Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Northern Fury FC

A Sam Herlihy hat-trick and a brace to Joe Thornton guided Northern Fury to a 6-0 drubbing of SWQ Thunder at Townsville Sports Reserve on Saturday night.

Jake Perry also added his name to the scoresheet as Fury ran riot to record their first home win of the campaign and consign Thunder to a third straight PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland defeat.

Fury showed no sign of sluggishness in their first competitive match since the Easter break, taking the contest by the scruff of the neck from the opening minutes.

Herlihy set the tone with two goals in the opening quarter hour, before Perry stepped up to deliver the host’s third.

Thunder goalkeeper Jayden Formasa conceded a penalty prior to the half hour enabling Joe Thornton to convert Fury’s fourth from the penalty spot and effectively seal the three points.

Thornton and Herlihy then rounded out their respective hauls with a goal apiece in the second half - Thornton’s strike taking him top of Fury’s goalscoring list with four goals this season.

The result marks the fourth time Thunder have conceded five or more goals in a match in the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland 2015 season.

Speaking post-match, Fury coach Ian Ferguson was noticeably upbeat with his side’s third win of the campaign but tempered his praise.

“I thought the boys played really well in patches and there were other times I thought we played pretty poorly, but we coped with any pressure they put on us and I got to be happy with a 6-0 win at home,” he said.

Thunder coach Chris Wilkes admitted his side were outplayed for the second straight week after their last start 5-0 loss to FNQ FC Heat in Cairns.

“We have to find a way to cut out individual errors and until we do that it’s going to continue to hurt,” Wilkes explained.

Listen to the full post-match interviews below.

Northern Fury FC  6 (Sam HERLIHY 3’ 13’ 54’, Jake PERRY 19’, Joe THORNTON 25’p 48’)
SWQ Thunder FC  0