Jets Down Ten Man Fire
Words: Michael Flynn
Additional Reporting: Toby Crockford
Images: Patrick Kearney
Moreton Bay United kept their finals hopes alive with a narrow 1-0 win over a ten man Sunshine Coast FC at Wolter Park.
Finn Beakhurst’s maiden PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues goal proved decisive for the hosts as they put paid to a four match winless run.
Fire’s hopes of fighting their way back into the contest were dealt a major blow shortly after when Connor Hancock was shown a straight red card for felling Beakhurst on the break.
Jets suffered a different blow in the closing stages though, with influential defender Raymond Schultz taken to hospital following an awkward fall.
The win leaves Jets four points outside the top four with three matches remaining in the regular season and still a chance of defending last year’s Grand Final win.
For Fire, the result marks a second straight defeat and heavily reliant on other results if they are to return to the post-season for the first time since 2013.
Key Moments
18’ - GOAL FOR JETS – Raymond Schultz gets outside his defender on the left wing before crossing in low for Finn Beakhurst to deliver the finish
22’ – RED CARE FOR FIRE – Beakhurst bursts through the Fire defence from halfway but is brought down on the edge of the area by Connor Hancock, who is given a straight red card for denying the goal scoring opportunity
30’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Confusion in the Jets’ defence gives Jordan Loy a chance to level terms from 12 yards but his angled, low shot goes wide of the far post
37’ – CHANCE FOR JETS – The hosts make use of the extra man through a series of slick passes which sees the ball end with Liam Previtera, but his shot goes high of the target
54’ – CHANCE FOR JETS – Beakhurst turns his marker inside out to fashion space but his firmly struck shot is directed straight at Fire goalkeeper Samuel Nickolls
59’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – Shoichi Koshimizu gets onto a low cross inside the penalty area but he is closed down by a swarm of Jets defenders
75’ – CHANCE FOR JETS – Beakhurst’s bobbling shot across the face of goal is almost met by Schultz on the charge but is just out of reach
84’ – CHANCE FOR JETS – Royce Brownlie supplies Alex Janovsky, who then steps inside a defender before firing at goal but the strike is parried by Nickolls
90+2’ – CHANCE FOR FIRE – The visitors look to snatch a point from a free-kick but Paul Mikula’s header flashes across the face of goal
What They Said
“Obviously it was good to get all three points, but Ray is out for the season, which is a shame because he was just starting to get back to full fitness. Finn has heaps of ability. We gave him the chance and he scored the goal and got a player sent off because he was too quick for them. But he’s got to do that all game, that’s the challenge for him now.” – Adam Piddick, Moreton Bay United FC technical director
“We didn’t take our foot off the pedal. A lot of teams would have sat back and thought we’re just happy to counter attack, but that isn’t our style. We just kept to our game plan, we went forward and kept going.” - Paul Brownlie, Sunshine Coast FC attacker
Match Details
PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2016 – Round 19
Saturday, July 30
Wolter Park, Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay United FC – 1 (Finn BEAKHURST 18')
Sunshine Coast FC – 0
Match Centre – http://bit.ly/2afBfdE
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