The Sunshine Coast Fire have made a welcome return to the winners list, securing a 1-0 result over the Papua New Guinea national side in a friendly fixture on Tuesday evening.
A second-half penalty from Gareth Musson was enough to grant the Fire their first win at Sunshine Coast Stadium, after draws against QAS and the Brisbane Roar in previous weeks.
Richard Hudson made several changes to the Fire side that played the Brisbane Roar only two days previously, with many youth players given an opportunity to shine, while Frank Farina’s Papua New Guinea side was rotated heavily for the friendly match.
On a cold evening in Kawana, it took both sides time to find their range as passes missed the target early on. Former Fire player David Muta was captaining Papua New Guinea, and did his best to lift his side from central midfield.
Ten minutes in, Gympie Fire playmaker Tim Hollingworth produced an opportunity for the Fire, but his header was blocked away for a corner. With both sides struggling to find their feet in the attacking third, plays continued to break down early on.
James Stinson and Kaine Frew combined on 30 minutes, but couldn’t break through the PNG defence. Soon after, Kota Shibahashi read Gareth Musson’s flicked header well, but a defender averted the danger.
For the visitors, Gary Moka went close to opening PNG’s account when he found space 12 yards out, but the striker lifted his shot over the crossbar while under pressure.
On 38 minutes, the Fire had their best chance of the match go begging. A cross from Frew on the right wing fell nicely for Stinson, who hit a pass towards Gareth Musson six yards out. The ball bounced awkwardly for Musson, who missed the target from close range.
With half time quickly approaching, Niel Hans hit a dipping free-kick that only cleared the crossbar by inches. Hans again posed a threat in the next play, forcing a save out of Antony Hall from just outside the penalty area.
Some experience was injected into the Fire lineup after the break with Tyson Holmes, Aaron Brazendale and Judd Molea brought on for Tim Hollingworth, Kaine Frew and James Stinson.
With Frank Farina also using plenty of substitutions for the visitors, Papua New Guinea almost hit the front minutes after the half-time break. Ericson Koneng moved well down the right flank before hitting an accurate cross to Alex Davani, who couldn’t get a vital touch with the goal at his mercy.
With close to an hour played and the match still scoreless, the Sunshine Coast began to hit their straps and put the PNG defence under pressure. Holmes and Musson combined well, with Musson eventually forcing a save out of PNG keeper David Ava with a clean header.
Although PNG continued to find themselves in attacking positions, they were struggling to produce shots on goal, as Sam Knight put his body on the line to prevent a shot from Tonga Esira.
As the Fire countered from this attack, Judd Molea found himself in space on the left wing and used his pace to power in on goal. As Molea sped into the penalty area, Kelly Jampu moved in to make a challenge and brought the Fire forward down, earning the Sunshine Coast a penalty. Gareth Musson stepped up and found the bottom corner with minimal fuss to record his first goal as a Fire player.
With 15 minutes to play and a goal behind, Papua New Guinea seemed to lose patience as they searched for an equalising goal, and too often seemed content to shoot from distance.
Aaron Brazendale missed a good chance to double the Fire’s lead soon after, when he controlled Sam Knight’s cross from the left flank but lifted his shot over the bar. It was to be the last real opportunity of the game as the Sunshine Coast recorded a narrow but encouraging win over international opposition.
The Fire will enjoy a break over the next week and a half, before facing up for Round 14 of the QSL against the Far North Queensland Bulls. That match will be played at Sunshine Coast Stadium, with kick-off set for 2pm on Sunday, June 26.
FINAL SCORE: Sunshine Coast FC – 1 (Musson, 70)
Papua New Guinea – 0
FIRE SQUAD: Antony Hall, Alex Henderson, Takanori Sato, Greig Henslee, Ryan Smith, James Stinson, Tim Hollingworth, Dylan Roberts, Kaine Frew, Kota Shibahashi, Gareth Musson. SUBS: Tyson Holmes, Aaron Brazendale, Judd Molea, Sam Nickolls, Mitch Broom, Sam Knight, Jason Hicks.
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