By Tom Beverley

There we have it folks, the battle for promotion to Queensland’s top-tiered National Premier League has officially begun! Get up to date with all the explosive action from round one in our FQPL weekly wrap. 

Wide Bay Buccaneers | 1 – 5 | Holland Park Hawks

Martens Oval

5-star Holland Park

Torrential rain made tough conditions, as former Brisbane Premier League outfit Holland Park convincingly beat home-side Wide Bay. The scoring opened after a classy finish from former Stoke City Youth talent Oo Hyun-Park. Only moments later Chris Anderson got his head on the end of a Hawks corner to double the lead, before Sam Meyer of the Buccaneers pulled one back. A cool finish by Hawks captain Marek Madle saw out the half with the Hawks 3 – 1 in front.

Buccaneers goalkeeper Jason McEwan could do little to stop Madle from rounding out his hat-trick throughout the second half to take the Hawks to equally tied top of the table after round one. It was a rough start to a new era in Wide Bay football and with a bye in round 2, the Buccaneers now have two weeks prepare for their first away match to Ipswich.

Peninsular Power | 2 – 1 | Mitchelton FC

AJ Kelly Park

Power hold out at home

It seemed to be all Mitchelton in the opening minutes of the match before Sam Cronin’s 20 yard rocket gave the home side an early lead against the run of play. A number of chances came to Mitchelton striker Jordan Dozzi, coming excruciatingly close in the 30th minute hitting the post. Then, five minutes later Dozzi had the ball in the back of the net after a beautiful control and finish saw the half out at one a piece.

It was all Peninsular Power in the second 45 through Dean Briggs who created a number of attacking chances for the home side. Mitchelton shot-stopper Kevin Downes pulled off some world-class saves to keep his side in it. Finally late in the second half, in the 78th minute the dead-lock had been broken. A Dean Briggs volley put the power up 2-1 and ultimately saw them to victory and three points.

Logan Lightning | 3 – 3 | Eastern Suburbs FC

Chris Green Park

Not once, not twice, but thrice!

A 6-goal thriller had fans on the edge of their seats right through until the 90 minutes as Logan Lightning and Eastern suburbs were unable to be separated. The scoring opened within the first two minutes of the match through Youeil Shol who put the tigers ahead early. Lightning leveled in the 17th minute until the 1 – 1 deadlock was broken on the cusp of halftime when Ab Yango converted from the spot to put Eastern Suburbs 2 – 1 up heading into the break.

The match finished in a whirlwind fashion. Logan levelled the scoring in the 78th minute, before Tigers’ Jordan Farina again put them in front 3 – 2. There at the death, Logan lightning levelled the scores one last time which saw the match end in a draw.

Capalaba Bulldogs | 3 – 1 | Wolves FC

John Frederick Sportsfields

Bragging rights to the Bulldogs

In a rivalry dubbed the Bayside derby, Saturdays clash between the Bulldogs and Wolves was the first in a competitive sense since 2015. Bragging rights go to Capalaba after a solid performance saw them comfortable victors. It was a tight opening half hour, before Ryo Ono put the bulldogs in front in the 32nd minute, combining well with Conor Askew. The lead was doubled only five minutes later through Stuart Edgar saw the Bulldogs 2 – 0 favourites heading into the break.

The wolves struck first after the break through Scott Dykman which kept things interesting until the 74th minute when Luke Watson buried a third for Capalaba, sealing the three points.

Souths United | 5 – 1 | Rochedale Rovers

Wakerley Park

Aoici puts a hat-trick on former club

It was a tough away trip for the Rovers, after conceding in the first 4 minutes to Andrew Butler, who put Souths in the lead. The lead doubled after Ex-Rovers striker Kado Aoici buried another in the 11th minute. Aoici netted 18 times for Rochedale Rovers in the 2017 season of the Brisbane Premier League, before moving to Souths for the inaugural FQPL. Rochedale quickly responded through Ben Njie but could do very little to stop what was an incredibly dominant, attacking performance by a Souths outfit with a clear statement to make. Aoici finished off his first half brace, which saw Souths head in at the break 3 – 1.

Former Gold Coast City man Ethan Grimley joined the scoresheet in the 72nd minute before Aoici rounded out his hattrick in the final moments of the match to rub some salt in the defensive wounds of Rochedale.

Ipswich Knights | 3 – 1 | Southside Eagles

Eric Evans Oval

Knights slash the Eagles

It wasn’t an ideal start to their season for both the Knights and the Eagles as their match was postponed due to inclement weather, but finally four days on and the squads lined up at Eric Evans Oval to complete the final fixture of round one. It was an entertaining first half with chances created at either end. However neither team unable to find a breakthrough which saw them go into the break tied 0 – 0.

As the second half unfolded, Ipswich were first to strike as an eventual brace to Emmanuel Peter on either side of a goal to Eagles’ Ethan McCoy helped guide the Knights home. Mambo Kashindi bagged a third for the club to polish off what was an impressive attacking display in the second 45.

Sunshine Coast Wanderers – BYE