Under 12 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Olympic 5-1.
The match-up against Olympic was a highly anticipated game for the Fire Under 12 Boys. After losing to Olympic at the pre-season tournament in a penalty shoot-out, the boys were keen to put in a solid performance.
Coach Matt Huston said the Fire had Olympic on the back-foot from the whistle with a great work-rate. The Fire was rewarded on the three minute mark as Kaelan Debbage found space out wide and delivered a perfect cross to Archie Waterson. Waterson hit the ball on the full just inside the box, clearing defenders and the goal keeper to find the back of the net.
With the score at 1-0 the Fire continued to apply pressure. Oli Williams was a stand-out; he stepped up to diffuse every passage of play in the middle of the park. Williams was also able to find himself enough time to deliver a switch in play which put Debbage into space to deliver the goal of the game; a 25-yard left strike from out wide which swung into the far post.
The game began to open up as Olympic tried all it could to break down the Fire’s defence. The Fire’s backline stood strong and with a quick transition in the 27th minute, Waterson searched for half-a-yard of space inside the box and fired in his second goal.
Just before half-time Olympic gained its first goal, bringing the score line to 3-1.
The Fire had some positional changes heading into the second half, and took to the field feeling refreshed.
Olympic had also made some tactical changes and was applying pressure, forcing the Fire to act quickly on several occasions. However, soon gaps began to appear in Olympic’s defence, allowing Waterhouse to find space yet again and finish well for his third goal on the 50 minute mark.
The Fire kept the pressure up and after a miss-kick from Olympic Mackenar Bradfield found himself with the ball at his feet and in a 1v1 position with the goal keeper. He calmly shot the ball past and gained his first goal of the game.
“It was great to see the boys pull together as a team and really work for each other,” Huston said.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game to watch but the boys took a lot of confidence from the match and morale was high.
“It is always exciting to see what will come from each performance.”
Under 13 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire lost to Olympic 2-4 at Goodwin Park.
Coach Alex Barlow said the Fire could not have asked for a better start to the game, as the boys scored twice within the first ten minutes.
The first was due to high pressure which forced Olympic to commit an error in their backline. This allowed Jesse Gibbs to tap the ball into the net.
The Fire continued pressing high and Jac Eather’s superb work-rate payed off as he stole the ball from an Olympic midfielder and slipped it through to Gibbs to net a second goal.
The rest of the half was fairly even and the Fire looked to close out the half without conceding a goal. However, five minutes before half-time Olympic scored from a corner.
Olympic made some tactical changes at half time and started to press high. This caused the Fire some problems and after an underweighted back-pass Olympic scored an equaliser.
“It was like a game of chess,” Barlow said, “We would change something and then so would Olympic.”
Olympic’s deciding goal came in style as their midfielders created space and allowing a player to curl a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Olympic then sealed the win through a penalty after the Fire goal keeper David Payne brought down an Olympic striker.
“It was good for the boys to see the level they need to be at to compete for the top spot on the ladder,” Barlow said.
Under 14 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated The Gap/Brisbane City 9-1.
Coach Tom White said the Fire girls were well below par in their game against The Gap/Brisbane City, despite the uneven score line.
“The unique passing style we pride ourselves on was missing and we ended up playing a long ball game which we have never done before,” White said.
The Fire’s top scorer, Kirsty Clifford, bagged four goals in a fantastic display of finishing, while woman of the match Michelle Le Roux battled hard and scored two great goals. Lisa van Hooijdonk also netted two goals.
Stand in goal keeper Madi Warren was strong in goal and made an excellent penalty save.
“Overall the performance was average compared to how we can play,” White said, “but the score line was fantastic and the girls’ finishing was clinical.”
Under 14 Boys:
The Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Olympic 1-0 at Goodwin Park.
Coach Ben Cahn said there was a lot of expectation riding on the Fire’s match against Olympic.
“This was the game we had our eyes on when the fixture list was released,” he said.
“With the Olympic squad boasting eight of last year’s state team we knew it would be a tough encounter.”
The game started at a high tempo as Olympic tried to gain control. The Fire matched every pass with high pressure.
There were three occasions in the first 10 minutes where the Fire’s organised, high pressing game proved too much for Olympic to handle.
“They were caught in possession in dangerous areas, leading to clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities,” Cahn said.
“A little more composure in front of goal could have seen the game out of Olympic’s reach in the opening period.”
The game continued at a high tempo until the last 10 minutes of the first half, in which Olympic gained a bit more control through the midfield. The Fire remained organised and disciplined and their defensive shape proved too difficult for Olympic to break down.
The Fire had another chance at goal just before half-time. Henry Hore sent a cracking volley towards the goal from 30 yards out. It cannoned back off the post and found Taj Hudson on the edge of the six-yard box, who headed the ball just over the bar.
The Fire kicked-off the second-half with real purpose. Josh Nisbet and Kobe Fuller combined through the middle, forcing a free kick about 25 yards from goal.
Fuller’s low deflected drive spun into the bottom corner and proved to be the decisive goal.
The second-half continued in similar fashion to the first. The Fire worked heroically to close, cover and apply pressure to every Olympic touch. Ty Dawson’s work rate stood out and the rest of the team followed suit.
The Fire tried to play out from the back throughout the half but Olympic’s organisation made it difficult to break in to the middle third.
The score remained at 1-0 to the Fire until the full-time whistle.
Cahn congratulated his team on a strong defensive effort.
“A clean sheet away from home against the team considered the strongest in our league is a terrific achievement,” he said.
“The boys trained exceptionally well through the week and I knew we were prepared and confident going in to the game.
“We didn’t hit the heights we know we can going forward but our shape and work rate was exceptional.”
The only downsides to a superb day for the U14’s were the injuries to goal-scorer Kobe Fuller and left back Reis Hanton. Fuller did some damage to his back, while Hanton took a bad knock to his ankle.
“We are hoping they will both be back and ready by the end of this week as they are important to our squad,” Cahn said.
Under 15 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Olympic 4-2 at Goodwin Park.
The action started from kick-off as the Fire scored within the first minute of play. Jordan Wust sent a great pass to Cameron Nairn, who placed a cheeky chip into the top corner of the goal.
Four minutes later Alex van Kampen had a near-post effort which narrowly missed.
At the twenty-minute mark the Fire gained another goal, taking the score to 2-0. Van Kampen put through a perfectly weighted ball to Cameron Nairn down the left wing. Nairn used his outside off-foot to pass the ball across goal for Timi Adu, who took a touch past the keeper, turned, and then slotted the ball into the goal.
The Fire dominated the rest of the first-half, keeping the majority of possession.
Five minutes into the second-half, Olympic managed to get a goal back after a misplaced goal kick created a one-on-one opportunity with a good finish in the bottom corner.
The Fire responded with a third goal in the 65th minute. An Olympic goal keeping error saw Fire player Andre Jancevski score a volley into the bottom corner.
Within the last 10 minutes possession was constantly changing between both teams. With seven minutes to go Olympic managed to get a second goal with a free-kick 25 yards. However, three minutes later the Fire sealed the game with a goal from Sean de Chastel.
Assistant Coach John Whiting said the 4-2 score line was a great result for the Fire, against a resilient Olympic side.
“The Fire showed great heart as always, and took their chances when the opportunities arose.”
Under 16 Boys:
Olympic defeated Sunshine Coast Fire 3-0 at Goodwin Park.
Assistant Coach Jarrod Rodios said after two weeks without a game the Fire boys were pumped and raring to go against the first placed side in the competition.
The game started with high intensity as both teams played some great attacking football.
The Fire had its first chance with a Jordy Lloyd free-kick just outside the 18-yard box, which was brilliantly saved by the Olympic goal keeper.
Soon afterwards Lloyd was given a second chance from a very similar position and this time the ball was destined for the top right corner before the Olympic goal keeper pulled off a miraculous fingertip save. The Fire boys knew they were going to have to produce something special to put the ball past him.
Both teams continued to play some quality football. Olympic had some great chances of their own, only to be denied by the Fire’s goal keeper Francis Wynn.
The Fire soon had another goal opportunity as Wade Nelson followed-up a shot. However the Olympic goal keeper saved Nelson’s shot at close range.
Matt Carrick was forced off with an ankle injury which required reshuffling of the team. Shortly afterwards some strong attacking play from Olympic allowed it to open the scoring with a cut-back cross and bottom-corner finish.
In the second-half Olympic continued their dominant wing-play and were quick to bag their second goal.
The Fire staged attack after attack and Olympic found themselves unable to escape their own half. Rodios said the boys were unlucky not to score after three great chances. The Olympic keeper once again pulled off two athletic saves and then a fingertip save on what looked like a sure goal from Nelson.
However, the Fire’s focus on attack left the team vulnerable at the back. After a sloppy pass Olympic were able to counter down the right wing and calmly slot in their third goal.
The game ended 3-0 and left the boys’ heads hanging as they felt they deserved more for their efforts.
Under 18 Boys:
Sunshine Coast Fire lost 3-1 to Olympic at Goodwin Park.
The Fire dominated the opening 15 minutes of play as the Olympic boys struggled to move play out of their half.
Tosh Togatia had an early chance in a 1v1, however the Olympic goal keeper made a great save.
Shortly afterwards Olympic broke down the Fire’s left side. An Olympic player sent a long ball through for the striker to shoot into the top right corner of the net from a tight angle.
The Fire fought back and played some strong football. Coach Paul Arnison said the Fire was unlucky in front of goals with some missed opportunities from crosses and shots.
Just before the half ended Olympic had another shot at goal with a strong run and strike from a forward. Goal keeper Damien Cox thwarted the attempt with a great save.
Arnison spoke to the team at half-time about the importance of gaining the next goal.
“If we gained a goal then it would be game on, as we were looking good,” he said.
However it was Olympic who scored first in the second-half after a bad touch from the Fire allowed a player to break through.
Soon afterwards Togatia gave away a penalty for pulling on an Olympic player in the box. Olympic sent Cox the wrong way and netted the penalty, bringing the score to 3-0.
The Fire pulled together and kept fighting for the game. The boys came close to scoring after a great cross from Ryan McMaster to Jesse Wilson, who was unlucky to miss. However a few moments later the Fire gained a deserved goal from Aidan Little who put in great work and tapped the ball in from three yards.
The game ended with the score line 3-1 in favour of Olympic, however Arnison said he was pleased with the way the Fire boys played and the attitude and work rate they displayed.
“Sometimes in football you don’t get the rewards for the effort you put in, but if we keep playing and working like we did I’m certain we will do well.”
Under 18 Girls:
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated South West Queensland (SWQ) Thunder 3-1 at Meridan Fields.
Coach Francis Lynch said the game started at a fast pace for the Fire, who scored within the first two minutes with a long-range shot from Kayla Moore.
The Fire continued to have chances at goal; the girls played out from defence to both flanks with strong ball speed and were only stopped by the SWQ goal keeper.
Mia Radda scored the Fire’s second goal; she attacked with speed to the right and shot the ball into the top-right corner to bring the score to 2-0.
SWQ were much more aggressive in the second-half, attacking right from the whistle. The Fire was able to hold the SWQ players out until they were awarded a penalty, which brought the score to 2-1.
The Fire responded by turning up the speed and shooting at will from inside the 18-yard box. Only the hard work of the SWQ goal keeper kept the score from reaching double figures.
The girls played out from inside their 18-yard box and Sienna Tucker picked up a killer pass to shoot into the bottom right-hand corner and secure the win.
Lynch congratulated the girls on playing strong, high tempo football.
Under 18 Girls Fire v SWQ Thunder:
Under 14 Girls Fire v The Gap/Brisbane City:
