First Team:
Sunshine Coast Fire 1 v Olympic 3
Reigning NPL Champions have jumped to third position after defeating Sunshine Coast Fire at Stockland Stadium on Sunday.
An early goal from Daniel Byrne opened accounts for Olympic, before Tim Smits sealed the win late in the second half. The Fire’s goal came from Matt Needham late in the first half.
Olympic took the lead early as Terry Hughes intercepted Luke Varga’s under-hit pass in midfield, to find space in front of the Fire backline, and deliver an inch-perfect through-ball for Byrne to slot under Antony Hall in the 4th minute. The Fire had a chance at an immediate equaliser when Wade Zammit floated a ball over Olympic’s back line for Needham to run through, however Cuminao’s good starting position allowed him to block the shot.
Fire continued to look threatening as Ryan Delahunty caused problems with his pace in behind. On the 37th minute Varga broke through a series of tackles and took a shot which ricocheted to Needham. As he was about to shoot Matt Mundy lunged and collided with Needham to deny the shot. The Fire players and coach appealed for a penalty but were unsuccessful. Olympic then had a penalty claim of its own as Byrne collided with Arnison in the Fire box. As the referee waved play on, Delahunty raced on to a through-ball and his fierce left-foot drive cannoned off the post into the path of Needham to slot home on 45 minutes.
Neither side took the lead for the first 30 minutes of the second half, until Tim Smitts took to the field on the 68th minute. Within 4 minutes of Smitts’ introduction a deep ball from Ito Kazuya found Jake McLean deep in the Fire area to dance around Zammit and strike at goal – his shot was blocked on the line by the covering defender Chiharu Kosuge, however the attempted clearance hit Smitts who was appealing to the linesman for the goal and the marksman finished to give Olympic the lead.
Fire then lost two players as Arnison suffered a hamstring injury and Delahunty left the field with a concussion. Fire threw bodies forward to try to salvage a point but despite a flurry of free kicks and corners the three points went to Olympic.
Under 18 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 4 v Olympic 5
The top-of-the-table clash lived up to expectations from the first minute as Fire took a two goal lead within the first 15 minutes through two Jacob Fulluck goals. The first came in the first minute from the as Fulluck received the ball from kick-off and slotted it into goal. He followed it up in the 14th minute as Brandon Lee pressed and forced an error, to cross in for Fulluck to head into goal.
Olympic then showed why they are the league’s top scorers with two well-crafted goals on the 23rd and 30th minutes. Fulluck and Lee always looked dangerous, however it was a Luke Devitt header which rebounded off the post for Matt Kennedy to tap in and give Fire a 3-2 lead at half-time.
The team performance continued into the second-half; Nik Taylor put in a Man of the Match defensive performance and Lee and Fulluck again combined in the 50th minute to seal Fulluck’s hat-trick.
However all the good work was undone in the last 20 minutes with individual errors which resulted in Olympic scoring on the 59th, 80th and 89th minutes to snatch a win which kept them on the top of the ladder.
Paul Arnison said he was disappointed in the loss.
“We played some good football, however conceding five goals through individual errors and poor discipline is avoidable; we need to cut this out of our game,” he said.
“We are now in third spot on the ladder and we will move onto next week to retain our top three spot.”
Man of the Match: Nik Taylor and Jacob Fulluck
Under 16 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 4 v Olympic 2
After a poor performance against Toowoomba last week, the Fire were keen to make amends against a quality opposition team. The Fire started with high intensity and strong pressing. In the second minute, a defender held back Cam Nairn and Fire were awarded a free kick. From 25 metres out, Alex van Kampen stepped forward and stroked a delightful shot into the bottom corner of the goal.
The Fire continued to create chances and had a goal disallowed in the sixth minute due to offside. Fire was then awarded a penalty in the seventh minute following a two-footed challenge on Cameron Nairn and Timi Adu calmly converted to double the lead.
Fire was able to maintain high-intensity football and was working well as a unit in defence. However, Olympic was not to be denied and began to push strongly through the midfield. After being denied by the woodwork once, Olympic grabbed a goal back in the 21st minute after Fire lost possession in midfield.
The Fire restored their two-goal buffer in the 37th minute when Hayden Lawson controlled a throw in and played an excellent pass with the outside of his right foot to Cameron Nairn, who provided a pinpoint cross to Alex van Kampen who scored at the far post. This was van Kampen’s fourth goal in the last two games to continue his red hot form. Fire went into the break with a 3 – 1 lead.
The second-half did not start well for Fire. Goalkeeper Luke Marker made an outstanding save in the first minute to tip over a strong header. Only minutes later, the Fire lost possession leading to a break-down our right-hand side and a neat finish at the near post by the Olympic striker.
However, within 5 minutes the Fire had struck back. Sean Pateman dribbled through the midfield and after an interchange of passes with Sean de Chastel, the ball fell to Hayden Lawson who drove his shot past the advancing Olympic goalkeeper.
Although there were no more goals, the intensity of the match remained with both teams having further opportunities. The Fire defence remained strong and Thomas Swane, Alex Van Kampen, Jordan Vieira and Timi Adu showed great character playing through injuries and illness to repel a strong Olympic team.
Man of the Match: Sean de Chastel
Under 15 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 2 v Olympic 3
The Fire boys were looking to get their campaign back on track after losing to SWQ and Roar WWL. Fire and Olympic had previously met in a pre-season game which Fire had lost 3-2, so Fire had a lot to play for. The game was set to be exciting with both sides having players who could turn a game, the only disappointment for Fire being that top goal scorer Kobe Fuller was missing due to suspension.
The Fire started well, keeping possession and displaying some good combination play. Fire’s had a first chance at 11 minutes when Abe Reeves broke down the right to fire in a shot which smashed off the post into the keeper and out of the goal. Fire continued to press and was unlucky not to score with again after some neat combination play from Ty Dawson and Jack Bowen gave Callum Jones a good chance.
Captain Mason Bell and Jake Nalder looked comfortable and controlled in the first 20 minutes, dealing with Olympics’ long balls and some penetrating counter-attacks, however Fire lost concentration in the 25th minute and Olympic was able to slot away the first goal. Fire again slipped up with marking to concede a second goal ten minutes later to head into the break two goals behind.
Fire returned to the field with a few changes and continued to dominate possession and create chances. The first real chance in the second-half came from Kye Chapman with a great strike Olympic’s keeper could not handle, however the ball fell in the 6 yard box the Fire players weren’t quick enough onto the ball before an Olympic defender cleared it. Dawson, Bowen, Josh Nisbet and Oli Blackmore all had goal opportunities, however it was Callum Jones who got Fire back into the game with a deep, swinging corner which dropped into goal.
Ten minutes later Fire equalised after good build-up play in the middle of the park released Reeves to beat two players and slot in a sensational strike on an angle. Fire peppered Olympic with waves of attack but were unable to capitalise. In the 75th minute another defensive lapse from the Fire allowed Olympic to slot away a third goal and take the three points.
Coach Daniel Carew said it had been disappointing to lose after creating so many chances.
“It was tough to concede the three goals we did because we had 80% of possession and a lot of chances but that’s what happens sometimes, we need to stay switched on for the whole game,” he said.
Man of the Match: Callum Jones and Oli Blackmore
Under 14 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 3 v Olympic 2
Fire continued its winning streak against an in-form Olympic at Stockland Park on Sunday.
Fire took the lead early as Mitch Bridge whipped in a corner for Jesse Gibbs to head into goal. Gibbs extended the Fire’s lead ten minutes later as he slotted in a penalty into the bottom corner.
The Olympic players fought back and opened their scoring account in the 31st minute with a through-ball to the centre-forward, who ran on to goal for a composed finish. Fire went into half-time with a 2-1 lead.
The first 20 minutes of the second half was a scoreless affair, before an Olympic midfielder took a shot from outside the box to finish in the bottom corner and level the score.
In the 63rd minute Fire sealed the game with a penalty, which Gibbs again lined up to send into the bottom left. The keeper got a good hand to the shot but it slipped past for Fire to take the three points.
Man of the Match: James Robinson and Jesse Gibbs.
Under 12 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire 1 v Olympic 0
Report by Peter Higginson
With four players missing, the Under 12 Fire boys faced a challenge against a top-of-the-table Olympic FC. In came three shadow players to make their debut – Brynn Grigg, Cade Thomson and Corey Gibbs.
Olympic dominated the first 15 minutes, keeping possession and moving the ball around nicely. Olympic dominated midfield and whilst the Fire worked hard the players gave the ball away too cheaply and needed more composure when in possession. The back five defended well with Ezekiel Hawkins and Cody Pyne commanding the backline effectively, keeping Olympic’s real goal opportunities to a minimum.
As Fire settled, the boys created a few chances but the half ended with a nil all scoreline. The Olympic players were probably disappointed that they didn’t create more from their early possession.
The second-half was a different story; the Fire boys played much better and clearly listened to the half-time advice to relax and keep the ball from midfield to the front. The defence kept shape and looked calm and composed throughout. The midfield took control with Harry Arnison and Rory Stenhouse pulling the strings; keeping the ball and distributing effectively. Sam Aitken and Colby Robinson worked well on the wings.
However, it was a day for the shadow players to shine and so they did. Grigg played a faultless right-back performance and Gibbs led the line in a centre-forward position against a good quality Olympic centre back. Thomson played a great number 11 left wing role when he took the pitch, taking on the full back time after time. It was Thomson who created the Fire’s goal in the 34th minute. The midfield trio worked the ball to Thomson who ran hard at the right back and beat him for pace to burst deep into the Olympic corner and put a quality cross into the box which hit a retreating defender, sending the ball into the goal.
From this point Fire rarely looked in danger. It was still a tight game with both teams trying to play good football, however Fire created more chances and the defence looked rock solid, with keeper Ben Potter rarely troubled but when called into action and looking in complete control.
Coach Peter Higginson said his team put in a great performance across the park.
“There were many great performances, with Rory Stenhouse, Harry Arnison and Eze Hawkins of note. But today was the shadow players’ day. Cade, Brynn and Corey made a difference against one of the best Under 12 teams in Queensland and worked with their fellow players in a great team performance. Congratulations,” he said.
Man of the Match: Ezekiel Hawkins and Cade Thomson.
