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NQ Razorbacks 0 – 3 Sunshine Coast Fire
Sunshine Coast Fire continued their form resurgence on Saturday night as they disposed of the North Queensland Razorbacks 3-0 in Townsville.
Following last round’s 4-0 home drubbing of fierce rivals the Brisbane Strikers, Fire travelled to North Queensland hoping to heap pressure on Brisbane and Whitsunday with a win over the mid-table Razorbacks.
Star young midfielder DJ Firth opened the scoring for Sunshine Coast just prior to the hour mark, before experienced striker Shaun Blackman doubled the advantage for the away side in the 82nd minute. Classy midfielder Tyson Holmes then added gloss to the scoreline in the third minute of added time, rounding out a comfortable victory for last year’s double winners.
Sunshine Coast now sit second behind Brisbane on goal difference and return home to face the QAS after the Easter break, while North Queensland’s scheduled bye allows them two weeks of recovery.
Whitsunday Miners 4 – 3 FNQ Bulls
Whitsunday Miners managed a thrilling 4-3 win over FNQ Bulls on Saturday night in a seesawing encounter which saw the Bulls fight back to overcome a two goal deficit, only to concede twice again late.
Having scooped six points – over Sunshine Coast Fire and the QAS – from their first three road fixtures to open the season, Whitsunday Miners were glad to finally return home for their first match at Virgin Australia Stadium this term.
A 6-0 rout at the hands of Brisbane Strikers sandwiched between their two wins meant Saturday night’s clash with FNQ Bulls was important for the home side to keep pace at the top, and they did just that with a thrilling 4-3 triumph.
Winger Jordan Corte, who opened the scoring in the 13th minute and also won a penalty for the Miners to level the score at 3-3, slotted a dramatic late winner for the home side to claim all three points, after the Bulls had recovered from two early goals to lead the match 3-2.
Whitsunday are now three points clear in third having played two more matches than fourth-placed Capricorn, while FNQ sit in fifth with four points from their opening three fixtures.
Gold Coast Stars 0 – 5 Capricorn Cougars
Gold Coast Stars’ horror start to the season continued on Sunday as they were belted 5-0 at home by Capricorn Cougars.
In only their second season in the QSL, following a fifth-placed finish last year, the Stars have already endured the humiliation of a 9-1 thrashing by Brisbane Strikers in the opening weekend before losing 3-0 last round in Far North Queensland.
Looking to record their first points of the season and climb from the bottom of the ladder, Gold Coast were again devastated as Capricorn, who now have six points from two matches, ran riot at Runaway Bay Soccer Club with their second successive five-goal haul.
The visiting Cougars have now risen to fourth, two points ahead of FNQ Bulls and a single win from the top three with two games in hand over each, while the Stars must regroup before a trip north to Bundaberg next round.
Brisbane Strikers 4 – 0 QAS
A stellar hat-trick to attacker Chris DiSipio was the highlight of an efficient Brisbane Strikers performance at Perry Park on Sunday evening, running out 4-0 victors over the Queensland Academy of Sport.
A frantic six-minute period just after the restart sealed the result for the home side as they piled on three goals to complete the scoring in the 53rd minute. DiSipio added two goals in that time, following Matt Thurtell’s 47th minute effort, which completed his hat-trick after opening the scoring in the 23rd minute with a clever poked finish. The QAS had good spells of possession throughout the contest but were unable to capitalise on clear-cut chances and were out-enthused by their more senior opponents, despite more than holding their own in midfield and the impressive individual performance of right-winger Kwame Yeboah.
Ultimately, it was their admirable insistence of playing out from their back which was punished by Brisbane as ‘keeper Matthew Stein and central-defender Tremayne Sadler both coughed up easy second-half chances for the Strikers to secure an expected result.
The win sees the Strikers surge back to the top of the table with an imposing goals record ahead of next round’s trip to face the FNQ Bulls, while the QAS have a tough road journey to meet Sunshine Coast Fire.
Bundaberg Spirit - BYE
| POS | TEAM | P | W | D | L | PTS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane Strikers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| 2 | Sunshine Coast Fire | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| 3 | Whitsunday Miners | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| 4 | Capricorn Cougars | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| 5 | FNQ Bulls | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| 6 | NQ Razorbacks | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 7 | Bundaberg Spirit | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 8 | QAS Football | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 9 | Gold Coast Stars | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||||