A late equaliser from QAS has spoilt the Fire’s introduction to Sunshine Coast Stadium, with the sides having to settle for a 1-1 stalemate on Sunday afternoon.
A first-half strike from Greig Henslee put the Fire on course for victory, but Henslee was issued a straight red card early in the second half and QAS equalised through Brandon Borrello with only minutes to play.
The result leaves the Fire six points clear of the Brisbane Strikers in second place on the QSL ladder, although the Strikers have played one less game.
In front of a healthy home crowd at Sunshine Coast Stadium, both the Fire and QAS looked to revel in the perfect conditions and quality playing surface. Passes were crisp and accurate early on, as both sides looked to assert themselves. QAS were the first to have a sniff at goal when Alistair Quinn was pressured into shooting over the bar by Ryan Smith.
In what was becoming a fluid, end-to-end contest, both sides were shooting on sight as much as possible, as Tyson Holmes lashed a half-volley over the crossbar from outside the penalty area.
After 20 minutes of play, neither side had managed a serious challenge on goal and the respective defences were well on top. Fire keeper Antony Hall was called into action as he moved well off his line to deal with a cross from Elliot Ronto. Soon after, Koh Satake went close to scoring for the visitors when he flashed a shot wide of the right upright from 20 yards.
The deadlock was broken after 29 minutes as the Fire took the lead. Jason Hicks swung a corner toward Greig Henslee at the far post, who read the cross well and side-footed the ball home from a few yards out.
After taking the front in an even contest, the Sunshine Coast looked to take control of the fixture and were gaining more of the possession. QAS continued to look dangerous on the break, and Elliott Ronto went close after bulldozing through two tackles and missing the target from the edge of the area.
The Fire had one last chance to double their lead before half-time, when Sam Knight chipped a cross toward Takanori Sato six yards out, but Sato headed the ball wide of goal.
Judd Molea was brought on for Shaun Blackman for the second half, which started in much the same vein for the Fire as the team looked comfortable on the ball and built through short passes.
Five minutes into the second period, the Fire suffered a serious blow when Greig Henslee was given his marching orders for a challenge on Kwame Yeboah. Henslee was adjudged to be the last defender when he made the tackle, and despite the protests of the Fire players, the side would have to defend their slender lead with only 10 men. Leon Dwyer was pushed back into defence for the rest of the game.
The Fire nearly produced the perfect response to the send-off a few minutes later, when Ryan Smith’s powerful header was cleared off the line by Jayke Cuschieri.
After 60 minutes of play, the Fire were looking to defend in depth as Jason Hicks was left as the lone man up front. Despite their numerical advantage, QAS were unable to get in behind the Fire’s defence and were often forced to shoot from distance. Antony Hall was at full stretch to save a low drive from Kenneth Dougall on the edge of the area.
Alex Henderson was brought on for Sam Knight as the Fire looked to see out the 90 minutes, but QAS were not going down without a fight as Alistair Quinn missed by inches with a header from close range. Up the other end, Tyson Holmes did his best to inspire his troops with a solo run, but his eventual shot on goal was high and didn’t trouble QAS keeper Matthew Stein.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, QAS were dominating possession but were still no closer to finding an equalising goal. With only a few minutes of regular time remaining, Kenneth Dougall and Brandon Borrello combined well in the penalty area, and Hall was helpless as Borrello knocked the ball into the net to level it up.
The Fire had one last chance to snatch an unlikely victory in the final seconds as Holmes released Kota Shibahashi, but QAS keeper Stein read the play well to break up the attack.
The final whistle sounded for a 1-1 draw, a frustrating result for the Fire who looked to have done enough to hold off QAS until the final moments. The visitors can take heart from their performance, which confirms their status as a legitimate finals contender and keeps them in touch with the leading teams.
Fire coach Richard Hudson thought the draw was a reasonable reflection on a close game.
“We got the early break with the goal, and I thought we might build on that, but we really didn’t hit our straps today. You could say in hindsight we were outplayed, but they never really got in behind us, and I thought maybe we were going to get away with it until the late goal.”
Hudson agreed that the game changed complexion after the Fire went a man down.
“The sending off was disappointing, because he wasn’t the last player. It’s an automatic send-off if the player is the last defender, but we had cover coming through in (Ryan) Smith.”
Next weekend is the Fire’s annual clash with the Brisbane Roar, as part of the Roar’s pre-season tour. The game will be played on Sunday June 12, and for ticket prices and other information, visit www.sunshinecoastfc.com.au .
FINAL SCORE: Sunshine Coast FC – 1 (Henslee, 29)
Queensland Academy of Sport - 1 (Borrello, 87)
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