Words: Matt Dorman
Additional Reporting: Sam Attwood
Images: Sam Attwood

Sunshine Coast Women twice fought from a goal down to snatch a come-from-behind 3-2 win over UQFC Women at Kawana Sports Precinct.

Two goals inside the first 10 minutes set the tone for an open affair as Madi Warren cancelled out Zozia Sen’s early opener.

Georgia Buchanan restored the visitors’ advantage before the break but a resilient Fire turned the match on its head when Samara Christmas and Kirsty Clifford both struck shortly after the restart.

The hosts held out for the remaining half hour to register just their second win of the season and move to within three points of seventh-placed UQFC.

Key Moments

3’ – GOAL FOR UQFC – Zozia Sen gets on the end of a cross for a simple finish into the bottom right corner.

7’ – GOAL FOR FIRE – Kirsty Clifford’s cross from the right is struck home by Madi Warren at point-blank range.

21’ – CHANCE FOR UQFC – Karen Buhl meets Vicky Lines’ corner but can’t keep the header down.

32’ – GOAL FOR UQFC – Georgia Buchanan picks out the top right corner from outside the penalty to restore the visitors’ lead.

55’ – GOAL FOR FIRE – Samara Christmas’ 25-yard stunner beats Dani Harbot despite the goalkeeper’s full stretch effort.

57’ – GOAL FOR FIRE – Madi Warren crosses into a congested six-yard box where Kirsty Clifford is able to fire home.

75’ – CHANCE FOR UQFC – Giovanna Shakhovskoy’s long-range free-kick is held safely by Fire goalkeeper Katie Offer.

What They Said

“To go 2-1 down and to bounce back and win 3-2 is fantastic and I think it’s nothing less than we deserved. This week we really focussed on the back four and trying to be a little bit better in transition to defence and we nailed that today. We’ve got two winnable games (next up) and I think anything less than six points will be a bit of a disappointment.” – Tom White, Sunshine Coast FC Women coach.

“At the end of the day it comes down to consistency. If we’re not performing and being on top of the game for 90 minutes we’re not going to come away with the result. We have a very young team, a very small team – we need to be a little bit more physical in the midfield particularly.” – Dani Harbot, UQFC Women captain.

Match Details

PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2016 – Round 10
Sunday, 15 May
Kawana Sports Precinct, Sunshine Coast

Sunshine Coast FC Women – 3
UQFC Women – 2

CLICK HERE for the official Match Centre

Match Officials – Danielle POTTICARY (referee), Vicky CLARK (assistant), Missy KRAUSE (assistant)