Smeltz scores on return as United thrash Fury

Shane Smeltz capped his Hyundai A-League return with a goal and an assist as Gold Coast thrashed North Queensland Fury 4-0 in front of 2514 spectators at Skilled Park to regain the Queensland Nickel Cup. Bruce Djite also bagged a brace in an impressive performance that augured well for his new strike partnership with the prolific Smeltz.

The Fury have struggled in the past few months, with Franz Straka’s rotation policy, busy playing schedule and uncertain future making it difficult to maintain rhythm and shape. This rotation policy was again in evidence with midfielders Mark Hughes and Ramazan Tavsancioglu coming into the centre of defence, and centre half Eric Akoto pushed forward into a holding midfield position.

Despite this, the Fury looked competitive enough and solid at the back for the opening 20 minutes, until Bas van den Brink unlocked the Fury defence in the 21st minute with a splitting pass. Smeltz again featured in the build up play, and van den Brink’s precise pass put Bruce Djite through on goal who finished well under pressure.

The Fury remained positive in their play however and continued to attack, but the best defence in the Hyundai A-League held firm under this pressure.

Just before the half time break however, Gold Coast doubled their advantage through the former Adelaide striker Djite, with Smeltz this time the provider. Smeltz controlled a cross field pass well with his chest before sending a delicate through ball to the onrushing Djite, who held off his defender to slot home under Sebastian Usai’s legs.

The Fury came out in the second half continuing to play positive football, but their experimental defence struggled to cope with the pace, power and movement of the Gold Coast forwards. This was further exposed in the 52nd minute when the Fury’s defence was split yet again. Shane Smeltz found himself one on one before slotting home coolly to effectively seal the result.

Youngsters Chris Broadfoot and Chris Harold then combined to add more gloss to the scoreline with Harold scoring his maiden Hyundai A-League goal. His well-timed angled run and finish beat the Fury offside trap after a perfectly weighted pass form Broadfoot.

The convincing result sees United regain the Queensland Nickel Cup and continue their push for a top two finish which is well within their reach. The Fury continue to battle on, anchored to the foot of the table and using the opportunity to experiment with different players and formations.