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BPL Wrap: Away sides rule in Rd 6 catchup

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

A catch-up series of BPL matches initially scheduled for Round Six saw away sides dominate, with leaders Lions and Wolves all grabbing commanding victories, as did Easts at Brisbane Force. The only draw of the round came at North Star, where Rochedale’s inconsistent season continued as they could only muster a 1-1 scoreline.     


Albany Creek   0:3   Lions FC   

Lions again proved their clinical finishing with a ruthless display at struggling Albany Creek that sees Graham Ross’ men remain unbeaten in the league.     

Everyone will be talking about…
Lions’ consistency continues. After coming agonisingly close to grabbing all three points at Wolves last week, the visitors closed the result out early on and largely controlled the match.
       
Yeah, but what happened?
It was all Lions early on as a succession of fluid attacks and defensive lapses from Creek allowed the visitors possession in their attacking half. The opener duly arrived – an unmarked Matija Simic getting on the end of Brodie Kenyon’s nod down from a Greg Thomas free-kick. It was soon two, after a delightful long-range finish by Kentaro Ishikawa who stormed through the hosts’ defence and unleashed from the edge of the box. The match tempo somewhat died down until the break, but Lions looked to wrap up the result in the second period. Brodie Kenyon provided the sealer, delicately prodding past Chris Kirala after being put through by a defence-splitting pass from Thomas.          

The numbers:
Lions – Simic ’12; Ishikawa ‘18; Kenyon ‘71

Looking ahead...
Lions look unbeatable at the moment and will be certain favourites when they welcome Logan next week. Albany’s atrocious run of form looks set to continue when they host a well-rested Power side.



UQ FC   0:2   Ipswich Knights     

Ipswich turned in yet another solid performance to outclass UQ and climb to seventh on the table – just three points adrift of Easts in fourth.

Everyone will be talking about…
Another narrow victory for the league’s third best defence. The fact that Ipswich are also the league’s third lowest goalscorers speaks volumes for their ability to snatch crucial wins and remain in the hunt for the top four.    

Looking ahead...
UQ have been putting in a string of improved performances over the past three weeks and have a real chance to gain their first point of the season on the road to North Star next week. Ipswich welcome lowly and unpredictable Brisbane Force to Eric Evans Oval in Round 13’s Friday night clash.  


North Star   1:1   Rochedale Rovers    

A spirited North Star side grabbed a second-half equaliser to deny Rochedale all three points at O’Callaghan Park on Saturday night.

Everyone will be talking about…
Rochedale’s woes continue. Unable to find their feet thus yet in 2013, Rovers fans will be hoping their team is no more than a few games away from providing consistent results.   

Yeah, but what happened?
An evenly matched first 45 was highlighted by Keenan Duimpies’ strike to open the scoring. Although Rochedale tried to impose themselves in the final third and kill the game off, Star grew in confidence and looked dangerous on the break. The moment Rovers fans dreaded and Star supporters expected finally came in the second half, as Robert Buhmann’s finish ensured Rovers would not be taking all three points back to Underwood Park.                                      

The numbers:
Star – Buhmann
Rovers - Duimpies 

Looking ahead...
Star will be buoyed by their performance and fighting spirit ahead of their match against visiting UQ, while Rochedale and Wolves square off in what is traditionally a heated rivalry.         


Logan Lightning   0:7   Wolves FC 

A rampant Wolves side completely outclassed Logan to reassert their intent on catching up with league leaders Lions.    

Everyone will be talking about…
Wolves’ sublime offensive arsenal. Sam Saif’s men once again showed why they’re the league’s runaway top scorers – averaging over four goal per match.   
                
Yeah, but what happened?
Wolves produced arguably the most complete half of football of the 2013 BPL. Trent Clulow got the show underway with an early strike from inside the box. One became two when Kado Aoci met Alex Janovsky’s cross – soon followed up by a delicate finish from Sasa Radulovic. Logan were their own enemies at time – a mistimed clearance rebounding off Brendan White’s head for an own goal. Aoci then produced a cracker for the highlights reel – weaving and turning four Logan defenders before coolly dispatching an unstoppable shot. The super six was complete before half time, when Trent Clulow rounded off his brace. Wolves had run riot in a breathtaking half at Cornubia Park and expectedly somewhat put the foot off the accelerator after the break. But Aoci wasn’t done just yet – completing his fifth hat-trick in 12 BPL matches.                                     

The numbers:
Wolves – Aoci- 3; Clulow- 2; Radulovic; o.g.

Looking ahead...
Any side would cringe at the sight of Wolves on their upcoming fixture list at the moment – next week the unfortunates are Rochedale. Logan will find it hard to recover from this one – it won’t get any easier when they travel to leaders Lions.       


Brisbane Force   0:5   Eastern Suburbs    

Easts blasted five unanswered goals past a hapless Force side to break into the top four and make it back to back wins.   

Easts' Matt Boyd rises to open the scoring. Photo: Ian Judd - FB Media


Everyone will be talking about…
The return of Brendan Lewandowski from injury. The veteran striker turned in a memorable comeback performance – capped off by a brace.  

Yeah, but what happened?
Easts looked the more composed straight from the offset and didn’t take long to hit the lead – Matt Boyd climbing highest to head home a Ryan Stenhouse free-kick. Lewandowski was soon back amongst the scorers in the BPL – delicately chipping a shot past force custodian Zayne Freiberg after being put through by Dominic La Spina. Force were struggling to defend set pieces and Easts fully capitalised – this time Michael Ryan heading home at the back post. Lewandowski completed his brace before the break – getting on the end of some neat lead up play by Thomas Johnstone and Jordan Farina. It was a case of damage limitation for Force in the second 45, with a much more compact and composed performance. Easts did add a fifth – and perhaps the best of the match – when Johnstone unleashed an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box.                                

The numbers:
Easts – Boyd ’11; Lewandowski ’20, ’41; Ryan ’28; Johnstone ‘75

Looking ahead...
Easts will travel to a rested Capalaba side who are knocking on the top four door, while Force are also on the road as they take on Ipswich