Open Women’s Team
Sunshine Coast Fire 1 v Olympic 2
The Fire Open Women’s team played their first pre-season friendly against a competitive Olympic side. Playing in the middle of the day made the game difficult for both sides.
Coach Dave Bensted said the game was very open, with both sides creating chances. Olympic played some fluent football and had a lot of possession, the Fire was strong defensively and started looking dangerous on the break-away. Gemma Hauck was threatening down the right flank, creating chances and for the other forwards and herself. The Fire controlled the game well during the second half and was the first to score after good combination play from Alex Psarros and Carmel Murphy-Pollard allowed Gemma Hauck to float a deep cross into the back of the net.
Olympic equalised with a break-away goal, and then took the lead with a goal from a corner. The Fire continued to push forward and was unlucky to have Amy McGlynn’s goal disallowed, after good work from Samara Christmas.
Bensted said his team showed a very spirited performance with every player 100 per cent committed.
Under 14 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 4 v Olympic 1
The Fire Under 14 Boys took on Olympic at Goodwin Park in their first pre-season match, in a game coach Alex Barlow described as “important for morality for the upcoming season”. The Fire managed to secure a strong 4-1 win.
Jesse Gibbs opened the scoring in the second minute after Max Footitt took a shot on goal which the keeper fumbled into Gibbs’s path. Just minutes later great combination play from Gibbs and Williams allowed Gibbs to score a second goal.
The Fire continued to dominate the game in the first half as a miss-hit cross from Tom Croft cleared the keeper and landed in the top corner of the goal in the 13th minute. Mitch Bridge finished off the Fire’s tally for the first-half with an indirect free-kick.
Olympic scored late in the second-half after a player cut in from the right and took a left-foot shot at goal, however were unable to catch up to the Fire’s four goal lead.
Coach Alex Barlow said he was impressed with his team’s efforts.
“The boys did everything which was asked of them and worked hard and they were rewarded with a deserving win,” he said.
Player of the Match: Oliver Duncan.
Under 13 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic FC 1
The newly formed Fire Under 13 Girls team took on Olympic at Annerley Field in their first pre-season match.
The Fire played with intensity from the first whistle, creating some good goal scoring opportunities. However as the match wore on Olympic gained more possession and started to create chances of their own, which the Fire struggled with.
Olympic scored and the Fire went into half-time 1-0 down.
The Fire dominated the second-half from start to finish. In the 40th minute Hannah Taylor collected the ball from just over half-way and beat three players with speed and footwork to slot the ball into the net and bring the score to 1-1. In the 50th minute Melissa Taft collected the ball and played a lovely pass in behind the centrebacks for Jazlyn Salih to smash into the far-side of the goal.
Coach Tom White said the match was great preparation for the season ahead.
Player of the Match: Meisha Westland
Under 15 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic FC 3
The Under 15 Girls took on a strong Olympic team at Annerley Field on Sunday.
Both teams struggled for control of the game on a bumpy pitch in the hot weather. Olympic was the first on the scoreboard as some poor communication from the Fire defence allowed the Olympic striker to go 1v1 with the goal keeper Katie Offer and place a shot in the bottom corner.
The Fire rallied and soon managed to peg a goal back. A great attack from the Fire caused the Olympic goal keeper and defender to collide allowing Madi Warren to walk the ball into the net.
Olympic continued to apply pressure and gained the last goal of the half as a defensive error allowed the pacey winger to bear down on goal 1v1 with Fire keeper Jordan and drive a shot into the top corner.
The Fire dominated possession in the second-half, forcing Olympic to chase the ball, however small defensive errors gave Olympic chances on goal.
The Fire levelled the score 2-2 after a long spell of possession and great passing build up the ball fell to Madi Warren to strike into the bottom corner of the net for her second goal. However Olympic sealed the game a short while later as a great save from Jordan fell to the Olympic striker to drive into the empty net.
Coach Jarrod Rodios said the girls put in a great performance in their new style of play.
Player of the Match: Kirra Guy and Aqua Meanie.
Under 15 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic FC 3
Despite a slightly sluggish start, the Fire took control of the game. The boys created a few chances and were unlucky not to score. Olympic found the back of the net first when a ball played in behind the back four allowed the forward to create a 1v1 with keeper Josh Wall and place his shot beyond Wall’s fingertips.
The Fire hit back with some brilliant midfield play and crossed to a powerful left foot volley from debut player Kye Chapman.
The Fire continued to create chances and was unlucky not to increase the score line. Olympic scored another two goals in the second-half while the Fire showed good fight to pull back to one goal behind as Kobe Fuller latched on to a nice through-ball and placed a shot in the net.
Coach Daniel Carew said the game was strong and physical with a high-tempo brand of football.
“The score line could have easily gone the other way,” he said “the players showed good character and spirit as a group which is encouraging for the season ahead.”
Under 16 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire 1 v Olympic 3
The Under 16 Boys were put on the back-foot early in the game as the referee awarded Olympic a penalty in the second minute. Fire goal keeper Luke Marker made an excellent save and the Olympic forward missed the rebound.
Play moved end to end with both teams struggling to retain possession and break through the opposition’s defence. The Fire finally broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when some good midfield possession lead to Jordan Vieira finding Timi Adjibola on the right wing near the halfway line. Adjibola cut inside and beat his man, the defence opened up and he delivered a well-weighted pass to Cameron Nairn who slotted the ball into the corner of the goal.
The Fire again had a chance in the 32nd minute after receiving a free-kick at least 35 metres from goal, which Adam Edgar took only for the keeper to palm over the goal.
Olympic struck back just before half-time as a player pounced on the ball after a high, floating corner bringing the score to 1-1 heading into half-time.
The score became 2-1 early in the second-half after the Olympic players gained possession in the midfield and played a through ball for the forward to slot past keeper Luke Marker.
The Fire continued to create chances, but was unable to convert the opportunities to goals. Some nice interplay down the left from Jordan Irwin and Tom Swane allowed Swane to slide to beat the keeper, only for a defender to clear the ball off the line. Alex van Kampen also had a good one on one chance which just cleared the bar.
Despite several chances for the Fire, Olympic managed to slot away a final goal as a player sent a high diagonal ball above the Fire’s defence for a forward to slot in 1v1.
Coach Ben Cahn said as the first pre-season match of the year, the game had offered a chance to try a few things before the start of the season.
“A 3-1 loss was disappointing but we had the chance to gain match fitness and try different combinations,” he said.
Player of the Match: Jordan Vieira.
Under 12 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic FC 0
The new 2014 Fire Under 12 Boys played their first match as a team against Olympic at Goodwin Park on Sunday and secured a 2-0 victory.
Olympic started strongly from the first whistle and controlled the game for the opening ten minutes, however the Fire fought back and dominated play for the rest of the half with strong midfield performances. The young team looked threatening going forward with quality through balls and speed of attack. Luke Varga was dangerous on the wing while Sam Aitken delivered quality crosses into the box.
The Fire had several chances early on but could not convert opportunities to goals due to a lack of composure and poor final balls. The boys put themselves on the scoreboard in the 15th minute, as Aitken delivered a quality cross for Kye Stopka to slot into the net.
Defensively the Fire did quite well throughout the half, however there were a few errors with poor passing choices and rushed tackles. Brodie Boyce was excellent in defence while goal keeper Ben Potter dealt well with Olympic’s shots, making a great fingertip save and pushing another shot over the bar.
The Fire picked up the intensity in the second half, controlling the game as Harry Arnison worked hard in the midfield and Luke Varga continued to torment Olympic with quality crosses. The Fire gained a 2-0 lead in the 40th minute after Josh Croft received a pass from a free kick, steadied himself and struck the ball well on the edge of the box, sending it high over the keeper.
With a 2-0 lead, the Fire looked comfortable and continued to press for the remainder of the half, however still lacked composure and solid strikes.
Coach Peter Higginson said the boys and a very pleasing first game together.
“There is a lot to work on, however I was pleased to see strong core skills from the players.”
Under 13 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic FC 2
The Fire had great combination play and forward movement and were the first on the scoreboard 20 minutes in.
Great combination play between Kaelan Debbage and Daniel Cuttler up the field found Dean Polydoros who played a fantastic ball for Archie Waterson to finish.
With a 1-0 lead the Fire continued to push down the field, however the passing lacked strength and the boys struggled to switch through the middle.
Olympic equalised just before half-time when a corner deflected into the goal, and scored again early in the second half from a counter-attack.
The Fire boys rallied and managed to level the score just six minutes later a defender intercepted Harrisson Bowen’s cross only for Kaelan Debbage to tackle and smash the ball into goal.
The Fire continued to shoot on sight but was unable to gain the vital third goal.
Coach Matt Huston said the game was a great starting point for the season.
