Rare loss fails to dampen the Fire

Travis Meyn | 26th June 2010


SUNSHINE Coast Fire will take on Bundaberg tonight.

THE Sunshine Coast Fire’s 12-match winning streak came to an end last weekend against North Queensland, but the team will not have a better opportunity to get back on the winners’ list than tonight’s game against Bundaberg.

Despite making the trip north, the first-placed Fire will be a hot favourite to notch another win against cellar-dweller Bundaberg.

The Spirit occupies last spot on the Queensland State League ladder, two wins away from second-last Capricorn, and the Fire is still 12 points clear at the top.

Fire coach Aston Bell is confident his side will bounce back strongly tonight, pointing to his side’s 5-0 defeat of Bundaberg in their previous encounter this year.

“We spoke at length about what happened last weekend,” he said yesterday.

“The players know the effort was there but the execution wasn’t good enough.

“We came up against a side that maybe wanted it a little bit more than us. The boys are smarting a bit. Their pride is dented.

“It’s a bit of a wake-up call for us and it will help us get back on track.

“I would have rather had that defeat now than closer to the end of the season. It’s important to get the momentum going.”

With midfielder Corey Towle set to return from an ankle complaint, the Fire will enter the match with nearly its strongest squad.

The club also received a boost this week when it signed former Australian Youth player Drew Laurence.

Laurence has come to the Fire after nine years in the Scottish Premier League and is awaiting clearance to play in tonight’s match.

Bell said the Fire’s players had worked hard during the week on perfecting their last passes and capitalising on opportunities.

“We created opportunities in the first half last week, then got sucked in a little bit trying to push too far forward when we didn’t need to,” he said.

“We just needed to keep control of the game.

“The final pass and delivery into the penalty area wasn’t reaching its target.”

GAME DAY

BUNDABERG v SUNSHINE COAST

Tonight, Bundaberg, 7pm

Standings: Sunshine Coast 36 points, Strikers 24, NQ 23, FNQ 19, QAS 13, Whitsunday 12, Capricorn 11, Bundaberg 5
http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2010/06/26/rare-loss-fails-to-dampen-the-fire/