Words: Mitch Datson, Northern Fury
Image: Northern Fury

A wonder goal from Royce Brownlie has guided Moreton Bay United to a 2-1 win against Northern Fury at Townsville Sports Reserve on Sunday.

The veteran striker’s winning goal broke a deadlock that lasted for much of the contest following early goals to Fury’s Jani Peut and Jets’ Charles Mendy.

Fury shot out of the gates scoring in only the 6th minute when pressure from multiple corners resulted in Peut volleying a curling shot into the bottom left corner of the net. 

But it didn't take long for the Jets to return fire, with Charles Mendy equalising in the 14th minute. 

Straight after the kick-off Fury looked to regain the lead when Braedyn Crowley was one-on-one with the keeper, but brilliant work from Mario Aparicio kept the ledger even.

From there the ball spent a large portion of the game stuck in the midfield with both sides at times struggling to push into the final third. 

While there were opportunities, many shots were skied or taken from unlikely range. 

The deadlock was broken when a ball was played through to Brownlie, who controlled it with his chest before turning onto a violent volley that went crashing off the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net in the 83rd minute.

Following the match, Northern Fury head coach Ian Ferguson described the goal as “unstoppable”.

Just prior to the decisive goal being scored, the Fury required two defensive substitutions in the 77th and 82nd minutes, with both Ari Isman (groin) and Caleb Hobson (cork) being replaced due to injury concerns. 

The home side had a couple of chances to snatch a point late, but an inability to execute with tired legs and limited patience left an air of frustration at the final whistle.

Northern Fury 1 (Jani PEUT 6’)
Moreton Bay United 2 (Charles MENDY 14’, Royce BROWNLIE 83’)