Hyundai Queensland State League – Round 5
Sunshine Coast Fire v Whitsunday Miners
After four wins from four matches, the challenge now for the Sunshine Coast Fire is keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
The Fire will head into this weekend’s clash with the Whitsunday Miners full of confidence, after last week knocking off arguably their toughest rivals in the Brisbane Strikers and cementing their spot at the pinnacle of the Hyundai QSL ladder.
After claiming a one-goal advantage at the start of the second half, the boys dug in their heels and grimly defended to claim early season bragging rights over the Strikers in a 3-2 victory.
Sunshine Coast forward Jai Cross scored the winning goal and pointed to the desire and unity of the team as reasons for victory.
“It was a very hard-fought match. It’s always a bit scrappy against the Strikers, they’re a good team. We have had battles with them since the first season of the QSL, and it’s always good to come out on top,” Cross said after the match.
Cross claimed that the team would not be dwelling on their fine early season form, and will be fully prepared for the challenge of the travelling Whitsunday Miners team.
“It’s been a great start to the season, but there’s no looking back now. We need to keep it up next week before heading to North Queensland in two weeks.”
As for the Miners, they could be forgiven for being apprehensive heading into their match against the free-scoring Fire.
After a difficult pre-season disrupted by poor weather, the Miners had their first-round fixture against QAS postponed, and have failed to find the back of the net in three matches since.
The Miners recorded a scoreless draw in Round 2 against the Capricorn Cougars, and 2-0 defeats at the hands of the Brisbane Strikers and North Queensland Razorbacks in Round 3 and 4.
Whether they can find the net against the Fire remains to be seen.
Despite the fine pressure that has been a hallmark of the Fire’s game since Round 1, the team has found itself conceding goals in quick succession, letting two goals through in a matter of minutes against both the Capricorn Cougars and the Brisbane Strikers. After the Strikers match, Jai Cross acknowledged that it was an issue that needed to be addressed.
“We just seemed to drop for five or ten minutes, and we got crucified for it,” Cross said.
The team’s ability to hold firm for the full 90 minutes will be again tested on the weekend against a Miners outfit that will be desperate to get on the scoreboard.
As for Cross, who missed the first two matches of the season due to work commitments, fitting back into the Fire’s lineup has been a breeze.
“There have been no problems there, I played with half of the guys last year, and the new boys have been settling in well.”
Kickoff in this weekend’s match with the Miners is at 1.30pm on Sunday, to be followed by the U19 Fire, who play South West Queensland at 3.30pm. The matches will be played at Stockland Park’s Western Fields, at Milieu Place, Bokarina.
