Round 24 flipped the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Queensland Men’s competition on its head with a series of stunning results. Joint first had their copacetic form culled, meaning Round 25 could see one team go clear at the summit.

With the cellar dwellers picking up their first win of the season, the competition continues to constrict as teams set out to maintain a strong run of form. A series of mid-table matchups loom as the bottom half looks to steer themselves on a finals trajectory, while the top half will look to pick up points and place pressure on the two table-toppers.

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Feature Match: Gold Coast Knights v Brisbane Roar Youth

Since hoisting themselves into the top tier of Queensland football after a prosperous run in the Gold Coast Premier League, Gold Coast Knights have been the epitome of consistency. Tasting the ignominy of defeat just twice since their inauguration in the NPL Queensland, Grae Piddick’s side will be licking their lips at the prospect of an undisputed ladder lead when they face Brisbane Roar Youth this weekend.

Knights were at their superlative best pre-lockdown, hoarding 13 points from their opening five to establish themselves atop the ladder, going toe to toe with Lions FC. An impasse with Moreton Bay United in the final round before the break was prophetic, with the 2019 Champions failing to materialise with the same might.

Deadlocks with Lions and Eastern Suburbs relegated them to two points from two, before an unconvincing 1-0 result over Brisbane City in Round 23 put them back in the winner’s circle. With a bye bringing a brief respite over Round 24, Knights will be looking to redeploy and bombard an the Young Roar side.

Crafty Colombian Jheison Macuace galvanised an already electric anterior, and will look to add to his nine-goal tally in Saturday’s fixture. His goalscoring prowess will be complemented by his side’s defensive pedigree that is incomparable amongst their adversaries, their net being pierced just five times in 2020.

Brisbane Roar Youth will come down the M1 off the back of a Round 24 loss. While their brazen swagger has garnered them a formidable fourteen points, their youthful verve was no match for the form of Brisbane City FC, with former Young Roar product Shannon Brady coming back to bite the hand that once fed him.

The Hyundai A-League’s Sydney cluster stripped Roar bare of their veteran virtuosos. The loss of Macklin Freke and skipper Aaron Reardon, while only intermittent figures within the squad hierarchy, has crippled their comeback form. Two defeats from three has seen them drop into fifth, their only solace coming in a 3-2 comeback win over Gold Coast United.

Their ostentatious attack has been a palliative point for the Black and Orange this season. Spearheaded by talisman Cai Tipaldo, the 2019 Y-League champions have managed an 18-goal haul this season. Eli Adams is emerging as a genuine threat since his Round 22 debut, while Marquez Walters has looked as mercurial as ever, his flamboyance promising to rouse the Roar in what is set to be an arduous assignment against Gold Coast Knights.

Match Details
Saturday, 22 August, 6:30pm
Croatian Sports Centre
Live Stream Link

Other Key Matches:

Peninsula Power v Brisbane Strikers  

Two of the competition’s in-form teams will meet with fervour when the resurgent Brisbane Strikers take their momentum to the prodigious Peninsula Power.

Fourth-placed Peninsula Power have re-emerged as title contenders after a mundane start to the season. Power were prosaic in their opening three, with tapered three pointers over Redlands United and Brisbane Roar Youth shadowing a 2-0 humbling by Eastern Suburbs at Heath Park.

It wasn’t until a 3-0 triumph against Moreton Bay United last round that last season’s third-highest goalscorers opened the floodgates. Goals to Redcliffe staples Woolley, Cronin and 2019 Player of the Year nominee Thomas Strickland send Power into the Strikers clash on a high. They’ll carry the notion of an unbeaten record into the clash, prevailing on both occasions against Strikers last season.

Brisbane Strikers have reinvigorated their finals hopes, savouring a stellar restart having strung together three wins from four. Strikers found themselves languishing a point adrift from the bottom going into the season’s suspension, a draw against the Young Roar their only saving grace. A seemingly benign result, it has since propelled them onto a five-game unbeaten streak, including wins in their previous three, a run they’ll be hoping to extend this Saturday.

Playing party-crasher when the rampant Lions came to town, their 2-0 victory came courtesy of new signing Ethan Docherty, who opened his Blue and Yellow account with a textbook header, while the irrepressible Jake McLean bagged his second of the season from close range. Their efforts will be key in fabricating front-third fodder should the two-time Premiers look to climb into fifth.

Match Details
Saturday, 22 August, 5:00pm
A.J. Kelly Park
Live Stream Link

Gold Coast United v Redlands United

Gold Coast United have been one of the more unassuming sides in this year’s edition of the NPL Men’s. Going about their business without plaudits, they find themselves in sixth place, just four points astray of a top four placing.

Two losses in their opening fixtures were followed by a 4-4 draw with Lions before the break. Amassing seven points from their four resumption rounds, United have looked a different prospect, harnessing the attacking nous of Shane Smeltz and Cian Cuba to deadly effect.

Their eight goals in four matches have been a balm for an at times vulnerable defence, one which fell victim to an invigored Young Roar in a 3-2 defeat in Round 23.

Redlands United will be hoping to make quick work of this soft underbelly as they hunt for just their third win of the season. They made reparations for a poor season start, which was underscored by 9-0 and 8-0 losses to Gold Coast Knights and Lions respectively, before they recorded wins over Sunshine Coast Wanderers and Eastern Suburbs just prior to the suspension of the season.

The break curbed this upturn in form, with the restart bringing with it just one point from four games, including losses in their past three. This weekend’s Coplick clash could provide them with the inspiration they need to turn their fortunes around.

Match Details
Sunday, 23 August, 5:00pm
Coplick Family Sports Park
Live Stream Link

Other Round 8 Matches:

Moreton Bay United v Eastern Suburbs
Saturday, 22 August, 5:00pm
Wolter Park
Live Stream Link

Lions FC v Sunshine Coast Wanderers
Saturday, 22 August, 6:00pm
Lions Stadium
Live Stream Link

Capalaba FC v Brisbane City
Saturday, 22 August, 6:45pm
John Fredericks Park
Live Stream Link

Key Players:

Shannon Brady (Brisbane City): The electric winger had his former side on strings as he opened his Brisbane City account against the Young Roar, his searing pace and desire to drive promising a constant threat to Capalaba FC come this weekend.

Riley Campbell (Sunshine Coast Wanderers): The former Moreton Bay man fired home a hat-trick to propel Wanderers to their first win of the season, with a Team of the Week appearance holding him in good stead as he looks to replicate his efforts against first-placed Lions.

Ethan Docherty (Brisbane Strikers): Ethan Docherty was nothing short of sensational as his side dented the premiership hopes of Lions, snuffling attacks from the nucleus and chipping in with a goal of his own in a Man of the Match performance.

Words: Angus Barnes
Image: Gold Coast Knights