Friday night will see the 2011 HQSL Premiership decided, as the Sunshine Coast Fire and Brisbane Strikers do battle once again.
The old foes will fight it out at Sunshine Coast Stadium, with the Strikers needing a win to overhaul the Fire and claim first place. A draw will be sufficient for the Sunshine Coast, who currently hold a two-point competition lead going into this final fixture.
It is difficult to line up an accurate form-line between the two sides. The Strikers will be up and about after knocking off the dangerous Whitsunday Miners at Perry Park last week. A fortnight ago, the Fire suffered their second loss of the season when defeated by the Miners in Mackay. However, while the Fire have comfortably accounted for the Gold Coast Stars twice this season, the Strikers have been defeated both times they have faced the Stars.
The Fire and Strikers last met in Round 1, with the Fire snagging a 1-0 victory at Perry Park with a late goal – this result will mean little come Friday evening, as Brisbane look to clinch their second QSL title to go with their 2009 triumph.
The Strikers have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal, but will have to do without leading scorer Matt Thurtell on Friday evening. Thurtell has been offered a trial with A-League club Wellington Phoenix, and will likely be unavailable for the entire QSL finals series. The Strikers will also be without Josh Searle, who will miss the finals campaign with a broken leg.
Despite these omissions, Brisbane have strength in depth and will be looking to strike a psychological blow as finals approach.
As for the Fire, last week’s 7-0 drubbing of the cellar-dwelling Bundaberg Spirit will have raised confidence for Friday night. The Fire were clinical in front of goal on Sunday, embarrassing the Spirit’s defence to lead 6-0 at half time and cruise to victory. Former Brisbane forward Gareth Musson scored twice in the rout, increasing his goal tally to seven goals in five QSL games after joining the Fire mid-season.
All is set up for a classic encounter on Friday evening, the first of three games between the Fire and Strikers in the coming weeks. Kick-off is set for 8pm on Friday July 29 at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
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