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Ben Liftin’s second-half goal completed the turnaround from a 29th minute deficit for the home side, securing their second victory of the season following last week’s 6-2 hammering of Capricorn.
In truth, the match never reached any great heights as both teams felt the warm afternoon heat, but coach and former Brisbane Roar defender Josh McCloughan will have plenty to be happy about his young side dominated the contest for long periods.
A fairly quick tempo was evident early as the wrestle for control ensured most energy would be expended in the first-half; QAS attacker Kwame Yeboah, who netted a brace last outing, forced Spirit ‘keeper Matt Eilers into early action, a stinging drive requiring the in-form Eilers to tip over the crossbar.
Having been unable to test Matthew Stein in the QAS goal for the first ten minutes, Bundaberg nearly had a fortunate opener when, having sensed the danger of Brendan Griffin’s lofted through-pass, Stein rushed from his area to snuff out the threat. After heading his clearance into onrushing Spirit striker Brendan Davis, the ball fell short of the Academy goal. Twin strikes from QAS right-winger Brandon Borello either of side of that incident were unable to make use of good positions, though his involvement in a period of action wasn’t to end there.
After a sliced Bundaberg defensive clearance around 20 yards from goal was nodded into his path, the Brisbane Roar youth nicked the ball past the approaching Eilers and was presented with an empty net but, to the right of the goal, hit his shot into the side-netting from a tight, albeit not impossible, angle.
The youngsters had begun to dictate play by this point but, as has cost them before this season, sloppiness in defence undid their promising play when Bundaberg got the scoring underway a minute before the half hour mark. Negligent defending deep in their own half allowed Davis to steal in and win possession near the by-line, before squaring a pass for unmarked striker Elliot Causer to finish from point-blank range, despite a hand from Stein.
The unlikely goal visibly deflated, and audibly frustrated, the youngsters, while Spirit improved to enjoy the better of an uneventful phase of play which appeared set to see the visitors take a lead into the break.
That was, however, until captain Jack Bladen and the electric Yeboah combined to intervene.
Bladen, given space in a dangerous position, slipped a neat pass through the heart of the Spirit defence for Yeboah to speed onto, only to be brought down on the edge of the penalty area. A yellow was issued for the foul which could have been a straight red card, though the relief for Bundaberg was only temporary as that man Yeboah stepped up to stroke the ball through a poorly positioned wall low into the bottom left corner. The star man’s acrobatic celebration was a sign the second-half would bring renewed confidence for the Academy, in contrast to Spirit boss Tony Roebuck’s likely annoyance at conceding on the stroke of half-time.
And so it was to prove true that the QAS would return from the sheds buoyed by their equaliser, although further chance for celebration was halted when Borello nodded a gilt-edged header wide from a corner knock-back.
Momentum for either side was stalled for much of the second period as the mid-afternoon sun began to take its toll, bringing about a flurry of changes around the hour mark.
The exciting Borello had begun to settle by this point and was involved twice in quick succession in fine QAS attacking moves, the second of which put the home outfit in front for the first time in the match. Having just created a promising situation which a scything cross-field pass, the tricky winger again found space on the right wing to cross low into the Bundaberg area for midfielder Ben Liftin to gather a touch-on. With time to steady on the penalty spot, the QAS’ #10 made no mistake in sweeping a left-footed shot low past Eilers for a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to play.
Tenacious work from Borello opened more chances for the home team, including a scrap for possession which led to substitute Patrick Theodore hitting a rasping drive at Eilers, producing a fine save from the ‘keeper to tip onto the crossbar. The QAS’ control of possession, dictated expertly by another Roar youth, Ross Archibald, wound down the clock and indicated the final moments would be a comfortable path to three points. But, when defender Adam Chandler was penalised for pulling back an opponent, Spirit were left with one last chance to steal a point with a central free-kick just outside the Academy penalty area.
Substitute Adam Ormsby took responsibility and thumped a sweet strike high through the wall which, if not for a flying Stein, would surely have found the top right corner. The crucial save will have done wonders for the confidence of a young man who has had to endure the mistakes which plague ball-playing ‘keepers of far greater experience. He followed that effort by confidently claiming the resultant corner as the referee signalled full-time and back-to-back victories for the QAS.