Fury To The Four!
Northern Fury continued their unbeaten home record on Sunday, defeating Brisbane Strikers 4-0 at Townsville Sports Reserve in Townsville.
Braedyn Crowley continued his recent goal scoring form with a brace for the hosts, while James Brennan and Jani Peut also netted to seal the result.
More accustomed to the tropical conditions, Fury benefitted from a Strikers side that required a last minute reshuffle following the late withdrawal of defender Chris Maher with illness.
However, it was against the run of play that Brennan, on debut, fired the Fury ahead on 17 minutes, cleaning up Strikers’ goalkeeper David Chambers’ parry from a twenty yard strike.
Strikers almost levelled terms shortly after when Dan Partridge headed on to the crossbar from a corner kick on 19 minutes.
Strikers’ defender David Salin saw a shot deflect wide of the target, while Crowley spurned a chance when he blazed across the face of goal from a tight angle.
Crowley opened his account just after the half hour, combining speed and control to shake his marker from a long ball before rounding Chambers, allowing for a simple finish into an empty net.
Things went from bad to worse for Strikers when dynamic winger Jheison Macauce was forced off prior to half time with a hamstring injury.
Matt Thurtell attempted a long-range effort in the final minutes of the opening half only to see Hudson produce a sharp one handed save to maintain his side’s two goal margin at the break.
Fury started the second stanza sluggishly, however Striker were unable to take advantage, with defender Ari Isman and Chris Figg proving resolute in defence.
Just after the hour, Crowley secured his double when he broke free of the backline and produced a composed low finish before Peut sealed the result on 77 minutes, heading home from Corey Waples cross.
Both side’s struck the woodwork in the closing stages of the match.
The result lifts Fury to fifth in the standings, leapfrogging Strikers, who drop to eighth on the ladder.
Northern Fury 4 (James BRENNAN 17’, Braedyn CROWLEY 33’ 63’, Jani PEUT 77’)
Brisbane Strikers 0
Image: Northern Fury FC
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