Roar game puts fire in the belly

Jon Tuxworth | 3rd July 2010

BUOYED by a superb second-half performance against Brisbane Roar, Sunshine Coast Fire will enter tomorrow's clash with Far North Queensland with confidence.

Jai Cross returns to the Fire line-up tomorrow.
Jason Dougherty

BUOYED by a superb second-half performance against Brisbane Roar, Sunshine Coast Fire will enter tomorrow’s clash with Far North Queensland confident of halting a mid-season hiccup.

After 12 straight wins to begin the season, the Fire has lost to North Queensland and drawn against Bundaberg in its past two QSL matches.

But holding A-League’s Roar to a 3-1 win at Gympie on Wednesday night has coach Aston Bell confident a return to the winners’ list is imminent.

Bell is in New Zealand on business and will miss the match against the Bulls, with Fire under-19 coach Andy Watson taking over the seniors’ helm.

“I was really delighted with our performance against the Roar, particularly in the second half I thought we were terrific,” Bell said yesterday.

“We’ve been working on our defensive structure and it frustrated the Roar, and we were fluent in attack when the ball broke down as well.

“We have had some speed bumps recently, but the boys will go into the game confident after getting that performance out of their system and playing as well as they did against quality opposition.”

Drew Lawrence, who arrived at the Fire recently following a stint in Scotland, made his debut for the club in the second half against the Roar and will line up tomorrow.

And in a boost to the Fire’s attacking stocks, striker Jai Cross returns to the side after missing recent matches due to work commitments.

Despite its winless fortnight, the Fire still enjoys a 10-point cushion atop the QSL ladder from nearest rival Brisbane Strikers, with North Queensland a point further back.

Far North Queensland sits in fourth place and given fifth-placed QAS is nine points behind the Bulls with seven rounds remaining, the final four looks set in stone.

GAME DAY

FIRE V FAR NTH QLD

Tomorrow, Mileau Place, Kawana, 1pm


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