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Wolves FC 2:2 Eastern Suburbs
(Clulow ‘6; Aoci ‘48) (Stenhouse ’67; Farina ‘90+5)
Easts snatched a controversial, last-gasp equaliser to deny Wolves maximum points that opened up a five-point gap at the top of the table.
A record Wolves crowd for 2012 were treated to a business-as-usual performance early on, as Trent Clulow and later Kado Aoci made the most of half chances. But after the home side was reduced to ten men following Chris Knowles’ dismissal, Easts hit back in style. Ryan Stenhouse struck an unstoppable long-range free-kick, as Easts pushed forward - desperate for a result. And it came with the last play of the game, although with a cloud of controversy surrounding it. With Wolves hoofing a last-minute clearance out of their penalty box, the ball struck the referee, before falling invitingly for Jordan Farina who made no mistake to the disgust of the home crowd.
The result leaves Wolves trailing top of the table Rochedale by five points, albeit with a game in hand.
Taringa Rovers 1:2 Capalaba
(Hansen ’63) (Sargent ’47; Brattan ’85)
The Bulldogs battled to a key narrow victory over a resilient Taringa that leaves them in the frame for the top six.
After dominating the latter stages of the first half, the visitors finally opened the scoring immediately after the break, the ever-reliable Scott Sargent finishing a Joel Drewek cross. But the goal seemed to act as a trigger for Rovers who responded through a neat finish by Schon Hansen. Capalaba’s persistence did pay off in the end – Zak Brattan heading home another precise Drewek cross with five minutes to play.
Taringa will be disappointed with the result as they could have gone level on points with Capalaba with a win – they now trail the Dogs by six and are not too far from the danger zone.
Brisbane City 1:1 Peninsula Power
(Oryem ’90+1) (Taylor ’12)
A last-ditch equaliser from Patrick Oryem salvaged a draw for City as Power dropped vital points for a second consecutive week.
The visitors piled on the pressure first and opened the scoring through Josh Taylor, who rose highest from a corner to head home. Power contained the hosts well and looked to have clinched the game, but an inspired substitution by Mark Dykman proved the difference. Oryem came on with six minutes to play and was at the right place at the right time to slot home a stoppage-time equaliser following some neat work by Antonio Murray on the right flank.
Power will be ruing another two points dropped after an identical result with Lions last week – they now sit just above City in fourth.
Redlands United 1:3 Olympic FC
(Barbarouses ‘3) (Panic ’25; Butters ’30; Byrne ’37)
Olympic ended Redlands’ six-game winning streak with an impressive away victory, attained during a pulsating first half.
But it looked far from Olympic’s day early on, as George Barbarouses put the hosts ahead in the 3rd minute with a clinical finish from the edge of the box. The early goal was to prove a double-edge sword for the Devils, as Olympic opened up and tore apart Redlands’ defence. Three well-taken goals in the space of 12 minutes by Alex Panic, Michael Butters and Danny Byrne rocked the hosts. Redlands were unable to recover and Olympic saw off one of their more impressive performances of the year.
The result leaves Redlands staring at a six-point buffer with top of the table Rochedale, while Olympic hold on to their place in the top six.
Rochedale Rovers 2:0 North Star
(Way ’18; Smits ’61)
Rochedale produced another clinical performance to extend their lead at the top of the BPL, with North Star this time serving as the victim.
Strikes by Reuben Way and Tim Smits either side of half-time pushed the hosts over the line in a mostly comfortable performance. Controlling the midfield was key for Rovers, but it was their potent strikeforce that proved the difference.
Rochedale will be in high spirits when they travel to Olympic next week, while North Star remain in the relegation zone.
Lions FC 5:0 North Pine
(Musson ’10, ‘90+3; Butler ’35; Simic ’73, ’87)
It gets from bad to worse for cellar dwellers North Pine, this time thumped by an impressive Lions FC.
The sinking feeling of going behind was ever-present again for the Gorillas, who conceded to a simple Gareth Musson tap-in on ten minutes. Andrew Butler, who supplied for Musson’s opener, got on the scoresheet himself later on in the half. North Pine managed to hold off the hosts for much of the second half, but capitulated late on. Matija Simic banged a brace in the last 15 minutes, before Musson grabbed his second in stoppage time.
Lions are now within a win of breaking into the top six, while North Pine go back to the drawing board ahead of next week’s clash against City.
Souths United 0:2 University of Queensland
(Stewart-McLean ’29; David ’77)
A confident UQ side grabbed all three points on the road at relegation-threatened Souths United with two goals either side of half-time.
The visitors did most of the running in the first period but they only went ahead through a fortunate deflected shot from Daniel Stewart-McLean. Souths upped the impetus in the second period and were the dominant offensive force, UQ accepting a Chelsea-like approach of all-out defence. But just like the Londoners they were clinical on the break, Loic David closing the game out with a wonderful solo effort with fifteen minutes to play.
The students remain 9th on the ladder, while Souths are in desperate need of results – being the first team to notch ten losses this year.