Round two of the NPL saw Sunshine Coast Fire junior boys and First Team take on Moreton Bay Jets and the Under 14 Girls play SWQ Thunder in the first home games of the season.
A great crowd came out to Sunshine Coast Stadium to support the Fire and those who were there early enough got to see a stellar performance from the Under 14 Girls, who defeated SWQ Thunder 9-0.
The Under 18 Boys narrowly defeated Moreton Bay in the last few minutes of their match, while the First Team suffered a loss at the hands of the Jets, going down 1-2.
Meanwhile, the Under 18 Girls played a fierce match against Palm Beach Sharks at their home ground, unfortunately suffering their first loss of the season with a final score of 4-1.
Under 18 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Moreton Bay Jets 2-1 at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Coach Paul Arnison said the Fire started the game well this week, closing down high up the pitch and passing well.
However 20 minutes into the first half the boys suffered a set-back with Elliot Marsay forced off. Arnison was forced to put the team’s only sub (the sub goal keeper), Matty Birrell, up front.
Shortly afterwards the Fire took the lead through a set piece. The play fell to Josh Ives in the box who made no mistakes from 6-yards out.
The Fire remained in front for the half, only to lose centre-back Jared Moore through a dislocated knee right on half-time.
Arnison re-shuffled the team at half-time and the Fire once again took control of the game at the start of the second-half.
Moreton Bay managed to score after a clearance from Chris Jancevski fell to Moreton Bay’s midfielder. The shot from 25-yards out went under the body of goal keeper Damien Cox.
The Fire kept going with particular driving effort from Steve Lawrance, who Arnison said was outstanding throughout the match.
The Fire managed to get the winning goal in the last minute of the game through a Chris Jancevski header off Ryan McMaster’s corner.
“It was a thoroughly deserved win,” Arnison said.
“Special mention must go to Jared Moore, we hope you get better soon, and congratulations to Steve Lawrance and Chris Jancevski who were outstanding.
“It was a really good team performance.”
Under 18 Girls
Palm Beach Sharks defeated Sunshine Coast Fire 4-1.
Coach Francis Lynch said from the first whistle Palm Beach started with intent and played quality two-touch football pressing high on the Fire’s defence.
Lynch said the girls panicked and played into Palm Beach’s game plan and by half time the Fire was down 3-0.
During the second half the girls re-grouped and returned the favour to Palm Beach, playing some quality two-touch football pressing on the opposition’s defence. This forced them to turn the ball over and allowed Samara Christmas to score. This brought the score to 3-1.
The Fire continued to force Palm Beach to turn over possession in their defensive third, but unfortunately the girls’ finishing did not reflect the possession they maintained.
On the counter-attack Palm Beach managed to score, bringing the full time result to 4-1.
“Credit to the squad for reacting to the challenge Palm Beach created in the first half,” Lynch said.
“However we cannot play a first half like we did against the quality opposition in the NPL.”
Under 15 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Moreton Bay Jets 3-1.
Coach Daniel Carew said an excruciatingly hot Sunday made a day at the footballing office hard for both the Fire and the Jets.
Both teams struggled with the physical demands of the heat throughout the game.
A great start from the Fire saw Tom Swane’s free kick lobbed into the box.
Jordon Wurst’s flick on header played straight to Alex Van Kampen, who volleyed home a cracker into the top left-hand corner in the eighth minute.
Despite the lead the Fire was dealt a blow in the 11th minute when a shoulder to shoulder challenge from Khalib Hough unfortunately resulted in a penalty. The Moreton Bay striker placed the ball straight down the middle to bring the score to 1-1, with Luke Marker getting a foot to it.
In the 16th minute, Timi Adu hit the post after a great driven cross from Cameron Nairn, and in the 28th minute the Moreton bay number 8 was sent off after he received two yellow cards for bad challenges.
Despite the early action the remainder of the half and the beginning of the second half were very quiet.
In the 51st minute the Fire was dealt a harsh blow when Sean Pateman was sent off for a studs-up tackle.
Moreton Bay had a few near chances in the rest of the game, but the Fire managed to score a late goal in the 74th minute when Jordan Wust cut inside and placed the ball into the far post.
The game was put to bed four minutes later as the Fire counter attacked and Jordy Irwon played the ball out to Nairn for the assist. Nairn managed to score through a one-on-one, placing the ball in the bottom corner.
Under 14 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Moreton Bay Jets 4-3.
The Fire came away eventual winners in a fixture that is fast becoming a fierce rivalry.
Coach Ben Cahn said Moreton Bay, fielding ex-Sunshine Coast players Tom Anderson and George Carpenter, starting brightly. This caused problems down their left hand side.
The Fire picked up towards the end of the first half, but not without falling a goal behind.
“This was maybe the wake-up call they needed,” Cahn said.
Jack Bowen and Kobe Fuller both capitalised on sloppy play from the Moreton Bay backline to send the Fire into half time with a 2-1 lead.
A scrappy start to the second half saw Moreton Bay capitalise on the Fire’s failure at three attempt clearances to draw level at 2-2.
Cahn said the game never really settled down, and the Fire had to draw upon their determination in the searing heat to pull back ahead.
A fine move, finished with a classy strike from Ty Dawson saw them move into a 3-2 lead.
Another passage of good passing football lead to Kobe Fuller finishing off the decisive fourth goal.
Cahn said from here the Fire should have been cruising but they struggled to control the game. With two minutes to go Moreton Bay pulled one back to bring the score to 4-3.
“After a hard fought game in heat bordering on 35 degrees the Fire will be happy with the points,” Cahn said.
“But after enduring their first real test of the season it is clear there is a lot of work to do on the training ground if they are to compete with the bigger clubs in the NPL.”
Under 14 Girls
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated SWQ Thunder 9-0.
Coach Tom White said the Fire dominated the game from start to finish.
Kirsty Clifford opened the scoring with a goal in the fifth minute, followed by Teena Hartwig who scored two minutes later.
Lisa van Hooijdonk created a goal and scored two herself in a fantastic performance where she was the terror of the SWQ Thunder back four.
“Her speed and ability to get in behind the full-back gave her so much freedom, which was exploited very well,” White said.
Van Hooijdonk wasn’t the only terror; Clifford netted a further four goals and put the Fire in complete control.
Madi Warren and Hartwig’s shot, which just crept over the line, finished the rout.
“Aqua Meanie led the team superbly from the back,” White said.
“She showed so much class when in possession.
“There were also fantastic performances from Michelle Le Roux and Holly Vidulich along with debutants Aimee Scott and Zoe Hopwood.
“It was definitely one of the most professional performances I’ve seen from an under 14 team.”
Under 13 Boys
Sunshine Coast Fire defeated Moreton Bay Jets 3-1.
Coach Alex Barlow said the team started well, with good tempo, ball speed and movement which made it difficult for the Jets to keep up.
After a lot of pressure the Fire managed to break through with a good play between Jesse Gibbs and Jac Eather. Gibbs managed to score again soon afterwards.
The Fire made one a slower pass out from the back which the Jets’ striker capitalised on and toe poked into the net just before half-time.
The second half was messy, the Fire boys were tiring in the hot weather, however they finally got a break through near the end of the match. Ty Williams scored the finishing goal in the top left corner from outside the box.
“We kept battling – it would have been easy after last week’s win just to turn up,” Barlow said.
“But the boys showed they could play and got the win they deserved.”
Under 12 Boys
Sunshine Coast fire defeated Moreton Bay Jets 5-2.
The Under 12 Boys’ first official home game of the season kicked off against their closest rivals Moreton Bay just a few weeks after the Fire knocked them out 1-0 in the semi-final of the the pre-season tournament.
Coach Matt Huston said the boys were keen to continue their dominance and early season form in what they knew would be a stern test from the Jets.
The Fire defusing some early pressure and turned the opposition around with some quick transition and counter attacks. This led to a goal from Daniel Cuttler in the early part of the first half.
The boys settled in well and started to find some space out wide. They continued to get around the defence and send some searching balls into the box.
Some missed opportunities seemed to fuel the boys to push harder. Before long Cuttler found some space at the top of the 18-yard box and sent a rocket out of reach of the small Morton Bay goal keeper, into the back of the net for his second.
This brought the score to 2-0 at half time.
“The boys were happy with a lead but I asked them to be patient and work on playing out and holding onto some ball possession in their build up,” Huston said.
The young Jets side continued to put pressure on the Fire and a miscommunication found the Fire goal keeper out of position. An easy tap in from 2-yards out was to be the Fire’s first goal against for the season.
With a new found burst of energy the young Moreton bay side contended every pass. This payed off for them after a scrambled clearance fell to the feet of a Moreton Bay striker. He found the Fire’s defence flat footed and with nothing to do but watch the ball roll across the ground into the back of the net.
The score was then 2-2.
Stunned but determined the boys pulled together and got themselves back in control with a switch play which found Mackenar Bradfield in behind. He calmly slotted the ball past the keeper, bringing the score to 3-2.
The boys then continued their first-half dominance. A change of position saw Thomas Whitaker take charge, driving past two defenders. He was one verse one against the keeper and poked the ball up and over into the back of the net.
With the game almost over, the battle for possession continued.
Both teams had to work hard, however the boys ability to get forward payed off as they found some space. Another well placed strike from Bradfield sealed the game.
“The hot day and heavy pitch really pushed the boys to dig deep and they should be proud of their performance,” Huston said.
“The final score 5-2 was probably not a true reflection of how close this game was, but there is still plenty more to come from the boys in weeks to come.”
