Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Albert Perez/Moreton Bay United FC

League-leaders Moreton Bay United squandered a score of chances before prevailing 1-0 over last-placed SWQ Thunder at Wolter Park on Sunday.

Veteran striker Royce Brownlie delivered the decisive goal on the hour to edge Jets ahead of Premiership rivals Brisbane Strikers on the PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland table with a game still in hand.

For Thunder, the result marks a twelfth straight defeat as they continue to search for their first league win of the year.

Jets dominated the contest from the kick-off, however were left frustrated by a combination of poor finishing and sharp goalkeeping from Thunder custodian Pierce Clark.

Charles Mendy and Jackson Hall combined repeatedly for Jets in the early stages but failed to find the target from a host of opportunities.

Both goalkeepers then proved up to task approaching the interval as Clark delivered a sharp save to deny a well-struck effort form Joseph Champness, before Luke Borean made a telling stop from Jed Sugden’s strike at the other end.

After the restart Jets benefitted from a series of set-pieces but again failed to make the most of their chances as defenders Alex Henderson and Scott Stewart both failed to find the target with headed attempts from corners.

However, just after the hour the breakthrough came from another corner kick as Stewart’s initial effort was tipped on to the crossbar by Clark only for Brownlie to tap home the rebound for his ninth goal of the league campaign.

Clark made another sharp save from Hall’s angled strike with ten minutes remaining to keep Thunder in the contest, however the visitors proved unable to penetrate on the counter attack as Jets protected their advantage.

Speaking post-match, Jets coach Adam Piddick said he was disappointed with the performance from his side and said it provided a poor spectacle for the home supporters.

“For a Sunday game it was a decent crowd and they’ve probably gone home thinking, ‘well what the hell was that?’,” he said.

Thunder coach Chris Wilkes said his players showed immense “pride in the jersey” and he was delighted with their performance despite the result.

“A performance like that against the top team is really encouraging and hopefully that can set the platform over the next few weeks as we get boys back and build on,” he said.

Moreton Bay United FC  1 (Royce BROWNLIE 60’)
SWQ Thunder FC  0