New chapters were forged in the history of NPL Queensland throughout Round five. There were 45 goals scored in what was an emphatic return to the pitch for a lot the clubs who were rained out in round four. Get across all the Premier League action from around the state.

By Tom Beverley

[caption id="attachment_3942" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Redlands United FC, Cleveland Showgrounds[/caption]

Redlands United | 3 – 4 | Brisbane Roar Youth
Cleveland Showgrounds

Roar down Redlands in seven goal thriller

It’s a second consecutive win for The Roar, and that makes four in five games as they continue their strong run into 2018. Redlands, on the other hand, slumped to their second consecutive defeat which leave them with just the single victory from the opening five rounds. Redlands can take heart in the fact Shuto Kuboyama remains at the top of the ‘most goals scored’ table after he bagged another brace over the weekend. Scoring both in the first half, Redlands went into half-time with the lead cancelling out an early Adam Sawyer goal for The Roar.

Two minutes after returning from the break and The Roar were level through Bryce Bafford. The Roar took the lead in the 71^st minute after Rahmat Akbari put them front. It seemed all said and done, however in the 92^nd minute, Jayden Prasad levelled the scores again to make it 3-3. Unbelievably, the Roar scored a fourth in the 95^th to snatch all three points at the death.

 

Moreton Bay United | 4 – 2 | North Queensland United
Wolter Park

Back to winning ways for Moreton Bay

The Jets have bounced back after last week’s loss to Olympic with a comfortable victory over North Queensland United. They dominated in the early stages of the match but couldn’t quite capitalise on the chances created. Although rewarded in the 25^th minute when Riley Campbell put the ball in the back of the net, there was still everything to play for in the second half as the scores remained 1-0 at half-time.

The Jets doubled, and then tripled their lead early into the second half. The first through Rhys Gwynn-Jones who finished of a brilliant team move. The second courtesy of some brilliant combination play between Matt Capelo and Chom Arop. A poor back pass late in the second half invited North Queensland to create some late drama, however The Jets threw water on North Queensland’s embers when they bagged a fourth. Jarrod Green chipped Behzad Ariayee to pick up a second in the final moments but it was The Jets who picked up another three points at home.

 

Brisbane Strikers | 4 – 2 | Gold Coast United
Perry Park

Strikers pick up first victory

Some early dominance saw The Strikers hold off what was a late fightback from Gold Coast United. After 35 minutes The Strikers found themselves 3 – 0 up and seemingly running away with the match. Michael Lee picked up the first inside seven minutes following up his own chance and slotting it home. Rhys Meredith than bagged a brace, converting from the spot first in the 31^st minute and then combining with Michael Lee just four minutes later for his second. The hosts were comfortable heading into half-time.

Two goals in eight minutes early in the second half meant it was game on. Asim Tomic found himself open in the box, The Strikers failed to pick him up in the 54^th minute and his header from an inch-perfect cross found the back of the net. Then, it was a moment for Nathan Archbold to forget when, incredibly, Lachlan Reus chipped him from 45 yards out. It was a tense final half-hour of the match, leaving everything to play for, until Jake Mclean put the game to bed in the 84^th minute leaving Gold Coast United winless since their round one victory in Cairns.

 

Cairns FC | 1 – 3 | Brisbane City FC
Barlow Park

City off the mark – in 13 seconds

It was one of the quickest goals scored in NPL Queensland history in Cairns when Sheji Shizuno found the back of the net inside the first 13 seconds of the match for Brisbane City. The visitors controlled the game in the early stages and were rewarded again, doubling the lead in the 23^rd minute when Scott Halliday put it past Josh Wilson in the one-on-one. A penalty, after Shaun Owens was brought down in the box, saw Chris O’Hare convert from the spot right on the cusp of half-time, giving Cairns everything to play for in the second 45.

Sheji Shizuno had his brace after a brilliant individual run. His shot from outside the box slotted into the bottom left corner and it was ultimately game over. Special credit to Cairns shot stopper Josh Wilson who pulled off a number of world class saves to keep the hosts within reach.

 

Western Pride | 15 – 1 | Sunshine Coast FC
Briggs Road Sports Complex

Pride’s historic victory

That isn’t a typo, Western Pride put fifteen past the Sunshine Coast over the weekend. The Fire found themselves down to ten men after just eleven minutes of play, and to compound the situation, 1-0 down after conceding to an Andy Pengelly strike.

Then it started to rain, but not from the sky. Western Pride would go on to score another nine goals to see out the half. Dylan Wenzel-Halls picked up five, and Joe Duckworth took a hat-trick with Will Macfarlane also getting his name on the score sheet.

The Fire were the first to find the back of the net in the second half through Doug Brown, and for the next half hour did well to hold off further efforts from the Western Pride. However, The Pride bagged another five in the final fifteen minutes of the match. Wenzell-Halls added another two, and with seven in total, it seems new terminology is in order if he is to continue this kind of ridiculous form.

The Pride now hold the record for the highest team score and aggregate, overtaking the previous record of which they were belted by Brisbane Roar Youth 12 – 0, back in round five of the 2015 NPL Queensland season.

Magpies Crusaders | 0 – 1 | Lions FC
Sologinkin Oval

Lions grab three in Mackay

The Magpies Crusaders put in another gallant performance but it was the Lions who flew out of Mackay with all three points in their luggage. Magpies have just the single win from 4 matches (game in hand after a postponed round four) after the opening five rounds, however there is plenty of time to get out of that relegation zone and there is plenty on offer from the team to show they will fight tooth-and-nail all season.

Ultimately a closely fought match, both teams came out slow. The chance of the first half came to Shaun Carlos whose free kick came off the crossbar in the 21^st minute, but ultimately scores were level at the half.

The deadlock continued long into the second half, with neither team able to stamp authority on the match. The match seemed destined to finish 0-0 when Shaun Carlos scored in the 89^th minute sealing the victory for The Lions.

 

Olympic FC | 5 – 0 | SWQ Thunder FC
Goodwin Park

Olympic continue dream run

Olympic continued their unbeaten run of the 2018 season over the weekend with an impressive victory over Toowoomba side SWQ Thunder. Olympic dominated for large pockets of the match, eventually Shelford Dais broke the deadlock after 29 minutes. The attacks continued with Olympic not taking their foot off the pedal. The lead doubled at the end of the first half through Kieran Sanders who picked up his first of the campaign.

Olympic had a third almost immediately after half-time, before Sanders had his brace just thirteen minutes later and the hosts had their stranglehold on the match. Adam Edgar bagged the fifth and final of the night in the 83^rd minute to round out what was a dominant performance from the league leaders.