Sunshine Coast FC became only the third team this season to take points off league-leaders Moreton Bay United following a 1-1 draw at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Fire leading goalscorer Jacob Fulluck netted the opener early in the second half for the hosts before Jets’ Jordan Farina delivered the equaliser with 20 minutes remaining.
The draw marks the end of a five game losing streak for Fire across all competitions in their first home game for over a month.
A strong breeze from the south affected both teams in the opening exchanges as clear cut chances came at a premium.
Fire delivered the first opportunity of note midway through the half as Ray Schultz forced Jets goalkeeper Luke Borean into a sharp one-on-one save.
Shortly after Reyze Kelly came close as his free kick curled wide of the target before Jets veteran Royce Brownlie forced the first save of the afternoon from Fire goalkeeper Dale Hill.
Jets best chance of the half came just before the break when Liam Previtera played in Jackson Hall, however the Jets attacker sent his styled shot over the crossbar.
Further chances were spurned by both sides as Brownlie and Takumi Kinoshita both failed to find the target – the teams going into the half-time break locked at nil-all.
Fire upped the tempo after the restart and soon opened the scoring via Fulluck, who delivered a composed finish across Borean after breaking down the right for his seventh goal of the campaign.
However, Jets very nearly delivered an immediate reply has Fire goalkeeper Dale Hill denied an angled strike from Charles Mendy.
The sides continued to exchange attacks as Fire’s Kenya Takahashi and Jets’ Stephen Green called upon the goalkeeper to make telling saves, before Takahashi struck the post on the hour.
The leveller finally came for Jets when Ryota Nakaooka’s cross found substitute Farina, who delivered a top corner finish for his second goal off the bench in two games
Both sides saw late chances to claim the winner but proved unsuccessful as Fulluck was denied by a desperate tackle and Farina forced a point-saving stop from Hill.
Speaking post-match, Jets coach Adam Piddick credited Fire with making life difficult for the league-leaders throughout the match.
“You could say it’s a good point but at the end of the day the boys are disappointed in there – which is a good sign, they don’t accept second-best,” he said.
Fire striker Fulluck said being back at home was an important factor in ending Fire’s recent run of losses.
“We need the locals to come out and support us (and) give us momentum in the coming weeks to snatch wins in the last dying minutes,” he said.
Sunshine Coast FC 1 (Jacob FULLUCK 48’)
Moreton Bay United FC 1(Jordan FARINA 70’)
Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Sunshine Coast FC
(This article originally appeared on www.nplqld.com.au)
