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QCSA Senior Women’s Div.1 Wrap-Up  

 Sat.25th April 2015 – {Rd.18}  

Most games in this round were close tussles with Raceview bouncing back to winning ways with a strong 3-0 win away to previously undefeated Blackstone United.  

 Rosewood United came away from Salisbury Baptist with the same 3-0 scoreline, but the game was very tight for 80 minutes, before the more seasoned Rosewood girls over-ran the youthful Salisbury girls in the final ten minutes.  

Logan Metro snuck home 2-1 against Brisbane Valley, who went down by the same score-line two weeks in a row. Westminster Warriors also did enough to win 2-1 at home to an unlucky North Pine Baptist team.  

The final match of the round between West End v Logan Uniting was played midweek at Oates Park, and the West End team too strong with a comprehensive 4-1 result and climb to third place on the SW Division 1 table..  

 

QCSA Senior Men’s Div.1 Wrap-Up  

Sat.25th April 2015 – {Rd.18}  

Invariably, many of the QCSA teams playing games on late Saturday afternoon and in the early evening would have had many of their players up in the early hours of the morning at the dawn ceremonies throughout Brisbane and in surrounding districts. Some of the games, including the covered match at Sunnybank, had their own Anzac Day ceremonies. Congratulations to the home club, Sunnybank Saints, for putting on the commemorative display and equally to the away team, Blackstone United, and the three officials, for taking part.  

The first game of the day saw a goal feast with Mansfield Eagles outscoring Whitehill 10 goals to 4.  

In an extremely tight-contest, one solitary goal separated home team North Pine Baptist and Logan Metro.  

In a very entertaining match, two evenly matched teams, Sunnybank Saints and Blackstone United, entertained the large crowd, with the home team having a little more fire-power in attack, to win four goals to nil, yet the tightness of the contest isn’t evident by the scoreline.  

The remaining two games were cliff-hangers as St Pauls outlasted Bris Athletic 2 – 1,  whilst  

Westminster Warriors just got home from the Latin Golden Boys, also 2 – 1.  

Match of the Round – Rd.18 Sat. 25th April 2015  

Sunnybank Saints  4 vs Blackstone United 0   (H/T: 2-0)  

Referee: Alex Micallef  

Asst. Refs:  Michael McMaster & Calvin Lewis  

Coaches: Keith Broome (Sunnybank Saints) & Jeremy Bruce (Blackstone United)  

Before the start of this match the Anzac Day commemoration organised by Keith Broome, on behalf of the Sunnybank Saints FC, was extremely moving as both teams and the three officials, lined up in front of the large crowd in attendance and in unison stood and listened respectfully to the bugle.  

The two teams came into this game with good form and with experienced coaches, Keith Broome and Jeremy Bruce at the helm, anything could happen. Broome had assembled a squad that remained somewhat of an unknown quantity, with the majority of the team being picked up in the early part of the season on “Gumtree”!?!  

It didn’t take long after the whistle to show the intent of both teams. Attack was going to be the key for both teams and Sunnybank Saints to break-through. After a clumsy challenge by a Blackstone defender on James Baker, Sunnybank’s Dan Discombe calmly stepped up and placed a wonderful free-kick in the bottom left corner of the net with the g/k motionless.  

For the next 20 minutes, the game ebbed and flowed, with the respective number 8’s, Discombe for the Saints, and Cameron Osborne, for Blackstone United, in the thick of the action in centre-midfield and setting up countless attacks for their respective teams.  

In the 21st minute, the Saints went two – nil up after James Baker received the ball near the half-way line and outpaced two challengers, before toe-poking past the advancing g/k, Dylan Baxter. For the next 15 minutes, the home side go through a purple-patch of possession, but unfortunately does not turn into goals. One such opportunity was when Dan Discombe finds himself one-on-one with Blackstone’s g/k, Dylan Baxter, but is denied by a fantastic save down low at the feet, as the striker attempted to dribble around him. Blackstone United gain the ascendancy toward the end of the half but there is no addition to the score.  

The half-time sees Sunnybank Saints in the ascendancy by 2 -0, yet the stats reveal a very even contest. Both teams had 8 chances/shots at goal, including identical free-kicks, and breaks towards goal. Yet, the home side took their chances and went into half-time quite satisfied with their effort.  

The game continued into the second half in the same vein,  as  a hard, physical contest, punctuated by some sublime skills of players from both teams. But whatever Blackstone’s coach, Jeremy Bruce, said to them at the break, the visitors were going to throw everything into getting a goal back and make a game of it.  

Blackstone’s Lucas Torrisi and Jason Osborne created numerous opportunities as their teammates worked tirelessly to get the ball to them near the penalty box. Unfortunately for the visitor’s their effort came agonisingly short with two glaring opportunities in the 63rd and 65th minutes. Firstly, a powerful shot by Jason Osborne is spilt by the ever reliable Sunnybank g/k, Amjad, but in the follow up, Ashley Sullivan shoots over the bar from less than 10 metres out, with the g/k spread-eagled on the ground. Then, moments later, Blackstone receive an indirect free-kick 10 metres from goal. Torrisi blasts the ball into the wall, and the Sunnybank “Gumtrees” hang in there and survive the onslaught.  

This seemed to take the sting out of the visitors, and the home team counter-attacked and had their 3rd goal shortly afterwards with some magnificent ball-control by Dan Discombe on the edge of the penalty box, before another well placed shot into the bottom of the net. A minute later, it was 4-0 with Muhamad Hayder releasing James Baker on another well-timed run before poking the ball under the advancing g/k for the 2nd time in the match.  

As stated earlier, both teams had a fair share of scoring opportunities, with the home team being more ruthless in front of goals. This may be in part to the very well organised defence of Sunnybank which placed a lot more pressure on strikers at all times. The 6-pronged defence of Amjad in goals, Pollard and Hoffman – respective full-backs, marshalled by McSweeney and Menard in the central roles, with the captain Tosovic, sitting deep in front of the back four. Coach Broome, has done a wonderful job at this stage of the season in organising the defensive set-up, as the “Gumtree” boys sit in 2nd place on the ladder with a 15-4 for and against record.  

The officials, Micallef, McMaster and Lewis, were outstanding and the highlight form was how they communicated with one another at all times. It was great to have one of the leading refereeing instructor’s in Australia at this match, Gordon Nicholson, and whilst the officials were superb, the standards expected of them at this level is very high, and this is why Gordon, Don, Werner, et al, place so much effort in making sure that referees keep on improving at all levels of officiating.  

But we must all remember, each referee is at their own respective levels, some more experienced and some less, and yes, sometimes they may have an off day too!?!