After missing the opportunity to seal a home Grand Final last week, the Sunshine Coast Fire must regroup when they host the dangerous Whitsunday Miners in the Preliminary Final this weekend.
The Brisbane Strikers claimed a 2-1 aggregate victory on Sunday to earn Grand Final hosting rights for a fourth consecutive year, consigning the Fire to a knockout Preliminary on Sunday afternoon.
After failing to make a big impression in previous QSL seasons, the Miners have struck excellent form in 2011 and boast some useful English imports on their roster. The Miners put on a clinic to unceremoniously dump the FNQ Bulls from the finals series last weekend, winning 3-0 in front of 2000 fans in Mackay.
In the two games contested by the sides this year, the Miners have had the better of both contests. In Round 8 an injury time penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Fire in Kawana, while in Round 17 the Miners claimed a 2-0 victory in Mackay. Both contests between the sides have been hard fought and neither side will give an inch on Sunday.
As for the Fire, the disappointment of missing out on a home Grand Final will likely act as a catalyst on Sunday afternoon. Had it not been for the injury time penalty miss, the side would be hosting its first Grand Final in a fortnight’s time. The Fire will need to put this frustrating result behind them on Sunday and play positive football to gain passage to the Grand Final.
After playing their last three QSL games against the Brisbane Strikers, the Fire will need to react well to the different challenge of the Miners and get off to a strong start. Whitsunday have conceded only three goals in their last five fixtures, so breaking through their well-sorted defence will be a priority for the Sunshine Coast.
Creating chances against the Strikers was not an issue last week, but despite a wealth of opportunities the Fire could not find the back of the net. With the side needing to overturn a first-leg deficit, Richard Hudson played Shaun Blackman, Jason Hicks and Gareth Musson in attack, a formation that may be persisted with against Whitsunday.
Kick-off for the Preliminary Final is set for 2pm on Sunday August 21 at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
After the Preliminary Final, the Fire Under-19s will kick off their finals campaign against South West Queensland. The Fire capped off their season in style last weekend, defeating their rivals the Brisbane Strikers to clinch the HQSYL Premiership by four points. The Sunshine Coast face a tough challenge against the second-placed SWQ, who have lost only two games this year, but the Fire’s strong form at Sunshine Coast Stadium will add to their confidence. Kick-off is set for 4pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment