Words: Michael Flynn

An action-packed night of pre-season action saw promising wins for FNQ Heat, Sunshine Coast FC and Brisbane City, but it was a less than stellar return for Northern Fury and Western Pride.

Heat Ran Rampant Over Fury

CAIRNS | FNQ Heat made it two from two in pre-season against regional rivals Northern Fury with a commanding 6-0 win at West Barlow Park.

Heat dominated the contest but also proved clinical in front of goal to maintain their unbeaten pre-season form.

Jamie Gosling opened accounts from the penalty spot midway through the half for the hosts before Jamie Carroll added two more in quick time with a pair of pin-point finishes from the edge of the box.

Bronson Koppen all but sealed the win immediately prior to the break by converting a full-blooded effort from range.

Heat extended their advantage in the second when Mqondisi Nkiwane pounced on a parried save before Keiran Sanders wrapped up the result with another finish from outside the box.

The result furthers a fruitless 2016 for Fury who have managed only a draw and three losses in preparation for the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues season.

FNQ FC Heat  6 (Jamie GOSLING 22’p, Jamie CARROLL 32’ 38’, Bronson Koppen 42’, Mqondisi Nkiwane 61’, Keiran Sanders 73’)
Northern Fury FC  0 

Fire Find Their Sizzle Against Magic

GOLD COAST | Jeremy Stewart struck a brace as Sunshine Coast stepped up their pre-season preparations with a solid 4-1 win over Magic United at Birmingham Road.

Fire fashioned a flurry of early chances before Stewart opened accounts midway through the first half and Shoichi Koshimizu doubled the lead with a solid finish from the edge of the box.

Stewart rounded out his haul shortly after the restart after running onto a well-placed pass from Kyle Townsend and delivering a composed finish.

Cameron Nairn added a fourth from a pin-point free-kick with 20 minutes remaining, however hopes of a clean sheet dissipated when Townsend conceded a penalty in the final minutes of the game – Danny Morton converting the spot-kick for Magic.

The win is Fire’s first of the pre-season as Paul Arnison’s much changed squad starts to gel ahead of their PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues season opener in a fortnight.

Magic United FC  1 (Danny MORTON 90’)
Sunshine Coast FC  4 (Jeremy STEWART 20’ 55’, Shoichi KOSHIMIZU 30’, Cameron NAIRN 70’)

Pride Sent Murwillumbah Warning

TWEED | Western Pride’s up-and-down pre-season continued with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Gold Coast club Murwillumbah FC at Jim Devine Oval.

The sides were locked at half-time before the BLK Premier League outfit stormed home on the back of three second half goals.

Bryce Tory opened accounts for the hosts midway through the first-half when he converted from a cross, however Daniel McHenery levelled terms with slotted finish immediately before the break on the back of a clever run.

Murwillumbah raised the impetus in the second half and regained the lead when Matt Hilton won and then converted a penalty shortly after the restart.

Tory then doubled the advantage after the hour when he converted from distance before Lockyer wrapped up the result in the final minutes with a crafty lobbed finish from half-way.

Pride are scheduled to continue their pre-season against Brisbane Roar Youth next weekend.

Murwillumbah FC  4 (Bryce TORY 30’ 65’, Matt HILTON 50’, Billy LOCKYER 83’)
Western Pride FC  1 (Daniel MCHENERY 43’)

City Edge Easts In Goal Fest

BRISBANE | Scot Coulson and Samuel Sibatuara both struck doubles as Brisbane City overcame Eastern Suburbs FC 5-4 in a see-sawing friendly at Corporate Travel Management Stadium.

City opened accounts in bizarre circumstances inside ten minutes when confusion in the Easts defensive ranks saw a benign corner kick from Sibatuara sneak in off the back post.

The visitors quickly responded when Carter Glockner took advantage of an ill-placed goal-kick to tee up Ramone Close to level terms.

City wrested back the ascendency after the half-hour when Nick Buckley tapped home from a low cross from Coulson but again quickly surrendered their advantage as Andy Coyne pounced on an errant back pass and delivered a sharp finish.

The back-and-forth only intensified in the second stanza when Coulson netted his first from the penalty spot, only for Close to round out his brace shortly after with a far post tap-in prior to the hour.

Coulson fashioned another quick reply when a defensive error allowed him to catch the Easts goalkeeper out of position for an uncontested finish, but former Western Pride player Todd Norris restored parity for the fourth time for Easts.

The incessant to-and-fro finally ceased when Sibatuara concluded the scoring to continue his impressive pre-season form – slotting the winner from inside the penalty area following a more considered City build-up.

Brisbane City FC  5 (Samuel SIBATUARA 8’ 85’, Nick BUCKLEY 37’, Scot COULSON 51’p 65’)
Eastern Suburbs FC  4 (Ramone CLOSE 13’ 58’, Andy COYNE 42’, Todd NORRIS 75’)

Thunder Roll Over Mitchie

BRISBANE | SWQ Thunder returned to winning ways with a solid 2-0 win over Brisbane Premier League outfit Mitchelton FC at Teralba Park.

Thunder created early chances - including twice hitting the post - before Mustafa Jafari opened accounts late in the half by turning in a cross from Tom Fanning.

Fanning then rounded out the result in the second stanza with a slotted finish after being teed up by Jackson Hausler.

Mitchelton FC  0
SWQ Thunder FC  2 (Mustafa JAFARI 39', Tom FANNING 75')