The Sunshine Coast Fire have survived a late scare to hold off the Queensland Academy of Sport, scoring a 2-1 victory at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
Goals to Beau Lyle and James Stinson put the Fire on track for victory, before Josh Riis pegged one back for QAS.
Last week saw the Fire beaten for the first time this season, humbled by the Gympie Fire in a battle at One Mile Ovals. From the kick-off against QAS, the Under-19s looked determined to prove a point.
In one of the Fire’s first moves forward, Kaine Frew collected a pass from Beau Lyle before turning and shooting first time, but Andre Jannese was untroubled in goal for QAS. Up the other end, Sam Wilkinson tested Sam Nickolls with a shot from distance, but the Fire keeper dropped well to make an easy save.
Despite both sides finding their share of early possession, genuine chances were hard to come by. Andy Gillen chipped a free-kick toward James Stinson in the penalty area, but Stinson’s header cleared the bar by some distance.
With much of the game played in the middle of the park, the young QAS players were holding their own against the Fire, as Joe Franze forced a save out of Nickolls after 25 minutes.
Josh Atkinson had a good opportunity to open the Fire’s account soon after, narrowly missing the left upright with his header from inside the area. With the game beginning to open up, the Sunshine Coast managed to notch their opening goal just before half-time.
Beau Lyle was given possession on the left flank, and was given too much room as he cut inside and dribbled into the penalty area. With the defenders backing away, Lyle curled a fine shot into the top corner to ensure the Sunshine Coast went into the half-time break with all the momentum.
The second half kicked off at a higher tempo, with the opening goal providing the spark that the game needed. The Fire’s defence were confidently dealing with the threat of QAS, as Rob McNicol did well to clear a cross from Shannon Brady.
For the Fire, Luke Lewis played a neat one-two with Nick Roth, but the keeper made an interception before Lewis could get a shot off.
With the Fire beginning to hit their straps in attack, QAS looked to be losing some patience as they moved forward, as Lachlan Jackson had a speculative shot on goal from 30 yards.
On 77 minutes, Frew raced to the byline and chipped a cross into the danger area that Jannese punched away. Rhys Roberts latched onto the loose ball and had a shot from distance, but the ball went straight through to the keeper.
With the match looking likely to end with only a single goal scored, the Sunshine Coast managed to double their advantage on 82 minutes. After Joshua Atkinson was fouled, Andy Gillen chipped a free-kick into the penalty area. The ball fell nicely for James Stinson, who smashed it into the roof of the net to give the Fire a 2-0 lead with eight minutes to play.
With injury time looming, Josh Riis nicked a goal for QAS when he won possession and beat Nickolls at the near post, making the score 2-1.
After a nervy few minutes of injury time, the whistle sounded for the Sunshine Coast Fire to celebrate a return to the winners circle with another hard-fought win over quality opposition. It was the Fire’s second win over QAS this season, with the boys managing a 4-2 win in Round 3 at Meakin Park.
The Fire’s next HQSYL fixture is against the Southern Cross United youth team in a fortnight’s time. Kick-off is set for 1pm on Sunday, June 19, at Perry Park in Brisbane.
FINAL SCORE: Sunshine Coast Fire – 2 (Lyle, 42, Stinson, 82)
Queensland Academy of Sport – 1 (Riis, 88)
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