardsley on the edge of the box left Callum Pearce free to shoot past the Thunder keeper to score Fire’s sixth of the game.
Lister’s fifth of the game was a carbon copy of his fourth as the Fire defence failed to stop another of his strong determined runs.
This set up a frantic last five minutes in what was a fantastic game of football on the Stadium pitch.
Player of the Match – Harry Arnison for his strong driving runs from midfield and good ball possession with two great goals in a high pressure game.
Under 13 Girls
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (3) v Olympic FC (2)
Team has been building nicely over the past few weeks, dominating play and back-to‐back wins is not far away. A win would do the girls some confidence after their last game ended in a Draw.
This game saw the team starting to really gel and work together. The whole team defended as one unit and defended well against Olympic in the first half.
In the 6th minute, the Fire made a play up the left, across to the right which saw Georgia Harle score. The Fire controlled the ball well and showed a much-improved passing game. However, they failed to give chase.
The defence continued to back away and let the opposition get more field and shots.
The second goal of the game came in the 17th minute when Olympic shot a long ball into space, ran down the left, was allowed to have a shot, in off the post.
The Fire soon answered with their own long ball from the defence, run down the left side, with a shot from out wide by Abbey Hutton to bring the score to 2-1 at the end of the first half.
The Fire’s offense went missing in the first 15 mins of the second half, but proved that they can defend well. This payed off for the Fire in the 50th minute with Anya Suffolk running down the left, crossing through Olympic’s defence to score.
The Fire continued to defend well into the second half. This wasn’t enough though with an Olympic play down the left. The Fire had the numbers but couldn’t clear the ball and in the 53rd minute, Olympic scored their final goal of the match with a cross to the centre.
The play was a bit scrappy play late in the game but the Fire managed to hang on to their lead, winning the game 3-2.
Player of the Match – Alexis Shaw
Under 14 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (8) v SWQ Thunder (2)
Coming from 2 straight losses before the Easter break, the Fire was keen to return to their winning form.
Fire started off with great intensity and some nice play from Captain Oli Williams.
The 5th minute saw a brilliant run from Tom Whittaker to beat the Thunder defence and whip the ball in for Daniel Cuttler to finish nicely into the net. (1-0)
Two free kicks awarded to Thunder in the 7th & 8th minute, saw both blocked in the wall by Kaelan Debbage who then sprinted after the ball to hold the Thunder player up, so the rest of the team could drop back into position.
It was only 2 minutes later that Kaelan Debbage was fouled in the box and a penalty was awarded. Tom Whittaker took the shot and placed in superbly past the keeper. (2-0) A great 1-2 combination from Joseph Higginson saw some nice play in the midfield.
However in the 18th minute a through ball was placed to Thunder’s Striker, who took the opportunity to chip it over GK Kurt Moore-Barnard and score on the left side of the goal. (2-1) After a drink break in the 20th minute, Fire switched off for a period and this allowed Thunder to pass the ball and create some opportunities.
The 27th minute saw a deep lobbing cross from Owen Brader for Daniel Cuttler to score a cushioned header. (3-1)
However in the 31st minute, Thunder made a nice run down the right flank to beat the Fire defender, cut back in, and score past GK Kurt Moore-Barnard. (3-2)
Joseph Higginson received a Yellow card in the 32nd minute after a foul tackle.
The next few minutes before half time saw the Thunder keeper busy, with a few attacking runs from the Fire and Owen Brader nearly scored when he chipped the ball over the out of position Thunder keeper, however the ball went just right of the goal.
Not long into the second half, an altercation with Harrison Bowen and a Thunder player saw Bowen receive a Yellow card in the 36th minute. It didn’t take long for Tom Whittaker to find his form after the break though, with three great goals in the next ten minutes. The 40th minute brought a brilliant goal from Tom Whittaker who shot the ball in from the right side at an impossible angle for him to find the back of the net. (4-2)
A well-executed through ball from Mackenar Bradfield in the 46th minute, found Tom Whittaker to casually chip the keeper and score. (5-2) Then only 2 minutes later, a well-placed ball from Harry Fletcher through to Tom Whittaker, allowed him to slot the ball past the keeper and score his 4th goal of the game. (6-2)
The Fire defence held strong and with a corner from Thunder, GK Nathan Foster make a timely punch out and the ball was put back into play.
An unfortunate and incorrect decision by the referee in the 51st minute gave Harrison Bowen his second Yellow card of the game for a foul tackle, which saw him sent from the field with a Red card. Even with the Fire team reduced to 10 men, the Fire continued to create opportunities and play some nice football.
This was rewarded in the 57th minute, with Owen Brader dropping the ball back for Tom Whittaker to cross the ball in and find Daniel Cuttler to score with his left foot. (7-2)
Kaelan Debbage received a Yellow Card in the 60th minute. The best way to respond to this was a nice through ball from Harry Fletcher, saw Kaelan Debbage drive the ball into the left side of the goal and score in the 64th minute. (8-2)
With full time approaching, a great corner from Kaelan Debbage found the head of Joseph Higginson, but unfortunately the ball went over the goal.
With at times some scrappy play and passing, the team received a well-deserved and much needed win and hopefully they will continue to improve and work as a unit. Fire 8-2 winners.
Player of the Match: Tom Whittaker
Under 15 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (7) v SWQ Thunder (4)
The Fire went into this match on the back of two successive draws and were looking to take the 3 points from SWQ Thunder who were sitting in 8th position prior to the match.
In a scrappy start, Sunshine Coast Fire dominated field position, but gave the ball away when pressed by an SWQ outfit with plenty of endeavour.
Two early chances for Fire went wide of the post and it was Thunder who took the lead from the penalty spot after 14 minutes after a foul just inside the box.
Two minutes later Fire equalized in what would be a high scoring encounter. The goal was a good piece of individual play from Terone Wattedegara, who received a throw in dribbled through two players and finished well.
On 21 minutes, Fire took a 2-1 lead after a pass from Aiden Castillo found Jared Schulz who beat a man and finished into the far corner from an acute angle.
It was the 3-1 in the 26th minute when some good work playing out of defence released Taj Suffolk, who pushed forward from right back, beat two Thunder players out wide and put in a cross that deceived the Thunder keeper and floated into the net.
A lack of concentration saw Thunder reply immediately to make it 3-2, with a cross from out wide not dealt with, and the goal was scored despite a good initial save from keeper David Payne.
Once again Fire replied quickly to make it 4-2 with the goal of the game coming from some great team play. A ball into Tyson Williams was laid off to Mitchell Bridge who played a sublime through ball to Terone Wattedegara who had made a great run from deep. Terone controlled the pass well, and rifled a shot into the top corner.
Just before half time Fire made it 5-2 in a frenetic first half, this time some more good play from Wattedegara saw his shot saved, and Tyson Williams was there to put the rebound into the net.
The goals kept coming in the second half, and Thunder were once again first to score with a through ball splitting the Fire defence and the Thunder player able to finish past David Payne in a 1 on 1 situation.
Once again Fire went up the other end and scored. This time it was a good driving run from Bailey Waern in central defence. His through ball found Terone Wattedegara who controlled well and blasted the ball into the roof of the net for his hat trick.
The match finally settled down a little from this point, although there were some dicey moments as Fire gave the ball away a little too cheaply, but David Payne was solid in goal.
On 65 minutes Fire scored their 7th for the day, with a well worked set piece from a corner seeing a Mitch Bridge cross headed in by Max Foottit.
In the last minute of the match Thunder got their 4th goal of the day after a turn and shot from 20 yards found the top corner.
In the end a 7-4 win for Fire, with the players happy some goals were scored from things we’ve been working on in training, but disappointed to concede 4 goals.
Player of the Match – Terone Wattedegara
Under 15 Girls
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (1) v Olympic FC (2)
It was another hard game for the Under 15 Girls, with Olympic sitting at the top of the ladder. After coming back from the Easter break, it would have been good to kick off the next round of games with a win to help the team build confidence going forward.
The girls came out strong in the first half and had a lot of possession. The team was rewarded with multiple opportunities on goal. Both Alex Cannon and Jazlyn Salih were given great killer balls that they were able to get into the box. Our midfield was also working very hard, following and creating chances on goal. At about the 18th minute the girls’ hard work was rewarded with a goal. Hannah Taylor had the ball on Olympic’s end line and was able to battle past a defender and the goal keeper to get the goal. It was a great show of effort and perseverance on her part. The defence wasn’t heavily challenged in the half, but did an excellent job stopping Olympic’s efforts.
Olympic came out very strong in the second half and were able to score a goal within the first 10 minutes of the half. The girls responded by increasing their pressure on the ball, and executing sharper touches and passes. Again in the second half we had a number of well executed combination plays and through balls which gave Fire multiple chances on goal. Unfortunately we were unable to execute. In the last few minutes of the game Olympic was able to get the ball up the field and had an excellent shot from the corner of the 18 which hit the upper corner of our goal.
Overall, it was another very well-played game by the girls and every player gave 100%. If they continue to play this way games will start going their way, and they’ll get the wins.
Player of the Match – Hannah Taylor
Under 16 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (3) v SWQ Thunder (1)
The match kicked off at 1pm on yet another humid autumn day with the Fire boys enjoying a small advantage of a slight sea breeze.
The Fire settled first and Kye Yamaoka-Chapman getting forward from the left side of defence was able to earn an early corner.
After 10 mins Fire’s passing game was putting the Thunder defence under pressure. Despite this a long ball from the Thunder defence almost caught the Fire out.
Thunder were trying to get into the game but at 12 mins were unable to take advantage of a free kick they won within striking distance of the Fire goal.
Two minutes later Sean Culpitt found Jack Bowen in space behind the Thunder defence with a lofted pass and Jack was able to run onto the ball and with a calculated leap to get the height needed to make a strike he lobbed the advancing keeper to make it 1-0 to the Fire.
From the kick off Thunder tried to catch Fire off guard as they shot from half way but Josh Wall in goal was ready and untested by the effort.
After drinks at the 20 min point in the game, Thunder again tried to catch the Fire out with a diagonal ball behind the defence but Kye Yamaoka-Chapman was able to recover and force the ball away for a corner. Kye was defending well giving Thunder little down his side of defence and he was finding space coming forward to put Thunder under pressure where possible. Kye is making the most of his new role in the left of defence and is getting stronger each game.
Nick Kirkpatrick had worked tirelessly up front but at the 28 min mark was replaced by Aiden Ward, who immediately made a run down the left wing to test the Thunder defence.
At 33 mins Ollie Blackmore found himself in the centre circle just in the Thunder’s half and with a well struck long shot caught the Thunder keeper out of position and found the top right corner of the net to make it 2-0 to the Fire.
Both sides had further chances before half time but neither side managed to score. Callum Jones’ shot looked goal bound but was deflected away for a corner.
After half time Fire had the first chance to score as Callum Jones found Addison Brader who deflected the ball to Jack Bowen. The Thunder keeper parried Jack’s volley out to the feet of Kobe Fuller who shot over the bar from close range.
Both teams were slow to settle in the second half in the hot conditions, but Fire created more scoring opportunities.
After 43 mins Jack Bowen took a deft touch in behind the defender marking him on the right and from the space he created crossed the ball into the penalty box where Thunder scrambled the ball away for a corner.
Despite the efforts of the Fire it was Thunder who was able to take advantage of a misdirected pass from the Fire in the 55th minute and the Thunder attacker found space out wide before turning two Fire defenders as he cut inside to score with a low hard shot inside the far post.
At 2-1 Fire had to dig a little deeper to maintain the lead they had worked so hard to achieve.
At the 60th minute Ollie Blackmore drove into the left of the Thunder penalty area and found Jack Bowen with a short square ball through traffic inside the box but Jack’s shot narrowly missed the post.
At the 62nd minute Kobe Fuller beat two defenders on the right and crossed menacingly across the Thunder goal mouth where Nick Kirkpatrick was waiting at the far post for a tap in goal to make it 3-1 to the Fire.
That restored the 2-goal margin for the Fire and it probably should have been enough to close out the game as both teams were tiring. But Thunder had other ideas and Josh Wall was called on to palm the ball over the bar in the 72nd minute from a goal-bound long shot. And again in the 78th minute Josh Wall hung on to the ball in a full-length dive to his left to intercept a cross in front of the waiting Thunder attackers.
In the 79th minute Ollie Blackmore received an ineffective clearance from the head of a Thunder defender at the top of the Thunder penalty area, controlled it with his chest and drove the dropping ball into the net inside the left hand post. That should have made it 4-1 to the Fire but after initially awarding the goal the referee consulted with his assistant and the decision was reversed as a Fire attacker was deemed to be in an off-side position.
The final score remained 3-1 to the Fire. It was a satisfying win after the school holiday break in a game in which you could say the Fire had the upper hand and deserved their win.
Player of the Match – Kye Yamaoka-Chapman
Under 18 Boys
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (5) v Palm Beach SC Sharks (1)
Two teams eyeing the championship meet early on in the season in the shape of Sunshine Coast and Palm Beach, sitting first and third respectively, this game would serve as a chance to make a statement at the top of the table.
Sunshine Coast started with a real intensity after Josh Chumbley tried a cheeky ball over the back four to Cameron Nairn who made a well-timed run. Moments later Palm Beach had a chance of their own only for goalkeeper Aaron Smith to collect comfortably. The Sunshine Coast set the pattern for the game in the 9th minute when Captain Matthew Carrick tackled in midfield to release Rhyan Scriggins to play Chumbley then Luke Devitt who split the defence to release Nairn who finished comfortably, 1-0 Sunshine Coast. More quick passing between R. Scriggins and Andre Jancevski ended with a shot by Nairn over the bar. Devitt and Nairn linked-up well to cross across goal only for R. Scriggins at full stretch to miss the ball. In the 17th minute a Palm Beach cross beat Smith, only for the goal to be disallowed by a handball. Moments later in the 18th minute, quick passing and smart movement by the Sunshine Coast lead to the second goal, Smith played Glen Morris at right-back to find R. Scriggins who linked-up with Devitt and Chumbley for a cheeky ball over the top to R. Scriggins to out jump the goalkeeper and centre-back and head the second goal, 2-0 Sunshine Coast. A free kick by Nairn was driven low to Chumbley who flicked the ball onto the crossbar then post. A short corner by Nairn and Devitt resulted in a shot into the goalkeepers gloves. In the 31st minute Nikolas Taylor tackled strongly to win the ball to play Nairn who played Devitt who used Nairn’s run to work an opening and found the bottom corner, 3-0 Sunshine Coast. Great press by R. Scriggins to win the ball in the attacking third to cross to Nairn who headed it back to Jancevski to work the goalkeeper.
A similar pattern occurred straight from kick-off, with R. Scriggins and Jancevski combining to work a great save from the goalkeeper. Taylor would make a goal line clearance moments later to deny a rare Palm Beach chance. In the 60th minute substitute Jordan Vieira pressed well to force a turn over to Nairn who played a 1-2 with Devitt to allow himself space in the box, a calm finish near post followed and Sunshine Coast went 4-0 up. Moments later Smith took a hard hit to the eye after a brave save. Kelton Scriggins, Jordan Irwin, Cameron Nairn, Sean de Chastel and Nikolas Taylor made a combination play down the left to work a corner. From the resulting corner Carrick won a header only for the ball to fall at his feet and miss from close range. Palm Beach scored a consolation goal in the 73rd minute after a quick counter following a challenge on R. Scriggins in the box by the goalkeeper, a possible penalty could have been awarded, however Palm Beach took advantage after quick passing around the box to finish. In the 90th minute Sunshine Coast killed the game with a well worked corner taken by Nairn to R. Scriggins at back post who played Devitt to play Carrick who couldn’t miss from the goal line.
Full time, 5-1 to the Sunshine Coast, making a statement at the top of the table.
Player of the Match – Kelton Scriggins. He timed his challenges to perfection and commanded the back four not allowing Palm Beach a clear cut chance.
Youth Women
Sunshine Coast FC Fire (4) v Olympic FC (0)
The Fire girls did well in the first ten minutes to hold their shape and pace their early efforts which paid off later in the match when they really dominated possession and perhaps for the first time this season showed real composure in the attacking third with several passages of multiple passes across, through, around the goal area allowing for structured attacking combinations.
The mid-field was very effective in combining with both the defence to play out and the attackers to set up many great opportunities. The ‘clean sheet’ against a quality opposition is testament to the effectiveness of the back 5. Goalkeeper, Savanna Bowtell-Harris did a great job as not only with a couple of critical saves but also as a fifth defender and in leading the communication to organise the defence.
The first goal came in the 17th minute with a ball won in our half by defence and midfield, passing through to Lisa on the right wing. Lisa made one of many great runs and won a tough 1v1 challenge to cross to the far post where Franzi came flying in to finish with a beautifully executed high volley. Scoring the first goal set the team up for a confident and creative performance.
The second goal was a well struck penalty by Madi which Olympic conceded after attacking pressure forced a defensive hand ball, the first of Madi’s hat-trick. The third goal game off an opportunistic cross by Madi that caught the keeper off guard and the final goal came after some excellent work by midfielders Jodie, Jess and Kirra winning the ball and passing through to Madi who placed the ball in the top right corner of the goal off a brilliant strike.
The whole team performed well and are developing a strong supportive on-field communication that is giving players the confidence to make good decisions and take risks to be creative in the attacking half knowing they have the support of the team and the backup to cover their move.
Players of the Match – Teena Hartwig for the impact of her efforts and runs on the wing and Kirra Guy for her determined and skilful performance in midfield
