First Team:
The Fire First team faced a tricky away game after last week’s disappointing loss to Moreton Bay Jets.
The Fire were up against newcomers Western Pride, who had a solid start to the season, drawing with the QAS and defeating Palm Beach away.
Kaine Frew made his first start to the season, and after closing down the defenders on every occasion he was quickly rewarded with a well-taken goal to the keeper’s left.
Some great build up play by the fire backline found Leon Dwyer in space. His excellent pass released livewire Nico Bechar to beat the defender. He found Jeremy Lynch on hand to tap the ball into the bottom corner.
It was then becoming one-way traffic towards the Western Pride goal. Sustained pressure, added by some clever combination play, released Sam Knight to drive into the box. A defender pulled at his shirt resulting in a penalty kick and a second yellow card to the Western Pride player, ending his day early.
Greig Henslee unfortunately could not convert the penalty. The half-time score was 2-0 to the Fire.
The second-half was much of the same; the Fire kept the ball well, waiting for opportunities to be presented.
After a string of missed chances and fine saves by the Western Pride goal keeper, Knight found himself free on the edge of the box and with a crisp drive he beat the on-rushing keeper.
A series of corners then produced the Fire’s fourth goal. A scramble in the 6-yard box found Ryan Smith alert. He calmly opened his foot and showed the strikers how to find the net with a calm, calculated finish into the bottom corner.
“The result is reward for the effort the boys put in to the game,” A’herne-Evans said.
“The will to put the opposition under pressure was particularly pleasing.
“It would have been nice had we been more clinical in front of goal, however it is always better to work on things in the week with three points in the bag.”
Under 18 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated The Gap/Brisbane City 3-1.
Coach Francis Lynch said the first 15 minutes saw a vibrant Fire squad pass and move into The Gap/Brisbane City defensive third at will, although the girls’ last passes to goal lacked the same quality.
Fire’s best chance came in the 20th minute when Claire Glackin pounced on a wayward goal keeper clearance and to shoot wide of the goal.
The best first-half move came from stand-in goal keeper Keira Burgess who cleared to Glackin. Glackin then chested the ball and bounced it to Kayla Moore, who bounced to Sienna Tucker. Tucker played a one-two with Samara Christmas and then played a killer pass to Summer McGladrigan. McGladrigan went 1v1 with the City goal keeper and parried onto the crossbar.
The first goal started from Maddy Nugent who passed to Els van Hooijdonk. She played out to winger Isobel Hall who wall-passed to Kayla Moore. Hall was then able to cross to Christmas to chest the ball down and shoot into the top right hand corner.
The second-half was as expected, with Brisbane City pressing the Fire in. Chloe Hobelt in goal was forced to save a quality shot from Brisbane City.
City continued the pressure and levelled the score with a great shot on goal.
Grace Wilkins and Maddison Phelps, fresh off the plane from Hong Kong 7’s representing Australia, provided some renewed energy.
This allowed Mia Radda to bounce to Amy McGlynn, who passed to Christmas finish off the fine build-up play.
Good pressure high up the field from the Fire girls resulted in Christmas getting her second hat-trick of the season.
Under 18 Boys:
The Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Western Pride 7-.3
Coach Paul Arnison said the Under 18 boys played well on Sunday, getting off to a good start with Josh Ives scoring after a few minutes.
The Fire continued to control the game, with numerous chances to score. However Arnsion said the boys were wasteful in front of goal and the Fire found themselves giving away a goal from down their right.
“We didn’t clear the ball properly and the opposition player cut inside to shoot,” Arnison said.
“Damien Cox made a good save but from the rebound we didn’t react quickly enough and their boy fired it in from 6-yards bringing the score to 1-1”
Within minutes Cox was at it again saving the Fire in a 1v1 situation. From the resulting save Tosh Togatia picked up the ball and carried it 20-yards before playing a beautiful ball down the line for Jesse Wilson. Wilson ran off the back of the left, back cut inside and finished it nicely to take the Fire into half-time leading 2-1.
The second-half was all the Fire and the score quickly became 3-1, 4-1, 5-1 with goals from Elliot Marsay, Brandon Lee and Jack Johnson.
Arnison said the Fire had good finishes; however they gave away a sloppy goal with a poor pass across midfield. The boys were caught out of position and a Western Pride player ran in on-goal and finished nicely to make it 5-2.
Within 90 seconds it was 6-2 with Lee scoring his second goal of the game.
After some great play down the left and a good cross, Jesse Wilson managed to get on the end of it to make it 7-2 to the Fire.
Again the opposition kept going and scored a horrible third goal from the Fire’s point of view when our sub goalie Matt Birrell come out to clear a through ball and totally miss-kicked the ball.
The Western Pride striker tapped it into an empty net to finish off the scoring and an entertaining game.
“The boys played very well apart from a few sloppy goals, and they have now had three wins out of three,” Arnison said.
Under 16 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Western Pride 10-0.
After suffering two heart-breaking defeats in their first two matches the U16s needed a good win in Ipswich to keep confidence their brand of football could get results.
The scorching heat made the game a challenge for both teams. The fire started the match stronger of the two sides; their high-tempo passing game completely undid the Western Pride midfield and backline.
After 15 minutes the Fire found themselves 3-0 up courtesy of a Luke Devitt Hat-trick. Luke’s first goal was a beautiful solo effort which left three defenders in a tangle before he calmly slotted the ball past the Western Pride goal keeper.
Two great crosses from Matt Forde and Wade Nelson assisted Luke’s second and third goals.
As the Western Pride kicked-off for the third time in 15 minutes, the Fire did not let the tempo drop continued to press the Pride defence. They earned themselves many more scoring chances.
Nelson’s pace and direct running to goal left the fullbacks in his shadows as he slotted the Fire’s fourth with his left foot into the bottom corner.
Matt Carrick scored his first goal of the season as he drove the ball home from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Jordy Lloyds high work rate and constant off the ball running earnt the striker his second goal of the season. He cheekily back-heeled the ball past the keeper after great build-up play and a killer low cross into the box.
Murray Togatia scored the pick of the goals in the first half. He sent a curling shot over the keeper into the top corner.
The tempo of the second-half dropped considerably as both teams began to feel the effect of the heat.
The fire continued to create chances and the crowd/coaches bench held their breath as Cody Barmentloo rifled a first-time volley at the top corner from outside the box. It was saved off the line by the Western Pride goalkeeper.
The Fire’s goal keeper Francis Wynn was barely called into action but demonstrated great concentration to keep his head in the game and pull off two great saves to ensure the boys would keep their first clean sheet of the season.
John Haydock and Nik Taylor both netted their first goals of the season to bring the tally to 9-0.
Max Adey was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty, which he calmly slotted home.
The boys got their first win of the season and a massive boost of confidence and are eagerly awaiting their next opponent.
A great performance by the whole team!
Under 15 Boys:
The Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Western Pride 3-2.
Coach Daniel Carew said the Fire started with a bang, scoring in the third minute with a curling corner from Thomas Swane which eluded everyone and sailed into the back of the net.
Fire continued to press and look the goods creating several chances with Timi Adu, Alex van Kampen and Cameron Nairn all missing chances.
Missing those chances came back to haunt the boys when a free kick was awarded on the Fires 18-yard box for a Western Pride player to place his shot in the bottom left corner. The score was then 1-1.
Things then turned for the worse for the Fire as three players got tangled up which left Jordan Irwin with a bleeding nose and Thomas Swane sent off for bad language.
Western Pride struck again after keeper Luke Marker pulled of two close-range strikes.
The ball fell to a Western Pride player to tuck it away and take the lead into half time at 2-1.
In the second-half the Fire stepped up a gear and took the game to Western Pride. More chances continued to come for Timi Adu, Sean de Chastel, Jordan Wust and Cameron Nairn.
It was a brilliant solo effort from Cameron Nairn that pulled the Fire back to level terms.
The boys continued to press and control the game even though they were with 10 players.
The last 2 minutes were dramatic with two great chances, but it was Cameron Nairn who stole the show and sent the Fire crowd into raptures. His last kick of the game tucked his finish away after beating two players.
“In a game that I expected us to dominate we made a meal of it,” Carew said.
“I’m glad to get the three points and the effort the boys gave me in the second half was superb.
“I was in particular pleased with Alex van Kampen he showed a lot of character and showed me when things got tough he was up for the challenge.”
Under 14 Boys:
Sunshine Coast FC defeated Western Pride 11
Goal Scorers: Ty Dawson 3, Henry Hore 2, Kobe Fuller 2, Jack Bowen 1, Abe Reeves 1, Taj Hudson 1, Reis Hanton 1.
The Under 14 Boys Fire team made it three wins out of three on another scorching Sunday at Ipswich.
Coach Ben Cahn said although the opposition wasn’t the strongest, the performance was exceptional.
“For the first time this season our shape was consistently good, with and without the ball,” he said.
“We managed to maximise our space despite playing on a small narrow pitch.”
Ty Dawson showed terrific hold up play as he linked up well with the midfield and was clinical in front of goal, scoring his first hat-trick of the season.
Henry Hore scored the goal of the game. He and captain Josh Nisbet played a series of short wall passes to each other, carving straight through the heart of the Western Pride midfield before driving one home in to the bottom corner.
In amongst the goals, was a rare strike from left back Reis Hanton.
“The fire will be pleased and hopefully this is the performance that can kick start their season,” Cahn said.
“The real test will hit them straight after Easter, when they face a run of five tricky games that includes early favourites Brisbane Strikers, Palm beach and Brisbane City, old rivals Redlands United and the challenge of Olympic FC, who have taken the NPL by storm in most age groups, especially the Under 14s.”
Under 14 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Moreton Bay 12-0.
Coach Tom White said the Fire started off with an ordinary first-half.
He said the girls came in 4-0 up at the half-time break although it could have been a lot more.
The star of the show, Kirsty Clifford, bagged a double hat trick and was sensational as she showed a variety of quality finishes.
In a game which was just an exhibition in quality finishing, Madi Warren bagged four goals including one screamer.
There were some stand out performances from the captain Tayla Gesch and a fantastic display at the back by Kirra Guy which really helped the team push on and win easily.
The rout was also completed by Holly Vidulich bagging a brace and getting her first goals of her Fire career.
Under 13 Boys:
The Fire under 12 drew with Western Pride 2-2.
Coach Alex Barlow said after slow starts in previous weeks the Fire came flying out of the blocks from the first whistle.
They immediately pressed Western Pride into their own box to win their first of nine corners for the match.
After more pressure from the Fire, Western Pride lost possession close to their goal and top-scorer Jesse Gibbs was on-hand to bag his sixth of the season.
Both teams were once again affected by the heat, making the rest of the first-half scrappy as both teams fought for possession.
Western Pride pressed high up on the field which made it hard for the Fire to play out.
The second half started as the first ended with both teams fighting to control the game.
A lapse in concentration from the Fire allowed the Pride to take a short corner and the cross ending up in the back of the net.
“It was a hard fought match so far with both teams not giving up,” Barlow said.
“Both wanted the win and were battling hard to get it.”
After a re-group at the drink-break the boys came out firing with 10 to go.
They applied lots of pressure and gained corner after corner. Good defence from the Pride stopped the Fire taking the lead again until a bit of magic from captain Mitch Bridge shot the ball into the top corner of the net from 25-yards out.
However, unlike the rest of the game the Pride did not give up and kept battling.
With one minute to go they got their reward, as a Pride striker tapped it in after a good save from Fire goal-keeper David Payne.
“The Fire didn’t give up,” Barlow said.
“We haven’t been tested like that yet so it was a good indicator for me as to which boys really wanted to win.”
Under 12 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Western Pride 4-1.
Coach Matt Huston said the Fire started slowly, seemingly playing out-of-character with missed opportunities and difficulty settling into the game.
The Fire failed to deal with the ball after a scrappy passage of play inside the box, resulting in a Western Pride goal at the 17 minute mark.
This was all it took to get the fire in the belly going. The boys picked themselves up and no more than a minute later Thomas Whitaker found the back off the net after six quick passes out and down the middle of the park. This boosted the Fire to take control of the game.
Only another few short minutes later Kaelan Debbage found some space out wide and fired a heated cross into the box that found instinctive striker Daniel Cuttler. Cuttler dealt with the delivery and guided the ball past the keeper for his first goal of the day.
With five minutes left in the first half, increasing pressure deep in the mid field from Joseph Higginson and Oliver Williams succeeded in winning the ball. They calmly played Cuttler the ball on top of the box, and he fired a rocket at goal that was pushed away from the keeper. Cuttler then followed his own shot in and slotted it away for his second of the day. This brought the score to 3-1 at half time.
After some small adjustments across the pitch the boys went back out. The heat and fatigue were challenges for the boys to overcome and they were forced to work hard to keep control of the game.
With only a few minutes left in the match, the final goal of the game came from a corner. Cuttler guided a lofted ball perfectly to the far post and Mackenar Bradfield out jumped and headed the ball across the keeper to find the net.
“The 4-1 final score a very pleasing result from the boys,” Huston said.
“It was a true test of faith in the team’s ability to turn the early game slump into positive and come from behind to win, which is never an easy task.
“We will definitely have to be at our best in the upcoming away match at Palm Beach.
“The boys will be boosted with the return of Archie Waterson after a month in Europe.”
