Under-19 Catch Up Match Report - Fire v Strikers

The Sunshine Coast Fire have rounded out the HQSYL season in style, beating the Brisbane Strikers 2-1 at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

A double from Kaine Frew was enough for the Fire to consolidate top spot on the ladder and establish themselves as the team to beat in the finals.

The Fire were confirmed as Premiers midweek when South West Queensland were held to a draw against the Logan Strikers. It is the first time the Fire Youth have claimed the title in the club’s four year history

Barely a minute into the fixture, the Sunshine Coast found the back of the net. Frew was fouled on the right wing, just outside the penalty area, and Andy Gillen took the free-kick. He chipped the ball to Frew at the far post, who found space and angled a header past Strikers keeper Brayden Nielsen to open the scoring.

It was a positive start for the Fire, who kept on coming in the following minutes and were unlucky not to add to the score. Beau Lyle went close soon after, when he ran onto a through-ball, settled on his left foot and missed the target narrowly to the left.

The Strikers were applying themselves but finding it difficult to win enough possession through the midfield. Tom Kenny was one of the first to manage a shot on goal for the visitors, but pulled a shot wide of goal from a narrow angle.

After half an hour of play, Brisbane found an equaliser after winning the ball in their attacking half and attacking down the right wing. Kenny cut inside, before sliding a pass across the six yard box to Taylor Marshall, who knocked the ball into the empty net to tie it up at 1-1.

The Strikers almost had a shock lead minutes after, when a quick counter-attack gave Ryan Cokell a chance, but Sam Nickolls moved well to his left to block the goal-bound shot and keep scores level.

As half-time got closer, Andy Harrison ran onto a long-ball and tried his luck with a shot from distance, but Nielsen was untroubled in goal for the Strikers and saved on his chest.

Although the Fire had already been confirmed as Premiers, the side seemed keen to cap off the regular season and prepare for finals with a win, and came out in the second half full of intent. In the Fire’s first attack, Kaine Frew regained the lead for his side in spectacular fashion, collecting a pass from the left and launching an unstoppable half-volley from 20 yards out that went in off the crossbar.

Minutes later, a neat one-two between Harrison and Gillen gave Harrison a chance to race along the left wing toward the byline, where he slipped a pass into the penalty area that eluded everyone.

Brisbane were battling hard, but failing to create genuine scoring chances. For the Fire, substitute Luke Lewis had a shot on goal in the right of the penalty area, but his powerful shot was knocked over the bar by Strikers keeper Nielsen. Nielsen was again called into action soon after, denying a hat-trick for Frew after he dribbled into the penalty area and shot on his left foot.

With injury time looming, Brisbane had one last chance to snatch a point when Lachlan Dale raced along the right byline, but his low cross was blocked and rushed to safety.

The whistle sounded to mark the Fire’s 12^th win of the season. After going close in previous years, the Fire youth have claimed the HQSYL Premiership for the first time, and will be confident of maintaining their dominance in the finals series. Details for the HQSYL finals series will be made available shortly.

FINAL SCORE – Sunshine Coast FC – 2 (Frew, 1, 46)

                       Brisbane Strikers – 1 (Marshall, 32)