First Team:
Sunshine Coast Fire 0 v FNQLD Heat 2
FNQ FC Heat returned to the NPL Queensland top four, defeating Sunshine Coast Fire 2-0 in Cairns on Saturday night.
The hosts struck twice in the second half through Alex Smith and Crios O’Hare to record their first win in three weeks and end a three match winning streak for Fire.
Heat controlled early possession as new signing Zenon Caravella displayed his class in midfield from the outset, while O’Hare also proved dangerous in combination with Josh De Nittis, firing wide of the target on nine minutes.
Fire striker Futa Nakamura threatened from a free kick prior to the half hour before De Nittis spurned two chances in two minutes for Heat, twice failing to capitalise on a pair of crosses from Jamie Carroll.
Reyze Kelly shot over the cross bar from outside the box for the visitors on 36 minutes as Fire continued to force their way back into the contest.
Heat’s best chance of the first half came three minutes before the break when Alex Smith met Carroll’s cross at far post only to direct his shot directly at Fire goalkeeper Sam Nickolls.
Nakamura missed the target again with a header from a free-kick just prior to the break.
The second half started promisingly for the hosts, as Smith rifled a shot from outside the box drawing a save from Nickolls.
Fire also created a series of chances without reward as Heat goalkeeper Daniel Valcicak proved up to task to deny Kelly and Jayke Cuschieri.
The hosts finally made the breakthrough just prior to the hour when Smith played the ball wide to Carroll before receiving a return ball and burying an assured finish.
Fire continued to threaten but an equaliser proved elusive and the hosts struck again 11 minutes from time when Crios O’Hare chased down a through ball and finished in the bottom right hand corner.
Heat sought to hold on to their two goal margin in the final stages, with Grant De Chastel’s on target attempt the closest Fire came to staging a late comeback.
The result lifts Heat to fourth spot on the NPL Queensland ladder, while Fire remain in seventh just three points outside the finals places.
FNQ FC Heat 2 (Alex SMITH 55‘, Crios O’HARE 79‘)
Sunshine Coast Fire 0
Under 16 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 4 v Brisbane City 4
The Fire missed a golden opportunity to keep pressure on the league leaders after allowing Brisbane City to fight back and snatch a 4 – 4 draw on Sunday.
Fire started with good intent on the slippery and poor pitch, playing some nice football through the midfield and holding strong defensive positions to keep the dangerous Brisbane City forward line away from goal.
In the 9th minute, the Fire took the lead with a contender for team goal of the year. Following 11 passes including a switch across the midfield, Cameron Nairn and Timi Ajibola interchanged passes at the edge of the penalty box with a final pass to Ajibola seeing him round the keeper to give the Fire a 1 – 0 lead.
Several enterprising plays from the Fire in the first-half went un-rewarded; including excellent ball movement from Liam Culpitt and close attempts on goal from Thomas Swane, Alex Van Kampen and Ari Easton. At the defensive end, stand-in keeper Josh Wall made two saves from a strong City attack.
Fire went into the break with a 1-0 lead and looked to start strongly after the restart. Fire was able to do just that in the 44th minute as Culpitt intercepted a City pass at left back and surged forward to set up Easton, who rounded the last defender and beat the keeper with a good finish.
In the 54th minute, the Fire brought the score to 3 – 0 with one of the goals of the season. A series of intricate passing in the midfield from Josh Chumbley, Sean de Chastel, Alex Van Kampen and Jordon Vieira culminated in the ball falling to Easton, who made a magic turn and found Thomas Swane to blast the ball in from 20 meters.
Following such good play, Fire was sloppy in the next minute conceding a corner and failing to clear the ball resulting in an own goal to take the score to 3 -1.
Fire struck back in the 58th minute with de Chastel, Vieira and Easton featuring in the build-up for Swane to get his second for the afternoon; a low, driving left-foot shot into the bottom corner.
At 4 – 1 up and with 15 minutes to go, the Fire should have put the game beyond doubt. However, City did not give up and scored in the 64th minute following a cross from their left wing which was side footed home following poor marking. In the 75th minute, City successfully converted a penalty after a though-ball was not cleared, bringing the score to 4 – 3.
In the 79th minute a lack of defensive structure saw unmarked City players at the far post rush the ball into the Fire net to bring the score to 4-4 and deny the Fire a victory.
Next week Fire will take on league leaders Brisbane Strikers in a key game which will determine the premiership.
Man of the Match: Thomas Swane
Under 15 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Brisbane City 1
The Fire girls secured a hard-fought three points over Brisbane City, hanging on to a one-goal lead to win 2-1.
The poor pitch made play difficult, but it was Fire who took the lead early with a goal in the 14th minute. The Fire forwards were able to intercept a poorly judged delivery from the Brisbane City keeper for Michelle le Roux to finish and bring the score to 1-0.
Just 10 minutes later Fire extended the lead after the City keeper deflected an excellent cross from the right corner only for Lisa van Hooijdonk to quickly latch onto the ball and slot it home.
Fire held on to the 2-0 lead for most of the second half, defending well to keep City at bay. However, Brisbane was able to score in the final 10 minutes of play, leading to a tense final few minutes for the Fire.
The Fire players put in a great team effort to secure the win in difficult conditions.
Under 15 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Brisbane City 2
The Under 15 Boys travelled to Brisbane to take on Brisbane City for the second time with the addition of Under 14 Boys player Jesse Gibbs and shadow player Jae Warren.
Fire started the match with some decent ball movement but just lacked that final ball or penetrating pass to really cause City a problem. With Adam Sawyer at centre back City looked quite comfortable and it was his long, lofted pass over the back four which broke the deadlock; as Abe Reeves turned to get his foot in for the tackle, he bought down the City winger well inside the box. Sawyer stepped up to convert the penalty.
Fire responded almost straight away as Kobe Fuller, Josh Nisbet and Jack Bowen all had some good, penetrating runs. However it was Jack Bowen’s relentless work which resulted in Fire’s first goal. His first two shots were blocked before he unleashed a rocket from 18 yards which smashed in off the crossbar and brought the score to 1-1 at half-time.
Fire returned to the field with a few alterations including the addition of Jae Warren as left-back and started strong with some brilliant play down the left side between Callum Jones and Jae Warren which led to opportunities for Fuller and Jones.
Fire seemed to be creating the majority of chances but a quick break from City saw goalkeeper Josh Wall called into action with a brilliant save on the 55 minute mark to keep the Fire from going 2-1 down. More chances arose; Abe Reeves was unlucky not to get on the score sheet and then Fire had a corner which resulted in a deft flick on that just flashed past the post. However City struck next when a fatigued Mason Bell gifted possession for City’s Callum Maloney to make a strong run towards the box and tuck away his finish in the bottom corner.
Fire looked to get back on level terms and pushed for an equalizer. The boys were rewarded in the 74th minute when Brisbane City tried to play out from the back and the defender fumbled the ball, allowing Fuller gain possession and chip the keeper for Jesse Gibbs to tap in, bringing the score to 2-2.
Fire had a few chances to win the game with opportunities for Jones, Gibbs and Fuller however their efforts went unrewarded. The players worked tirelessly on the slippery pitch and Wall was excellent in goals to keep City at bay and see out the game with a 2-2 draw.
Coach Daniel Carew said he was a lot happier with the second-half performance from his squad.
“We really stepped up the tempo and looked to create and be a bit more desperate in getting forward. Jae Warren was fantastic in his first game and linked up well with Callum Jones and Kye Chapman.
“We will look to take some positives from the game and use the frustration of a draw positively for Wednesday night’s game against top of the table Olympic.”
Man of the Match: Josh Wall some brilliant saves to keep us in the game.
