Hyundai Queensland State League – Round 5
Sunshine Coast Fire vs. Whitsunday Miners
Sunday April 25, 2010
Kane Frampton – Staff Reporter
A fifth straight QSL victory has been recorded by the Sunshine Coast Fire, as the team disposed of the Whitsunday Miners 4-1 in difficult conditions at Stockland Park’s Western Fields.
On the back of a gutsy away victory against the Brisbane Strikers last week, the Fire went into this week’s encounter as clear favourites against a Miner’s side who were yet to score a goal all season.
A soggy pitch under a hot sun is not ideal conditions for a football match, but the Fire did their best to maintain possession and build through passes from the opening whistle.
Late inclusion Ray Schultz fired a long ball toward Shaun Blackman, who chested the ball down to the advantage of a lurking Tyson Holmes. Holmes blazed a volley over the bar from 20 yards.
After this early chance, the direct approach produced another good opportunity, when a Corey Towle long-ball found Jai Cross, who beat his marker and made Miners keeper Gutteridge work with a shot from close range.
For the visitors, Daniel Scotton manufactured a chance on 13 minutes when he fired wide from outside the penalty area.
The Fire were dominating early possession, passing the ball along the deck as much as possible. A low cross from Towle on the left flank found Blackman at the near post, who got a foot to the ball only to be denied by the goalkeeper.
On 15 minutes, the Sunshine Coast’s territorial advantage came through, and Cross scored the first of the match. Blackman had nodded the ball on following a long goal-kick from Antony Hall, and Cross beat his marker to go one-on-one with the keeper. He rounded the keeper and prodded the ball home from a few metres out.
After settling any early nerves with the opening goal, the Fire continued to press forward. Blackman and Holmes combined again, but Holmes’ volley flew just high of goal.
Although outplayed through the middle of the park, the Miners were having some success with the limited ball they were receiving. Eddy Skien rode a challenge before shooting for goal on the edge of the area, but Hall saw the ball all the way and made the save on his chest.
It seemed to be only a matter of time before the Fire scored again, and a Sam Knight cross needed only a touch from a Fire player to find the back of the net, but it eluded everybody.
A free-kick on 32 minutes found James Stinson inside the box, but although he connected well with a header, the shot missed narrowly high of goal.
The slippery conditions were leading to a few clumsy challenges, and Scotton was issued with a yellow card on 37 minutes for the visitors.
In the next play, the Fire doubled their lead. Knight found himself in space on the right flank, and moved in on goal. As Blackman called for the ball on six yards, Knight rode a challenge and shot at goal himself, beating the keeper with a tidy shot from close range.
The Fire played out the remaining minutes of the first half with confidence, as Yuta Gonai almost added a third with a long range shot that the keeper did well to deal with.
After dominating the opening stanza, it was now up to the Sunshine Coast to close the match out and keep a clean sheet, something the team had thus far failed to achieve this season.
Any hopes of this were extinguished on 52 minutes, after a mix-up in defence gifted the Miners their first goal of the season and let them back into the game.
After a high ball was launched towards the Fire’s goal, no-one came out to head the ball to safety and Daniel Scotton was on hand to steal the ball and tap it into an empty net.
What followed was a nervous few minutes as the Sunshine Coast struggled to regain their ascendancy. On 58 minutes, a direct free-kick from Mark Rhodes almost made the score 2-2, as his shot grazed the bar as it went over.
After this wake-up call, the Fire slowly regained control of the contest. A golden opportunity went begging on 68 minutes when Tyson Holmes found himself one-on-one with the keeper, who did well to smother the ball before Holmes could shoot.
The Fire found some breathing space on 75 minutes as their relentless attack paid dividends. Blackman chased down a loose ball that looked certain to cross the byline, and picked out Yuta Gonai unmarked in the penalty area. Gonai calmly slotted past keeper Gutteridge to make the score 3-1.
This third goal all but ended the Miners hopes of victory, as the remaining minutes were played out on the Sunshine Coast’s terms. Knight almost picked up a brace after heading wide following a cross, and Blackman was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet after connecting with a powerful header that went just high.
The icing on the cake came as Towle drove at a static Miners defence and shot at goal; the keeper got a touch to it but the ball trickled towards the net, and Aaron Brazendale was on hand to prod the ball home for a 4-1 victory and a fifth win from as many games.
Coach Aston Bell was pleased to record a convincing result in tough conditions.
“I said to the boys before the game, our game plan had to change because of the conditions. It was never going to be pretty football. We had to be a little bit more direct than we normally would be,” Bell said.
After conceding early in the second half, Bell was happy to see his charges go on and finish the job.
“Credit to my lads, they dug deep, regrouped, and we went on to complete the business.”
Bell is convinced his team deserves its current position atop the Hyundai QSL table.
“I think we deserve to be where we are at. I think we are playing the most consistent football in the competition right now. We are physically well prepared, and well conditioned.”
The next challenge for the Fire is a road-trip to face the NQ Razorbacks in Townsville on Saturday night. After claiming victory at Perry Park in Round 4, the Fire will be confident of securing another result on the road. Kickoff is at 7.30pm on May 1 at Brolga Park, Townsville.
Final Score: Sunshine Coast FC – 4 (Cross, 15, Knight, 39, Gonai, 75, Brazendale, 88)
Whitsunday Miners – 1 (Scotton, 52)
