Under 14 Boys (Catch up game Round 21 catch-up)
Sunshine Coast Fire lost to the Brisbane Strikers 1-3
Goal scorer: Ty Dawson
A dry pitch and severe gusts set the scene for a scrappy match as the Fire took on rivals the Brisbane Strikers.
Coach Ben Cahn said the boys settled well, despite missing three of the team’s state players, managing to pass the ball well and look comfortable at times. Ty Dawson scored a goal on the half hour mark to put the Fire in one goal ahead.
The Strikers were awarded a penalty late in the first-half and Marcus Worthington made a terrific penalty save to maintain the Fire’s lead.
The boys went into half-time 1-0 up but knew the Strikers would have a strong wind advantage in the second half.
They started second half poorly, giving the ball away on several occasions and eventually conceding in the first 5 minutes after the restart. The Fire continued to battle the strong wind and struggled to get out of their half.
Strikers went on to score a further two goals to end a disappointing penultimate fixture for the Fire.
“I was really happy with the first-half,” Cahn said.
“It was perhaps a little bit false with the big wind advantage but nevertheless we played some terrific football.
“I spoke to the boys at half-time about how to deal with the wind. I wanted to see a gritty performance. We knew we wouldn’t see much of the ball so we touched on being compact and closing down well but
disappointingly we weren’t as resilient as we should have been and we were punished.”
Under 14 Boys (Round 12 catch-up game)
Fire 1-1 Wide Bay
Goal Scorer: Ty Dawson
The Fire Under 14 Boys took on Wide Bay in their last game of the season.
Coach Ben Cahn said the Fire had a tremendous start, allowing Ty Dawson to score an early goal which placed him just ahead of Kobe Fuller in the race for top goal-scorer.
The Fire’s good start continued and it looked like it could be a busy morning for the Wide Bay keeper. Although the pressure continued for most of the first half, goal-scoring chances started to become more elusive.
A mistake in possession allowed Wide Bay to score an equaliser from long-range against the run of play. The goal seemed to give Wide Bay a spark and Fire goalkeeper Marcus Worthington was called in to action, pulling of some tremendous saves before the end of the half.
The second half was flat and neither team looked threatening. The uneventful half resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Cahn said it was not the ideal final game that the U14 boys were looking for but enough to secure a top four finish.
“It was a quiet game. The boys were little bit flat after the Strikers game on Saturday,” he said.
“Two games in two days is always tough. Put the 30 degree heat on top and it was always going to be a struggle.”
“I am very proud of the efforts this season. It is great to have three players in the state squad with two shadows. I am happy with the overall development of the squad and I look forward to seeing them in our first team and beyond in the next few years.”
Under 15 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Wide Bay Revolution 5-2.
Goal scorers: Sean Pateman, Cameron Nairn (2), Hayden Lawson, Jordan Vieira.
The Fire gained a resounding victory in their last game of the season as the team took on Wide Bay for a Round 12 catch-up game.
Coach Daniel Carew said the boys’ first-half performance left a lot to be desired. Wide Bay were first on the scoreboard but some great goal-keeping from Luke Marker kept them to just a 1-0 lead. Sean Pateman was able to equalise and the score remained locked 1-1 into half-time.
The Fire returned to the field with more intensity in the second-half.
Cameron Nairn bagged a brace after he was awarded a penalty and Captain Hayden Lawson tapped the ball into the box to bring the score to 4-0. A magnificent curling free-kick from Jordan Vieira sealed the game for the Fire.
Carew congratulated the boys on their hard work in the second-half.
“I thought the first-half was poor with lots of mistakes and just not the right attitude,” he said “But the lads pick themselves up and got stuck in which was good to see.”
“It was also fantastic to see Jordy Vieira get on the score sheet it has been a long time coming!”
