Words: Michael Flynn, Palm Beach Sharks
Image: Jared Adamson, Palm Beach Sharks

Palm Beach Sharks maintained their unbeaten start to the season, and strengthened their title credentials, with a commanding 5-0 defeat of South-West Queensland Thunder at Mallawa Complex on Saturday evening.

Striker Chris Lucas returned to goal-scoring form with a brace, while Daniel Dragicevic, Mitchell Robinson and Daniel Grzic also added their names to the goal sheet for the hosts.

The commanding performance lifts Palm Beach Sharks into second on the NPL Queensland table after five matches and is their second win in a week following Wednesday’s 8-0 cup demolition of Murwillumbah

Thunder saw their best chance in only the first minute of the contest when Anthony Grant struck the crossbar from 20 yards before Mark Ferdinand failed to control the rebound with the goal at his mercy.

From there it was all Sharks, with Jonathon Camilleri calling Thunder goalkeeper Stuart Campbell into the first of many telling saves with a well-struck volley from 25 yards.

Minutes later Dragicevic opened the scoring with a glancing header at the near post following a sharp cross from Riley Dillon on the right.

Sharks continued to find favour down the right flank, with Dillon and Dragicevic combining well to keep Thunder’s defenders under constant pressure.

Lucas saw a pair of chances prior after a quarter of an hour, but couldn’t find the target despite out-leaping the much taller Thunder defenders from a series of crosses.

The busy striker turned provider by teeing up Dragicevic, who saw his shot fizz past the post on 24 minutes, before outmuscling his marker shortly after to cut a pass back for Robinson to convert and double the advantage.

Smelling blood in the water, Sharks continued to dominate the midfield contest with Nikola Mircovic in particular giving Thunder no time to settle on the ball.

The hosts sealed the result just prior to half time when Lucas scored his first of the afternoon with a composed, low finish after a neat pass through the line from Dillon.

Dragicevic and Camilleri forced further saves from Campbell prior to the break, but were unable to further extend the lead.

The addition of Justyn Mackay in the second stanza added to Thunder’s midfield woes, with the returning captain taking control of the build-up.

However, a fourth goal proved elusive as wayward finishing let Thunder off the hook on several occasions.

It wasn’t until the 73^rd minute that Lucas secured his brace, producing another neat finish after receiving a cutback ball from Dragicevic from the right byline.

Sharks introduced Grzic for Lucas for the final fifteen minutes, and it was the substitute that rounded out the result when he turned the ball in at the far post after Dillon waltzed past his defender with a sharp run.

Thunder failed to produce a genuine chance in the second half and their evening was further ruined when Grant suffered a serious ankle injury in the closing stages following a brave but isolated performance at the top of the formation.

Speaking after the match, Sharks coach Grae Piddick praised his side’s second half performance.

“Obviously we were very dominant and they were defending quite deep. The way we figured out how to score goals with a deep defence was pleasing in the second half,” Piddick said.

“I’ve been drumming it into the boys about not letting any team off the hook, keep pushing for the full ninety and they’ve done it twice this week.”

“We’ve definitely got goals in us and if we come off the field not conceding then we are a really good chance of winning,” he concluded.

Sharks sit behind Moreton Bay Jets in the title race after six rounds as the only two undefeated teams in the competition, with Jets yet to receive the bye.

Thunder remain stuck at the bottom of the table and have conceded 31 goals in their first five matches of their debut NPL Queensland Senior Men’s campaign.

Palm Beach Sharks 5 (Daniel DRAGICEVIC 9’, Mitch ROBINSON 29’, Chris LUCAS 39’ 73’, Daniel GRZIC 80’)
South West Queensland Thunder 0