First Team:
Sunshine Coast Fire 0 v Palm Beach 4
Words: Michael Flynn, Football Queensland.
Palm Beach Sharks continue to set the pace atop the NPL Queensland standings with a comfortable 4-0 win over Sunshine Coast Fire at Mallawa Complex on Saturday night.
Prolific striker Chris Lucas scored from the penalty spot in the first half before Rhys Lambert and Alex Panic added to an own goal in the second half to round out the result in the second stanza.
Fire set-up defensively from the outset against the heavily favoured Sharks, stifling any genuine chances in the early stages while creating few of their own.
Palm Beach chanced their hand from distance in the opening twenty minutes but Lucas, Jonothan Camilleri and Justyn McKay all failed to find the target.
The match looked set to be a contest of fine margins before Fire captain Paul Arnison brought down Lucas’ supporting run for Daniel Dragicevic in the 27th minute, allowing the striker to put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot.
Both sides continued to misfire before the break as Fire’s Ryan Delahunty spurned a chance to level terms after slipping in behind the line, while Lucas and Riley Dillon both missed the target for Sharks.
Fire showed more adventure after the restart when Reyze Kelly forced Sharks goalkeeper Shane Vitakangas into a low save inside a minute of the kick-off.
The hosts remained patient though and opportunities soon presented approaching the hour mark – McKay shooting just over the bar from the edge of the area and Nik Mirkovic calling upon Fire goalkeeper Antony Hall to save.
Soon after Fire saw their best chance of the match when Wade Zammit’s header was parried by Vitakangas. A goalmouth scramble ensued but Chiharu Kosuge and Kelly couldn’t turn it in amidst a sea of Shark defenders.
Sharks doubled their advantage on 63 minutes when Lucas’ corner met a glancing header from Lambert at the near post following a smartly timed run from the midfielder.
Tensions flared at the other end soon after between Sharks’ Eoghan Murphy and Fire’s Futa Nakamura as the pair battled for a long ball on the right flank – each receiving a yellow card for their part in the altercation.
Palm Beach then secured the win minutes later when Camilleri’s long range effort took a sharp deflection off the leg of Zammit to leave Hall diving the wrong way.
Substitute Alex Panic rounded out the result with 12 minutes remaining, showing his experience to deliver a sublime lobbed strike from 25 yards after sighting Hall of his line.
Fire offered a pair of late forward forays, however Vitakangas proved up to task to deny Nakumura and Delahunty and maintain his clean sheet.
The win keeps Sharks in first place and undefeated in the league this season ahead of their Tuesday night catch-up fixture against Brisbane City at Spencer Park.
Palm Beach Sharks 4 (Chris LUCAS 26’p, Rhys LAMBERT 63’, own goal 69’, Alex PANIC 78’)
Sunshine Coast Fire 0
Under 16 Boys:
Sunshine Coast 1 v Palm Beach 1
Report by Manager Brett de Chastel
Fire was looking to maintain their top-of-the-table position when they travelled to Palm Beach to take on one their fellow premiership contenders. On a tight and bouncy pitch, which was not conducive to good football, Fire was able to manufacture a draw to share the spoils.
The Fire started the game the brighter of the two teams with good intensity and dominating field position. In the second minute, Sean de Chastel had a shot blocked after good lead up work from Cameron Nairn and Kaileb Hough. Although dominating possession, the Fire could not convert that possession into clear-cut shooting opportunities with both Thomas Swane and Adam Edgar shooting wide in the first-half. After 15 minutes, Palm Beach began to come more into the game as the Fire began to hold off tackles and failed to anticipate the bounce of the ball.
The introduction of Timi Ajibola in the 20th minute swung the game back into the Fire’s favour with strong physical play in the midfield. Any attacks by Palm Beach were also being snuffed out by good defence from Tyler Morse. In the first-half, the Palm Beach players did not have any significant shots on goal but were becoming more menacing the longer the game went on.
After half-time talk, the Fire came out with more purpose and almost took the lead in the 41st minute. Alex van Kampen skipped past his defender and beat the keeper but was forced wide. His shot from a difficult angle hit the near post and his follow up cross from the rebound was scrambled away by Palm Beach. From the ensuing corner, Edgar had a powerful header just go over the crossbar.
However, after 10 minutes of the second half, the Fire began to drop intensity and miss passes. In the 54th minute, Palm Beach took the lead. Attempting to play out from the back, a misdirected pass fell to the Palm Beach midfield and their shot was blocked by Tyler Morse. The rebound fell to the Palm Beach centre forward who drove his shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.
The game ebbed and flowed with Palm Beach putting pressure on the Fire defence playing out from the back. Fire could not find the usual continuity with passing. In the 69th minute, the Fire had a good chance when Morse won three hard tackles in a row and provided a good pass to Edgar. Edgar’s shot was well saved by the Palm Beach keeper.
The Fire was running out of time to gain an equaliser. In the 75th minute, the Fire went to an attacking formation playing with only three at the back. This endeavour was almost immediately rewarded as de Chastel’s strong header from a Nairn corner was well saved by the goalkeeper.
With time running out, the Fire managed to salvage a point. Collecting the ball from a throw in near the left-hand corner post, Edgar beat his defender and fired a hard low cross into the centre. De Chastel controlled the ball, beat his defender and was fouled in the act of shooting. From the ensuing penalty, Edgar blasted his shot into the roof of the goal with virtually the last kick of the game.
The 1 -1 draw has dropped Fire to second on the League table as the team looks to maintain an unbeaten home record against the Strikers next week.
Man of the Match – Tyler Morse
Under 12 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 1 v Palm Beach 1
Report by Coach Peter Higginson
With two players missing and a few more playing with niggling injuries, Fire’s trip to Palm Beach was going to be a tough one, despite the recent good run of form. This was exactly how the game turned out as Palm Beach worked hard and Fire never really found the rhythm which has been there in most games.
Fire had the stronger start playing some good football in parts and putting pressure on Palm Beach. This pressure paid off on 14 minutes, when Fire forced the Palm Beach defence to play the ball back to the keeper, and the ever-working Luke Varga chased down, forcing the keeper to make a mistake with his clearance. The ball skewed to Varga who reacted quickly to steer his header into the net.
From there the game evened; Fire didn’t really find their stride but still had chances. One notable chance fell to Byron Faleano, who collected the ball following a neat move down the right. Faleono struck the ball cleanly but unfortunately his shot flew over the bar.
Palm Beach had some good attacks but rarely threatened the Fire goal. And it was a fortunate goal which gave them the equaliser. A good shot was blocked well, but the ball looped over the Fire keeper Ben Potter, who could do nothing about it. 1v1 at half-time.
The second-half was an even affair, with chances at both end but few, if any, clear cut chances with both defences playing well.
The Fire midfield and forwards worked hard but met a determined Sharks defence. The Fire’s best chance of the second-half once again fell to Faleono. A good move from the Fire found Sam Fleming on the left wing and he placed a pin-point cross to Faleono who took a good first touch before striking the ball from the edge of the box, and was unlucky to see the ball narrowly miss above the bar.
“A draw was probably a fair result after a competitive game,” Coach Peter Higginson said. “The Fire players were a little disappointed but should the happy with many parts of their game. We also need to learn that there’s not a team on the planet that will play to their potential every week, nor win every week, but that’s okay. We continue to learn and improve and that’s what’s important.”
Man of the Match: Ezekiel Hawkins and Harry Arnison
