The Sunshine Coast Fire have suffered a cruel blow, with an own goal late in the match relegating the boys to a 1-1 draw with the Gold Coast Zone Under-19s.
A spectacular first-half strike from Beau Lyle set the Fire on their way, before the late own-goal salvaged a point for the Gold Coast.
After grinding out another hard-fought victory last week with a 2-1 win over Southern Cross United, the Sunshine Coast would have be confident of a repeat performance on their home ground.
From the opening whistle, it was clear that the Fire would have the edge in midfield and proceeded to dominate early possession. Andy Harrison and James Verdin both missed good early chances. Soon after, Rhys Roberts was well positioned to receive Andy Gillen’s corner at the far post, but his header was just off target.
With the match played largely on the Fire’s terms, Beau Lyle took the initiative and scored the game’s opening goal on 20 minutes. Lyle found space on the left flank 25 yards out and set his sights on goal, beating Gold Coast keeper Shane Vitakangas with a flat drive that nestled in the top corner.
After falling behind early, the Gold Coast were beginning to work into the match and were competing hard for every ball, but the Sunshine Coast were comfortable in defence and were preventing their opponents from getting in behind them.
Meanwhile, the Fire’s attackers were pressing for a second goal, as Andy Harrison knocked a header over the bar after an accurate cross from Mitch Broom. Harrison was again involved a few minutes later when he sent a ball into the danger area for Rhys Roberts, but the keeper was untroubled and dealt with the shot easily.
The second half kicked off in much the same way as the first, with the Fire working hard and controlling the match but not seeing enough evidence on the scoreboard. Nick Roth and James Verdin combined well inside the penalty area before Verdin was brought to ground, but the referee waved away calls for a penalty.
Soon after, Andy Gillen directed a long free-kick towards Joshua Atkinson at the far-post, but the ball was cleared for a corner before Atkinson could get his head to it. With 65 minutes played, Jon Camelleri produced perhaps the best chance for the visitors when he found space but lifted a shot over the bar.
As the match entered its final minutes, the Fire continued to terrorise the Gold Coast defence as Kaine Frew had a shot on target that the keeper did well to block.
With only minutes to play, Gold Coast won a free-kick in a dangerous area, but Rhys Lambert’s shot was easy pickings for Sam Nickolls in goal for the Fire. Minutes after and with the game about to enter injury time, Gold Coast found an equaliser from nowhere. An early cross from the left wing took an awkward deflection off Rhys Roberts at the near post and hit the back of the net.
It proved to be the last scoring chance of the match, as the Fire had victory snatched away from them when it was in their grasp. With the season rapidly coming to an end and the Fire locked in a battle with the Brisbane Strikers for top spot on the HQSYL ladder, next week’s clash with the Gold Coast Stars will be crucial for the boys. Kick-off is set for 4pm on Sunday, July 3, after the senior’s game.
FINAL SCORE: Sunshine Coast Fire – 1 (Lyle, 20)
Gold Coast Zone Under-19s – 1 (OG, 90)
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