Lions FC go top of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Queensland ladder for first time this season as Olympic FC were held by Cairns FC and Moreton Bay United put five past Western Pride in Round 20.
Redlands United FC 5 (Kuboyama 40’ 44’ 46’, Iheruome 74’ 77’)
Brisbane City FC 5 (Edgar 2’ 34’, Hugo 58’, Meyer 66’ 96’)
Cleveland Showgrounds
City snatch a point at the death in ten goal thriller
City raced to a two goal lead in the first half, thanks to a double by Adam Edgar and despite a missed penalty by Sam Sibatuara.
Redlands hit back with a six minute hat-trick by leading goal scorer Shuto Kuboyama (14 goals), who scored his first just one minute after coming on as a substitute.
City struck back to regain the lead with goals from Preston Hugo and James Meyer– but that was short lived, as Redlands debutant Uche Heruome scored twice to put the hosts ahead once again.
Just as it seemed the points would be staying in the Bayside, Meyer stepped up to snatch a point for City with the last kick of the game.
Sunshine Coast FC 0
Lions FC 4 (Hore 8’, Cosgrove 24’, Madle 53’, Solorzano 78’)
Kawana Sports Precinct
Lions go top for the first time this season
Two goals in each half was enough for Lions to go top of the NPL Queensland ladder for the first time this season as the Richlands side extended their winning streak to six and kept their 11th clean sheet of the season.
Mid-season signing Marek Madle continues his hot form, netting his fifth goal in five games for his new team, after joining from Holland Park Hawks in the Football Queensland Premier League (FQPL).
Former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory forward Jean Carlos Solorzano scored his third goal of the season after returning from injury.
Sunshine Coast resigned to their 17th loss of the season, conceding 18 goals in their last three games.
SWQ Thunder 1 (Grant 83’)
Magpies Crusaders FC 1 (Farquhar 65’)
Clive Berghofer Stadium
Thunder leave it late to earn a point
The relegation-threatened Magpies Crusaders travelled to Toowoomba severely lacking firepower, without skipper Michael Lyall and Kyle Markham (20 goals between them) who both missed the game due to suspension.
After a goalless first half which included big chances for both sides, the game came to life in the second half when Magpies stand-in captain Lewis Farquhar gave the visitors the lead, scoring his fifth goal of the season after latching onto a long ball from defence to volley home.
Thunder continued to knock on the door with relentless pressure in the second half, which eventually paid off when Anthony Grant stepped up in the 83th minute to score his ninth goal of the season, earning his side a deserved point.
Moreton Bay United 5 (Thomson 32’, Smith 45’, Campbell 76’, Arop 79’, Byrne 88’)
Western Pride 1 (Duckworth 11′)
Wolter Park
Jets leapfrog Pride to move into second
With much at stake between these two NPL Queensland title challengers, Pride came out flying creating a few early chances and taking the lead in the 10th minute thanks to Joseph Duckworth’s ninth goal of the season.
Jets struck back in the 32nd minute when Darren Thompson fired home a free-kick just outside the box and then took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Declan Smith finished from the six-yard box.
Pride came out strong after the half-time break but were made to rue a defensive error in the 76th minute when Jets’ Riley Campell raced onto a loose back-pass and slotted home.
Jets did not stop there, scoring a further two goals from Chom Arop and Matt Byrne, condemning Pride to their fifth loss of the season and fourth since prolific forward Dylan Wenzel-Halls last played in Round 12.
Jets are now unbeaten in their last 12 games, with the mouth-watering clash against leaders Lions FC next up.
Cairns FC 2 (O’Hare 65’, Zupo 73’)
Olympic FC 2 (Smith 30’, Whyte 71’)
Barlow Park
Points shared as Cairns continue unbeaten run
Top-of-the-table Olympic travelled north looking for their second win in five games against the in-form Cairns FC, who were on a five match winning streak.
Former Wellington Phoenix midfielder Alex Smith gave Olympic the lead in the first half.
Cairns FC’s Chris O’Hare struck back to equalise in the second half before Steve Whyte put Olympic back into the lead again just six minutes later.
Two minutes later, scores were level once again as Joseph Zupo equalised for Cairns, in a frenetic eight minutes of football.
Brisbane Roar FC Youth 2 (Crooks 13’, Duncan 86’)
Brisbane Strikers FC 1 (McGowan 55’)
Logan Metro Sports Complex
Roar win at the death
Brisbane Strikers were not able to take inspiration from captain Michael Angus’ milestone, who made his 200th competitive appearance for the club, as they fell to a late winner by Roar youngster Oliver Duncan.
Roar Youth are now unbeaten in four games and Strikers recorded their second consecutive loss, now sitting eight points behind fourth spot.
Gold Coast United 2 (Reeves 6’ 30’)
North Queensland United 1 (80’)
Cornubia Park
Reeves double earns GC the points
Wet weather forced a change in venue as Gold Coast hosted NQ United at Cornubia Park in Brisbane.
A first half brace by Brandon Reeves, who netted his fourth goal in two games, gave United the lead and the home side controlled the game until NQ United struck back in the 80th minute to make it a tense final ten minutes.
Gold Coast hung on to take the points, despite a few close chances by NQ United in the final moments of the game.
This was Gold Coast’s first win in five matches and NQ United’s sixth consecutive loss.
Image: Ian Judd
