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Brisbane Strikers' come-from-behind triumph over Western Pride positions them well to nab fourth, while Olympic FC can potentially clinch the premiership in Round 19.
Brisbane City 3 (Bird 18' Murray p.42' Pase 59')
QAS 0
Brisbane City sustained the premiership pressure on Olympic FC with a simple 3-0 victory over the Queensland Academy of Sport at Spencer Park on Friday night.
City can afford no slip-ups if they want the league-leaders to squirm in their title hunt and the Academy offered little resistance.
The hosts' first of three came in the 18th minute when QAS 'keeper Fraser Chalmers was unable to claim a high ball, turned with ease by Nathan Bird.
Striker Antonio Murray, who would later score a double on trial in a Brisbane Roar pre-season friendly, converted City's second from the penalty spot after a clear handball, while the scoring was completed in the 59th minute as a pair of defensive mistakes from the visitors resulted in Alistair Pase finishing from close-range.
City are eleven points adrift of Olympic but they do hold a match in hand, while the win nudged them three points clear of third-placed Redlands.
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| Sam Knight scores for Sunshine. Next he'll be scoring for rainbows, the softy. |
Northern Fury 0
Sunshine Coast FC 2 (Knight 58' Henslee 69')
Sunshine Coast remain well in the fight for finals following a tough 2-0 away win over Northern Fury on Saturday night, seeing off the hosts with two second-half goals.
Goals from defenders Sam Knight and Greg Henslee sealed victory after the pair helped repel a series of Fury raids in the opening stanza; the first coming in the 58th minute when Knight got forward and in behind the home defence, followed-up eleven minutes later by Greg Henslee's deflected back-post shot.
Six points separated the teams in fourth and seventh prior to kick-off and that gap has now been widened to nine, effectively ending the finals hopes of Northern Fury.
Sunshine Coast next host Redlands in a match which could define their own chances of finishing inside the top four.
Brisbane Strikers 3 (McVey 29' Coulson 45+1' King 63')
Western Pride 2 (Drager 9' 18')
Three goals in 34 minutes shifted Brisbane Strikers' finals aspirations from shaky to sound on Saturday night as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Western Pride at Perry Park.
Two high quality goals from in-form Pride spearhead Peter Drager initially set the Ipswich club on the way to a third consecutive upset win, following impressive defeats of Redlands and City, until the home side fought back in the second half of the opening 45.
Josh McVey set Strikers' wheels in motion with a superb finish off the underside of the crossbar on the half hour, setting the platform for Scott Coulson's tap-in equaliser in first-half stoppage time - to the chagrin of the visitors, who claimed offside.
That momentum was seized by Brisbane Strikers in the 63rd minute as winger Greg King reacted to a blocked clearance to drive his side into an ultimately match-winning 3-2 lead.
FNQ FC Heat 0
Moreton Bay Jets 2 (OG 53' Zappone 67')
Moreton Bay won their eighth NPL Queensland match on Saturday night away to FNQ Heat in Mareeba, outweighing their seven losses of a debut season.
Both goals for the Jets came in the second half thanks to an over-hit back-pass causing the hosts to find their own net, added to later by Matthew Zappone's sharp goal sense to get in behind and finished with tidily.
The result means Moreton Bay remain a slim chance for finals, while Far North Queensland seem destined to occupy tenth at season's end.
Olympic FC 7 (McLean 3', 57' Smits 29' Byrne 34' Mundy 48' Psaros 79' Spirko 90+1')
CQFC Energy 0
Olympic FC are potentially one match away from clinching the inaugural NPL Queensland premiership after easily accounting for CQFC Energy at Goodwin Park on Sunday.
Jake McLean stood up in the absence of regular midfield allies to marginally miss out on a hattrick in the one-sided affair while further goals came from former Brisbane Roar pair Tim Smits and Matt Mundy, captain Danny Byrne and youngsters Costa Psaros and Robert Spirko.
Smits leads Brisbane City's Antonio Murray by one in the goalscoring charts and will figure prominently in Olympic's quest to seal the title in Townsville this weekend.
If City drop points in their match away to Palm Beach, which kicks-off thirty minutes in advance, Olympic can assume an unassailable lead with victory over Northern Fury.